What’s In a Police Report? How Will It Help You Get Full and Fair Compensation?
In the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident, your first concerns should be about your health. Once you’ve confirmed that you’re okay—that you don’t need to go to the hospital or call an ambulance—your next step should be to call law enforcement officials to report the accident. In fact, in the state of Texas, you are required to notify police as soon as you can if you are involved in a collision or accident that either causes bodily harm or death, or renders a vehicle inoperable.
There are other reasons, however, for promptly contacting law enforcement officers, reasons that can significantly improve your chances of recovering full and fair compensation for your losses and injuries.
In Texas, there’s a wealth of information that must, by law, be included in a police officer’s report concerning an accident. The officer must identify the specific location of the collision and must include detailed information about any vehicle involved in the crash, such as make, model, color, and license plate number. The report must contain the names of all individuals involved in the accident, including driver, passengers, and bystanders, and it must state whether there were injuries or fatalities caused by the accident. Any injuries must be described and graded with respect to severity.
The officer must also provide a narrative, stating in their own words how the accident occurred. This narrative must include a discussion of weather or road conditions that contributed to the crash and must document any damage to vehicles in the wreck. It’s also common for the officer to construct a diagram of the crash sequence. The report must also state whether or not any parties to the accident have been charged with a crime or received a traffic citation.
How Will a Police Report Help You in a Civil Suit for Damages?
To successfully recover compensation for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident in a civil lawsuit, you must prove that another person’s negligence or carelessness caused you to suffer injury or loss. To do so, you must provide the court with evidence that the defendant failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances, e.g., failed to travel at a safe speed, failed to stop at a traffic light or stop sign, or failed to use appropriate caution. You can obtain statements from eyewitnesses or even bring them in to testify at trial.
A police officer’s report, however, can have a powerful impact on a jury. It’s customary, in the wake of a motor vehicle accident, for the police officer to conduct a thorough investigation of the crash. That crash report can be used when attempting to negotiate a settlement with an insurance carrier, and it can be used in court to establish liability.
Often, though, many or most of the witnesses have some level of bias. They may have been passengers in your car (and suffered injuries as well), or they may be the at-fault party or their passengers. A police officer’s report offers an objective view of what actually happened.
At the law office of Bailey & Galyen, we offer a free initial consultation to every client, including anyone hurt in a motor vehicle collision. For an appointment with a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury lawyer, contact us by email or call our offices at 844-402-2992. We will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
