Police reports for car accidents should always be reviewed for accuracy, but errors can slip through. If we learn that facts in your car accident report are incorrect, they could affect your legal claim.
We should contact the police right away if we believe the report contains incorrect facts. If possible, the police may correct the report and issue a revised one. If we do not realize the error until a lawsuit is already underway, we should notify the judge and the defendant about the mistakes in the report. At that point, we must determine whether the incorrect facts affect your claims.
Ask our Dallas, TX car accident lawyers for a confidential, free legal review by calling The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.
What Happens if You Learn Facts in a Car Accident Police Report Are Wrong?
We must contact the police about the errors in the police report as soon as we learn about them. If we discover the errors early enough, the police might be able to correct them. However, if the errors stem from mistakes made during the investigation, they may be harder to fix. Either way, we must determine how the incorrect facts affect your case.
Will Incorrect Details in a Car Accident Report Affect Insurance Claims?
The insurance company will likely want to see a revised copy of the report with the correct information. If the incorrect facts are material to your claims, the insurance company might try to mitigate your damages. If the mistakes are minor or purely clerical, we can notify the insurance company to protect your claim.
Can You Sue for a Car Accident if the Police Report Gets Some Facts Wrong?
You can still sue for a car accident if the report gets some facts wrong, but we must determine how the report and any incorrect facts could affect the case.
If the facts are material to the case, we may need to reevaluate our approach and legal strategies. If the facts are not relevant to your claims or do not change the overall outcome of law enforcement’s investigation, there might not be much of a problem.
Can an Incorrect Police Report About a Car Accident Be Corrected?
Some errors are easy to fix. For example, minor clerical errors or typos may be corrected simply by talking to people who witnessed the accident.
Other mistakes might be more serious and require the police to reopen the investigation. For example, errors about the defendant’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of the crash are likely material to your claims, but they cannot be reevaluated because it is too late to have the defendant redo chemical testing.
How Do You Know if Facts in a Police Report About a Car Accident Are Wrong?
Accident reconstruction experts may catch incorrect facts when they review police reports and compare them with other facts, evidence, and crash data. The police might catch the mistake when they finalize the report.
Our Abilene, TX car accident lawyers may catch the mistake when they review the report with you or other witnesses. If the report states details that do not line up with how you remember the crash, bring it up with your lawyer.
What Happens if You Realize a Police Report is Wrong in the Middle of a Car Accident Lawsuit?
What if we catch the mistake after the trial has already begun? Can we fix the mistake? Does the correct information change anything about the case?
We must work quickly to loop in the judge and the defense. If the police can correct the mistake quickly enough, both sides may have time to review the new police report, and the trial may continue with only a minor delay.
If the error is more significant, the case might be in jeopardy. The defense could motion for a dismissal, and you might be at risk of missing out on any compensation.
What if You Cannot Correct the Mistakes in a Car Accident Report?
If factual errors in the police report cannot be corrected, we might not be able to rely on this information to support your claims. Instead, we can look for alternative evidence that supports your claims.
If the incorrect facts damage your claims, we may need to explain in court how they are wrong so the jury does not inadvertently consider false evidence. The police may be able to testify in court that the report should not be considered as evidence.
What Other Evidence Can You Use if the Police Report Contains Incorrect Facts?
Much of our evidence, aside from the police report, may come directly from the accident scene. We may use evidence including, but not limited to…
- Photos and videos recorded by drivers
- Witness testimony
- Private security camera footage
- Dashcam footage
Can a Police Report with Wrong Facts Still Be Used as Evidence?
Police reports are generally inadmissible as evidence in court because they are considered inadmissible hearsay. Even so, several exceptions to the hearsay rule might allow us to introduce a car accident report into evidence.
If we do, we must make sure we refer only to portions of the report that are relevant and accurate. If anything in the report is incorrect, we should avoid it.
Depending on what is in the report, the fact that some details are incorrect might not mean much to your case. If we plan to use different portions of the report that we have confirmed are correct, there may be little to no issue.
How an Incorrect Police Report Might Be Used Against You in a Car Accident Case
If a few facts in a police report are determined to be incorrect, this could raise serious doubts about the investigation and any other findings the police made.
Even if we can correct the mistakes in the report, the defense might argue that the entire investigation should be questioned. If the mistake comes out in court and the jury learns about it, they might believe the police are not credible witnesses, and your case may be weaker for it.
Do You Need a Police Report to File a Car Accident Lawsuit?
Sometimes, police investigations reveal little more than what we already know. In such cases, we might not need the police report to support your claims, especially if other evidence exists. You should review the report from your case with your lawyer to determine how necessary it is to your claims.
Should You Tell the Defendant About Incorrect Facts in a Car Accident Report
Even if the defendant and their attorneys could likely figure it out on their own, we should inform them if we notice mistakes in the report. If we learn of incorrect facts in the report and say nothing, we may be accused of concealing material information from the defense, which is a serious problem.
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyers for Help Today
Ask our Fort Worth, TX car accident lawyers for a confidential, free legal review by calling The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.