What Is a Car Accident Report?

One of the legal services provided by a personal injury attorney at Morgan and Morgan after an auto crash is to determine the cause of the incident. The official police report contains attachments that present physical evidence, such as photos taken of the accident scene and a link that uploads video camera footage shot by a traffic camera. Personal injury attorneys examine the physical evidence to decide how to proceed with a car accident case. The information presented in a car accident report also represents an important part of the process of filing an insurance claim. The insurance adjuster reviewing a claim places considerable emphasis on the information presented in the official vehicle collision report.

Without an official police report, the parties involved in a car accident case rely on the evidence gathered and organized by each party to determine the outcome of an insurance claim, as well as a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. An official police report typically shortens the amount of time it takes to resolve a vehicle collision case because of the expertise provided by highly-trained law enforcement investigators. The personal injury attorney that you hire from Morgan and Morgan refers to a car accident report to determine fault, which in turn decides which party should pay for the cost of medical bills and the repairs done to property damage.

Not every auto crash requires the submission of a formal accident report. For example, if you and another party get involved in a minor fender bender at the local supermarket, exchanging contact and insurance information should be enough to initiate the car insurance claim process. You need to obtain a copy of the official police report if a vehicle accident included the commission of a crime, such as an intoxicated driver who hit your vehicle and then fled the scene of the incident. Car accident reports are an essential part of any investigation that includes one or more parties that sustained injuries resulting from the impact of a vehicle collision.

If you got involved in a car accident and the crash occurred while you fulfilled a work-related responsibility, a car accident report helps move along a workers’ compensation claim faster through the claim process than if a claim did not include an official incident report. Filing an insurance claim requires the submission of a formal police report for an insurance adjuster to process the claim. An insurance claim submitted without a copy of the official police report either gets stuck in the system or comes back denied for compensation. Obtaining a copy of the official police report helps the personal injury attorney that you work with from Morgan and Morgan to present the most compelling case during a civil lawsuit.

Whether you receive a copy of an official police report or you have to present your own car accident report, the report should contain certain types of information. The date, time, and location of the vehicle collision should be presented at the top of the report. Each driver’s name, contact information, and date of birth should follow the first section. Insurance information, including policy number and the type of coverage, helps both parties process claims for financial assistance. The driver’s license information for each motorist should appear on a car accident report to help attorneys working the case determine whether any of the parties involved in an auto crash has a traffic violation record.

License plate numbers verify the ownership of each vehicle, which is an important part of an accident report if one or more parties drove a motor vehicle owned by another individual. A car accident report should include a detailed account of what transpired before, during, and after the crash. Law enforcement agencies usually create a detailed diagram that shows the position of every vehicle involved in the incident. A description of road and weather conditions provide useful information that determines the cause of the collision. Towards the end of a police report, the author of the report should describe which party should assume most, if not all of the legal liability for causing the car accident.

Although insurance companies and the judges that hear civil lawsuits heavily rely on the information presented in an official police report, that does mean the information presented is 100 percent accurate. You have the right to request that the law enforcement agency responsible for submitting an official car accident report make changes to correct inaccurate information. One of the most important reasons to hire a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan is to ensure the accuracy of the formal police report. If your lawyer discovers an error, you submit a document that requests changes that reflect an accurate account of the incident.

Errors such as submitting an incorrect date and time of the accident can prompt an insurance claim to deny a claim for financial assistance. Although you have the right to request changes to the content presented in a car accident report, you cannot change the statements made by witnesses. You also cannot change the conclusion reached by the author or authors of the official police report. To counteract what your attorney believes to be an inaccurate assessment of fault, you have the right to submit your own car accident report that becomes part of the official record concerning the incident. The law enforcement agency responsible for filing the official police report must include your version of events.

One of the most important sections of a car accident report presents the reason or reasons why the collision occurred. Your personal injury attorney needs to establish the cause of a vehicle collision to determine whether the other party should assume legal liability for the incident. Not every cause of a car accident is the fault of another party. Determining the cause of a car accident requires the responding law enforcement agency to present considerable physical evidence to support their assertions.

Distracted Driving

Because distracted driving has become a frequent issue for law enforcement agencies, many agencies have aired public service announcements to discourage the dangerous practice. However, far too many motorists continue to violate state laws when it comes to texting and driving. Operating a motor vehicle while focused on an electronic communication device significantly increases the risk of causing a car accident. Other types of distraction include eating a meal, taking in the scenery, and applying cologne or makeup.

Driving Under the Influence

Although a personal injury attorney can have difficulty proving negligence as the result of distracted driving, the same cannot be said for a case of driving under the influence of alcohol. One of the first actions taken by a law enforcement officer who arrives at the scene of a vehicle collision is to determine whether alcohol played a role in causing the crash. Most states have established a maximum Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level of 0.08. Any measurement above 0.08 violates state law. A motorist who caused a crash while intoxicated can be found negligent for causing injuries to the other party involved in the collision.

Reckless Driving

A motorist does not have to be under the influence of alcohol to make poor decisions while operating a motor vehicle. Reckless driving, such as speeding and improper lane changes, represents one of the most common causes of auto crashes. Speeding is an especially dangerous act because the faster a vehicle travels at the time of impact, the more serious the injuries that result from the strong impact. Running a red light or stop sign can lead to a side-impact crash that severely injures the driver of the impacted vehicle.

Learn more about what is a car accident report and how one can help you build a persuasive case for compensation by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of the highly-skilled litigators at Morgan and Morgan.