Police reports are important documents in many accident claims because insurance companies look at the reports when handling claims for compensation. When a police officer responds to an accident, they are responsible for creating and filing the report. Sometimes, the reporting officer makes mistakes on the report that can affect whether or not you receive the compensation you need from an insurance company. You should be able to correct factual mistakes without pushback from the police, but you will most likely not be able to correct mistakes regarding disputed information from the accident.
If you are struggling to correct errors on a police report, you should reach out to a skilled personal injury attorney. An experienced attorney can help you write your own statement to supplement the report filed by the police, and your attorney can also represent you if you wish to file a claim for compensation. Dominguez Law has a team of compassionate and aggressive personal injury lawyers who want to help you fix police report errors that will affect the outcome of your case.
Can You Correct Factual Errors in a Police Report?
If you notice factual errors in the police report regarding your vehicle accident, you should be able to fix such errors easily. Police reports contain a plethora of information regarding the accident, and some of the information is factual. For example, a police report will include the contact information of the parties involved, the date and location of the accident, the time of the accident, and the makes and models of the vehicles involved.
If you notice an error regarding any of the factual information contained within the police report, you can contact the police officer who wrote the report and provide evidence of the correct information. For example, if the report shows an incorrect birthday for you, you can supply the police officer with a copy of your driver’s license with your correct date of birth. The officer will most likely correct the factual mistake once you have provided evidence of the correct information.
Can You Correct Disputed Information in a Police Report?
In addition to factual information, a police report will also contain disputed information. For example, police reports contain witness testimony, descriptions of the accident’s cause, descriptions of the weather at the time of the accident, details of any injuries sustained, and descriptions of observed damage to the vehicles. A witness may have told the officer that the other driver had a green light, but you believe the other driver ran a red light. You may find that you disagree with some of the disputed information in the police report, but you will most likely not be able to correct such information in the original report.
A skilled personal injury attorney should be able to help you correct disputed information found in a police report. Unlike contacting the reporting officer to correct factual information, you will most likely have to write your own statement that will supplement the police officer’s original report. You should try to find as much evidence as you can regarding the disputed information by obtaining testimony of other witnesses, any dash cam footage, or other surveillance showing your side of the story.
Anyone struggling to correct errors regarding disputed information in a police report should contact a personal injury attorney to help them navigate the necessary steps.
Dominguez Law Has Skilled Personal Injury Attorneys Who Can Help You Today
Police reports play an important role in the aftermath of vehicle accidents. Sometimes, the responding police officer makes mistakes when creating the report, and these mistakes may involve objective facts or disputed information. Correcting an objective fact should not be difficult when you have evidence of the correct information, like a birthday. Disputed information is much harder to change, and you may have to create your own statement to supplement the report created by the police officer.
Luckily, our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you with the process of correcting disputed information found in a police report. We can assist you by obtaining the relevant evidence you need to include in your own statement. At Dominguez Law, our personal injury lawyers want to help you today. To schedule your free consultation, you can call (505) 850-5854 or fill out our contact form . We also speak Spanish.
