What Do I Do if the Police Made a Mistake on My Accident Report?

No one is perfect, including police officers. The police at the scene of your accident are responsible for writing an accurate accident report. However, a simple mistake can change that report from fact to fiction. Learn what you should do if the police make a mistake on your accident report.

Why Does it Matter if Police Made a Mistake on Your Accident Report?

You might wonder why a small mistake even matters. Unfortunately, an error on your report can have a major impact on your life.

The accident report includes details like:

• The date, time, and place of your accident
• Contact information for drivers, passengers, and witnesses
• The damage and injuries caused by the accident
• Witness and driver testimony
• An officer’s narrative
• Pictures of the scene and vehicles
• Accident diagram

Wrong information could result in you taking liability for the crash. It could impact your insurance and hurt your chances at a lawsuit against the other driver. With so much at stake, you should make sure that you have an accurate report.

How to Handle the Situation

Here are a few ways in which you can handle an error in your accident report:

1. Speak to the officer immediately

As soon as you get a copy of your accident report, speak to the officer. Explain the error, but do so in a polite manner. He might be able to change it before the report becomes final.

If possible, avoid going directly to his superior officer. You want to do what you can to avoid a conflict with the officer. If the officer doesn’t agree to make the changes, you can look for alternate ways to handle the situation.

2. Show documentation

If you want an officer to change an accident report, you should have some documentation. For example, you can share some of your own photos of the accident. You might be able to show damage to your vehicle, hidden signage, or other important details.

If the error relates to your injuries, show the officer medical reports. The more documentation you have, the better your chances.

3. Give a statement

The officer’s narrative is a critical part of the accident report. However, there’s not much you can do to convince an officer to change his narrative. The narrative is his perspective on the accident.

Write your own account and ask that the officer attaches it to the report. Be accurate and include all of the documentation you have. When the insurance company sees the police report, they will also see your statement. It could help you get the compensation you deserve for your accident.

4. Hire an attorney

There’s only so much that you can do to convince the police to update their report. Fortunately, you’re not on your own. You can work with a car accident lawyer in Tampa to remedy the situation.

When you call a lawyer, he can help you deal with the police. He can also tell you the next steps in the process, and the best way for you to get results. At the very least, a lawyer can help you write a detailed statement for the police.

You don’t need to let an accident in a police report affect your life. By being proactive, you can fix the error and get a good outcome.