Police Officers Are Human
Police officers are human. They don’t always get it right. They don’t always put enough time and effort into investigating every car accident they are called to. Let me tell you the story of my past client, AJ. First, you should know here at Meagher Injury Lawyers we offer a free initial case consultation or review.
AJ’s Story
I was at my office one day when I received a call from AJ. He had just gotten out of the hospital after an extended stay following a car accident. He had to have surgery while in the hospital. His car accident was bad, and I mean really bad. AJ was driving his car during the two-vehicle accident. His good friend and co-worker was a passenger in the vehicle. They had just gotten off work late at night working a fast food drive-thru. The accident was so bad, AJ’s friend passed away as a result of the accident. My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of AJ’s friend.
The Police Report
The police report listed AJ as the at-fault driver in the accident. AJ was bummed. He was adamant the other driver was at fault for the accident. He was not the careless one. The police thought otherwise, and it got even worse for AJ. The police report not only listed AJ as the at-fault driver but indicated video footage obtained from a nearby property that caught the crash on video confirmed AJ was traveling on the wrong side of the roadway at the time of the collision.
AJ’s Perspective
When I spoke with AJ, despite what the police report indicated, he was adamant he was not at fault for the car accident. He was also adamant, though, that the police report got one thing right. He was on the wrong side of the roadway when the crash occurred. How can this be? AJ went on to explain that his crash occurred on a narrow two-lane road that had one lane going in each direction. He recalls first seeing the other driver at a distance come over a hill. The driver was out of control, constantly swerving into AJ’s lane and the other lane. AJ didn’t know what to do. He slowed his vehicle and tried to get out of the other driver’s way, eventually going into the other lane. He was able to get into the wrong lane of travel because this other driver had been in AJ’s lane. The crash happened in the other driver’s lane of travel, not AJ’s. The other driver was arrested for DUI at the scene of the accident.
Investigating the Case
Based on what AJ had told me, it seemed obvious to me AJ was not at fault for the accident. The video footage the police obtained must have only captured the final moments of the crash. It must not have shown the other driver swerving into both lanes of travel constantly. So, I signed AJ up as a client and began investigating his accident further. I sent letters to all nearby property owners asking for any video footage they may have of the accident. I never got any video footage, however. I sent preservation letters to both my client’s auto insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company. I asked that they preserve the vehicles in case I needed to hire an expert to examine the vehicles and perform a reconstruction to show how the accident occurred.
Police Investigation
I called the investigating police officer. I was never able to speak with the investigating officer by phone, but I did leave several messages with him telling him he had to investigate the case further. My client was not at fault. He was in the wrong lane of travel at impact, but the other driver had been swerving into both lanes of travel. Thankfully, the investigating officer must have been listening to my messages. He continued to investigate the case further. It’s my understanding the police reconstructed the accident. This is not uncommon in car accident cases where there is a fatality involved.
The Updated Report
Months later, the police officer finally updated the police report after he completed his investigation. The police officer determined the original police report was incorrect. AJ attempted to avoid a head-on collision by swerving into the other lane. Unfortunately, the collision still occurred, but AJ had no fault in the accident. This is what we needed in order to get a settlement for AJ. We now could show the other driver was at fault in the accident. And because the police officer updated his police report, I went on and was able to settle AJ’s case for the other driver’s insurance policy limits.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
But we weren’t done. You see, thankfully AJ had underinsured motorist coverage on his vehicle. Underinsured motorist coverage provides compensation for you in the event you are in an accident caused by someone who does not have enough insurance to cover all your damages. After settling for the policy limits with the other driver’s insurance company, I was then able to obtain a policy for AJ’s insurance policy. The police officer changed his aide’s policy limit settlement with my client’s underinsured motorist insurer. Thus, AJ received even more compensation.
Key Takeaways
AJ did not give up on his case even though the police report listed him at fault in his accident. Police officers are human. They do not always get it right. It’s often the case that the police report is not even admissible in your injury case. Ultimately, what really matters is what a jury of strangers would think about your case in the event your case has to go to a jury trial. This is ultimately what attorneys and insurance companies are trying to predict with every injury case they handle. Furthermore, even if you are not able to get the police to change the police report like we were able to do in AJ’s case, it does not mean you don’t have an injury case worth pursuing. I’ve handled other cases over the years where my injured client was listed as the at-fault party and we were not able to get the police report changed, but we were still able to get a settlement.
Investigate Further
If the police report lists you as the at-fault driver in the accident, if you are adamant you are not at fault, you need to dig deeper. Investigate your case further. Police officers sometimes get it wrong. The thing is, just because you have now discovered evidence that suggests the police report was wrong in placing you at fault for your car accident does not mean you won’t have to file a lawsuit in your case to get a maximum settlement in your case. In this video about to pop up here, I’ll tell you the circumstances in which you should consider filing a lawsuit in your injury case in order to maximize your settlement.
Final Advice
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember to don’t wait, call Tate.
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