- Car Accidents
There are a few things that you absolutely must do after a crash, and one of them is filing a police report. After a bad crash, police will often arrive on the scene and conduct the report themselves; however, drivers can also submit a crash report through any local police department. You may have found out that there was a crash report involving your vehicle submitted by another driver or that the information on a police report taken by an officer is incorrect. If this happens to you, a car wreck attorney in Atlanta, Georgia may be able to help you dispute a police report.
Did the Accident Happen?
False accusations through police reports can and do happen. It’s a simple but effective way of getting back at somebody to file a false police report. Now, these are clearly an issue for police, and what you can do is appear at the police station and show that there is no damage to your vehicle. This is exceptionally rare and probably not the case with your claim.
What often happens is that the crash took place, and then you have an agreement, or you have an understanding that no one would report the wreck. It’s very common at crash sites for drivers to say that there’s no reason to report this, but often at least one of them doesn’t mean it.
If the crash happened, then you cannot dispute the report.
What if the Wreck Happened Differently Than What the Report Says?
Common mistakes on police reports include misrepresenting the flow of traffic, the insurance information for the involved parties, and oddly, descriptions of the vehicles. You’ll be hard-pressed to find people who won’t argue the difference between grey and silver. The other elements that often are inaccurate are due to missing information that the police officer or other driver provided to the best of their abilities.
Now, if the wreck happened differently that the crash report describes, you can request an amendment. What you do in that case is to get in contact with your attorney and have them file for a request for amendment through the Atlanta Police Department. You would then need to produce evidence that disproves the information in the crash report.
Does The Report Claim that You’re at Fault?
Often police will put notes on a crash report speculating at fault. Now while police aren’t the end-all-be-all when it comes to a fault in car crashes, they typically know what they’re talking about. But they may not fully understand the situation or may have listed their notes in a confusing or unclear way. The result is often people feeling that the crash report puts them at fault, and that needs to be cleared up.
To sort this out, you can file for amends, as long as you have proof. It’s fairly common that you would get people who believe the report is wrong but can’t provide anything to support their side. A police officer’s notes probably won’t be changed unless they flat out declare someone at fault, and it’s inaccurate such as “car A was parked and hit from behind, Driver A is at fault.” Usually, those mistakes are human error, where the officer simply was thinking of the other driver.
Differences Between Disputing a Police Report and Requesting Amends
Again, you can amend it but not dispute it. What you’re doing with an amend is you’re suggesting a correction and saying, here is the evidence that proves that what is written is wrong and that this is right. You can’t simply walk in and say, “Well, that’s wrong.” The result is that you’re not going to get any help or make any progress on the matter.
Will You Require an Auto Accident Lawyer in Georgia to Dispute a Police Report?
Although it may seem like this should be a very normal part of handling police reports, it’s not. Disputes aren’t something that many police departments in Georgia are willing to handle, and getting an amends is extraordinarily difficult. If you live in Atlanta or other major cities, disputing a report may not be an option at all.
If your crash report contains inaccurate information, then you should move forward with requesting an amends. What you probably can’t do is dispute the report entirely these reports exist as public documentation taken by police officers to record the events surrounding a crash. Now, if your crush report or police report is not correct, then you should contact a local law firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact the law offices of John B. Jackson to begin discussing what went wrong with your crash report and where it is inaccurate.