A police report plays an important role in a personal injury case because anything that is included in the report is assumed to be a statement of fact. However, if you are involved in an accident and a police officer writes something that is factually not true, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer about how this can affect your case. Fortunately, you may be able to have changes made to your police report.

The Role of a Police Report

A police report is not admissible in court. However, the majority of personal injury claims are settled out of court and you will be able to support your version of the events more easily if your version of the events line up with what is in the police report.

The police report also includes important information such as the time and location of the crash, the contact information of those who were involved in the crash, pictures from the scene of the accident, a diagram that shows the impact of the vehicles, a list of the injuries that were discovered at the time of the crash, any damage to the vehicles, and any witness statements. Because the outcome of the accident will be affected by

Police Officers Make Mistakes

An officer is trained on how to conduct an investigation properly. However, they might make a mistake or may not understand the facts as they were relayed to them. Fortunately, if you can prove that a police report is in error, the officer who made the report will likely be more willing to make changes.

You May Change the Police Report

If you are able to provide supporting documentation, you may be able to have the police report changed. For example, if you have evidence to prove that the accident occurred at a different time, the police department will make any necessary changes to the report.

You may have a more difficult time making changes to reports that you simply disagree with. For example, a report might include a witness statement that you believe is mistaken. However, you are allowed to write your version of the events and you can then hope that this will be included.

If you are not able to change the police report, you will need to speak with a personal injury lawyer. There might be a way that you can call the report into question in a convincing way when negotiating with the insurance adjuster.