Georgia law enforcement encourages all drivers to report a traffic accident by calling 911. A police officer will come out to the scene to investigate and create an accident report. Your insurance company (or the other driver’s insurance company) will use this report as part of your personal injury case.
What kind of information is contained in the accident report?
An officer will fill out an accident report with all of the vital information from the accident, using a set of crash report codes. This data includes things like:
- The name, address, phone number, or other contact information for everyone involved in the incident, including witnesses, drivers, passengers, and property owners
- A description of all of the vehicles or objects involved in the collision
- Any contributing factors to the accident, including driver qualities and road conditions
- A general explanation of how the accident occurred, including precise information about the crash, such as where the vehicles hit one another and the direction that each car was traveling just before the accident
Why are accident reports relevant to a legal case?
You may have heard that police reports are not admissible evidence in court. Generally speaking, this is true. Accident reports are “hearsay,” meaning the officer didn’t see the crash happen firsthand—and they aren’t allowed to be presented to a judge or jury for that reason. But, your accident report is still beneficial to your personal injury case.
You can almost guarantee that when you call the police officer that reported to investigate your car accident, they will rely heavily on what they wrote in their report when testifying. Police investigate so many car accidents that it’s difficult to keep them straight. Instead, they rely on their police report to jog their memory. In most circumstances, the police officer who created the report will testify almost exactly the same as what their report states.
Both the experienced attorneys at John Foy & Associates and the other driver’s insurance company likely know this information—and they will look to the police report as an indication of what information a police officer who is called to testify will say. Police officers are generally very credible witnesses because they have no bias in the car accident claim. They have no reason to create a police report that is untruthful or incomplete in most circumstances, which means their testimony (and by extension, their police report), will very influential in your case.
Do you need help after a car accident?
John Foy & Associates can help you use the police report applicable to your collision to your advantage. We have nearly 20 years of experience dealing with insurance companies and police officers in car accident cases. Let us put that experience to work for you. Fill out the form to your right or call us at 404-400-4000 to get your FREE consultation today.
