What To Do About a False Accident Report

Your accident or injury might have been severe enough for a police officer to show up. You’ll have to think about the impact of their report on your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

When insurance companies evaluate a vehicle accident, they often look for the most detailed documents they can find. Police reports often fit that bill. But what can you do if you believe the police officer’s report is inaccurate? What if the other person made false claims to escape liability?

When the facts of your accident are in dispute, you may want legal help. Many personal injury lawyers offer free case reviews to help you understand your options. They can also advocate for you if the other party has been dishonest in telling their version of events.

Wrong Information in a Police Report

A few issues you might uncover in an injury or car accident police report include:

• Factual errors about the accident scene, such as the date, time, location, weather conditions, or road conditions
• Omissions of relevant details about the car crash or injury
• False information about license plate numbers or motor vehicle descriptions
• Incorrect statements about your actions before, during, and immediately after the incident
• Inaccuracies about property damage, such as vehicle damage

Intentionally filing a false police report is a crime. But sometimes, errors may be due to the responding officer’s simple mistake. A misspelling or misplaced check mark might not be malicious. Notifying the police department about an error may be enough to resolve certain issues.

Can I Appeal a Police Report?

When it comes to police reports, you can disagree with the officer who wrote the report and request that the officer change the report to include accurate information. The officer, however, usually has the final say. If they do not want to change their report, it is unlikely that the report will be changed.

In cases where the police report is used in litigation, however, state law governing the rules of admissible evidence may preempt the police report or certain parts of it from being considered at all. For example, a police report might contain hearsay. If no state law exceptions apply that would otherwise allow its admission, the hearsay may be found to be inadmissible for evidentiary purposes.

Why Does a Police Report Matter?

While a police report may be treated differently in litigation, it can significantly influence how an insurance company decides to respond to your car accident or injury claim prior to the filing of any lawsuit. Insurance adjusters usually use the police report to evaluate each party’s liability.

Accordingly, it is worth your time to fix a flawed accident report. The correct information can help protect a claim for fair compensation. If someone else should be responsible for paying the damages of the accident, you would require evidence to make that claim.

How To Change a False Police Report

If you think changes ought to be made to the police report, your success in doing so will depend largely on what type of information you want changed, as follows:

• Objective information: This includes details like the make, model, and color of the vehicles involved, the time and location of the accident, your insurance information, etc. Having your own records of this information may help.

• Subjective information: This includes information that you may not be able to objectively prove, such as where on the road the accident happened, the exact causes of the accident, and the nature of driver and witness statements. If the officer who wrote the report does not agree with your assessment of the situation, they may leave the report as it is.

If you disagree with a police officer’s report, you may be able to write your own report and submit it to the police department. The department can file your supplemental report as an addendum to the original report. The supplemental police report is one of many documents that can help you prove fault in a personal injury case.

Get Legal Advice for Your Injury Claim

Serious injuries carry high costs. Evidence like police reports can either support or hinder your claim.

If you have been negatively and unjustly impacted by a false or misleading accident report, you may want to seek the advice of a legal professional who focuses on these types of issues. Find a personal injury attorney near you who can address the unique challenges of your case.