He Said She Said Car Accident No Police Report

Filing a car accident claim with an insurance company with no police report often boils down to a “he said, she said” dispute. 

As the first item on your to-do list after a motor vehicle collision, calling 911 serves two important purposes. First, the responding law enforcement agency secures the accident scene by establishing a safe zone around the crash, directs traffic, and encourages onlookers to keep moving along. The responding law enforcement personnel also conduct an investigation that eventually leads to the filing of the official police report.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 90 drivers and passengers die each day in the United States as a result of an auto crash. Not every car accident is that serious or even warrants the involvement of police officers. For example, if you get involved in a fender bender at the local home improvement store, you do not have to call the nearest law enforcement agency to respond to the scene. You and the other motorist exchange insurance information and then head your respective ways.

How should you respond to a car accident that does not include a police report? You want to avoid your insurance claim coming down to your word against the word of the other party. This means you should contact an experienced car accident attorney who specializes in handling motor vehicle collisions that do not involve the filing of an official police report. Your attorney assumes responsibility for conducting a thorough investigation, which includes gathering physical evidence and interviewing witnesses. The information obtained by your lawyer represents the foundation of your insurance claim.

Since 1988, Morgan and Morgan has represented clients that got involved in a motor vehicle collision. Between winning legal judgments and negotiating favorable settlements, the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for our clients. A substantial percentage of the compensation our clients have received came from car accident cases. Our personal injury lawyers understand how to proceed with a car accident claim with no police report, with the goal of avoiding a “he said, she said” dispute.

Find out how a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan can help you receive the compensation that you deserve by scheduling a free case evaluation.

What Is a Police Report?

A police report represents a legal document that describes a car accident in detail, as well as the investigation that follows. It includes all supporting documentation, including a detailed description of the physical evidence and the statements provided by witnesses. The lead investigator is responsible for filing the official police report, but a team of law enforcement personnel might be involved in collecting physical evidence and interviewing witnesses.

The standard police report should contain the date and time of the car accident, as well as the location where the crash took place. A description of road and weather conditions at the time of the car crash follows the initial information. Information concerning every passenger is presented in the same section as the names and contact information for every witness. The most important section of the official police report presents the details of the crash, including what transpired before, during, and after the collision. This section also describes in detail each vehicle involved in the collision, as well as presents a diagram showing the placement of each car at the time of the accident.

The last section is a summary of what law enforcement officers discovered at the scene of the crash.

Why Is a Police Report Important?

After an auto collision, one or more of the parties involved might become disoriented because of the shock of the crash and or the development of one or more injuries. Because of the confusion that frequently follows a motor vehicle collision, none of the parties involved in the accident contacts the nearest law enforcement agency. Some injuries do not develop symptoms until a few hours or a couple of days after a motor vehicle collision, which might delay contacting law enforcement to complete an official police report.

Regardless of the circumstances that unfold after a car accident, contacting a law enforcement agency should be a priority for two important reasons.

First, the chaos that ensues after an auto crash can make it difficult for all parties involved to exchange the information they need to exchange for processing an auto insurance claim. Second, an unsecured accident scene can lead to further chaos in the form of another motor vehicle collision in which one or more parties sustain injuries. Third, the responding law enforcement agency is responsible for conducting an investigation that leads to the submission of the official police report. Both your car accident attorney and the insurance adjuster processing your claim lean heavily on the official police report to determine the status of your case.

How Does My Car Accident Attorney Build a Strong Case With No Police Report?

Even without a police report after a car accident, your attorney can help you avoid a “he said, she said” dispute by providing several types of legal support.

Gather and Organize Physical Evidence

Even with the possession of an official police report, your attorney conducts a separate investigation. Without an official police report, your attorney becomes the lead investigator in your case.

The first step when conducting an investigation involves obtaining the footage captured by a traffic and/or security camera. Video camera footage can show the other party committed one or more acts of negligence, such as running a red light or driving a motor vehicle while texting. Other types of physical evidence to collect include photographs of the accident scene, such as taking photos of tire marks and any damage done to stationary objects within the accident zone. Your attorney also takes photos of the damage done to your motor vehicle to demonstrate the strength and the angle of the impact.

At Morgan and Morgan, we assign every attorney a properly licensed investigator to gather the physical evidence required to file a persuasive insurance claim and possibly a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Interview Witnesses

Witness accounts by themselves do not represent compelling evidence. Instead, witness accounts provide legal support for the physical evidence collected at the scene of the motor vehicle collision. Acting with a sense of urgency after an auto crash is important for several reasons. Perhaps the most important reason to take swift action after a car accident concerns the information provided by witnesses.

Witnesses tend to be more accurate when they provide information close to the date of the accident. For instance, a witness who provides a statement five days after a car accident typically provides more accurate information than a witness who gives a statement a couple of months after a motor vehicle collision. Your attorney is looking to acquire information from several witnesses that provide the same supportive information.

How Does My Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me File an Insurance Claim?

Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney delivers many benefits, including helping you file a convincing insurance claim that gets you the compensation that you deserve. In addition to submitting compelling physical evidence and obtaining witness statements, a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan provides legal support in three other ways when you file an insurance claim. 

Calculate Compensation

One of the most common reasons for a denied insurance claim concerns a policyholder filing a claim requesting an unreasonable value for compensation. The personal injury lawyer assigned to your case by Morgan and Morgan calculates a fair value for compensation by first adding up all the tangible expenses associated with your case, such as medical bills and the receipts generated by repairing your automobile. Then, your lawyer places a value on pain and suffering. Many victims of car accidents develop emotional distress issues, such as the symptoms that develop because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To calculate a reasonable value for pain and suffering, your personal injury lawyer uses a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Negotiate a Settlement

If the insurance company processing your claim denies it, you have two options in pursuit of receiving just compensation. You can file an appeal, which should be considered the second option because of the amount of time it takes to complete the appeal process. The more appealing option involves negotiating a favorable settlement with the insurance adjuster processing your claim.

Negotiations start when your personal injury attorney submits an initial offer. The other party either accepts or rejects the initial offer. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you receive a letter that either presents a counteroffer or states you must go through the appeals process to contest the denied claim. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow the rejection of the initial offer until both sides agree to a settlement or decide to take the claim to the appeals process.

Acts as an Intermediary

Dealing with an insurance adjuster can consume a considerable amount of your time, as well as increase your stress level. Going through the insurance claim process often represents an exercise in frustration between waiting to hear back from an adjuster to having your claim move slowly through the processing system. By hiring one of the highly-rated car accident attorneys at Morgan and Morgan, you can rest assured your claim receives prompt attention, as well as is treated fairly by the insurance adjuster.

Working with a Morgan and Morgan personal injury lawyer allows you to spend more time recovering from your injuries.

Take Action Today

Getting involved in a car accident with no police report can lead to a “he said, she said” dispute that prolongs the processing of an insurance claim. Hiring one of the experienced personal injury attorneys from Morgan and Morgan can help you avoid a “said, she said” dispute by gathering the physical evidence you need to get an insurance claim approved. Your lawyer also might find enough physical evidence that demonstrates another party committed at least one act of negligence. If you can prove negligence, then your attorney files a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Do not procrastinate filing an insurance claim and/or a personal injury lawsuit, especially if your car accident case does not include a police report. Schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan.