Use Of Police Report In Your Motorcycle Accident
Anyone who has been involved in a road accident is probably aware of police reports. But, not everyone knows how vital they are when it comes to a settlement of a lawsuit. When an accident happens, police are called on the scene to observe and compile notes to come up with a crash report. Thus, use of police report in any accident case is vital.
If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident, you should learn how police reports may be used to spice up your accident case for success.
Why Use Police Report After A Motorcycle Accident
Having the information on how to proceed after a car accident is one way to a successful claim. This mostly depends on the evidence you will produce to be used to argue for your case. After a motorcycle accident, it’s vital to act as quickly as possible to ensure you protect your legal rights. You may choose to call the police on the scene immediately. If you believe you’re not to blame for the accident, you may consult a motorcycle personal injury lawyer to help determine liability. Your lawyer can use the police report to know:
- The date and time of the motorcycle collision
- Names of witnesses and any other person who was involved in the accident
- Location of the accident
- Cause of collision
When deciding your case, the police report may be the first item to be requested by the at-fault driver’s insurance company. It makes a valuable source of evidence. Similarly, the report will be needed by the judge to provide evidence.
Get A Copy Of The Police Report
While many people argue about the accuracy of police reports, you may choose to have an expert verify the report’s accuracy. Everyone is prone to making mistakes, the same case with law enforcement officers. That’s why it’s always advisable to get a copy of the police report to ensure everything indicated accurately reflects how the accident occurred. To get issued with a copy, you have to ask for it from the one who drafted the report. This means that you may be forced to look out for the law enforcement officer or department tasked with making a report at the scene of your motorcycle accident. Due to the number of high cases, you may find it hard to obtain such information. You can get a copy of the police report by:
- Contacting the police department office
- Giving out your details such as name and date, and time of the accident. This will help to retrieve your information.
- Collecting a copy of the report. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have to collect your copy or have it mailed to you. Either way, you may be required to pay some fees. It may take a few days or a week to get your copy. However, this still will depend on whether the police are through with investigations.
It’s worth noting that if the information contained is deemed confidential, you may be blocked from getting the report. The process of obtaining the report varies from state to state. But if you hire a motorcycle accident lawyer, he/she may provide the exact process according to your jurisdiction. The reason is because each agency has a way of releasing the information contained in such reports.
What If The Police Report Contains Errors?
Police report plays an important role when determining damages. Thus, if it contains errors, this may bring up a huge negative impact in your motorcycle accident case. If you collect a copy of the police report and realize it contains mistakes, you may rectify it. Still, the latter depends on the nature of the information being modified. You can only rectify:
- Disputable information: If you find that the police officer indicated some information to portray you were at fault, you may have difficulty proving you were not at fault. In such a case, it would be better to use a lawyer to help you write up another version of what you believe to be true.
- Factual mistakes: Sometimes, a police officer may indicate the wrong date or time. You may write up a change request as long as you have the right evidence for the correction.
The police report plays an important role in the case outcome. It may mean the difference between having to be blamed for the motorcycle accident and obtaining the best damages for your case.
For your motorcycle accident, it makes sense to have an attorney decide on the best strategy to be followed for your case. Generally, with a police report, you will have the boldness to have facts and answer some of the defendant’s attorney’s specific questions. If you consider a lawsuit, the same report will be used to determine the facts of the evidence provided