Using a Police Accident Report to Help Settle Your Maryland Personal Injury Claim
In a Maryland auto accident where one or more persons are injured, the Maryland State Patrol or the local police department is called to the scene of the accident. After assisting with injured parties and ensuring that the damaged vehicles are removed or pulled to the side of the road, one other task of law enforcement is to prepare an accident report. Commonly, these are simply called the “police report” of the accident. Police reports can be very helpful when attempting to settle a personal injury accident insurance claim. Police reports can also be useful in preparing for litigation if a personal injury claim cannot be settled and a Maryland personal injury lawsuit must be filed.
If you have been injured in a Waldorf, MD, auto accident, call us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Our number is (301) 870-1200. We are tough, relentless, and committed to maximizing your personal injury settlement. We provide personal injury legal services for all communities in Southern Maryland. Here is some additional information about police reports and how they impact settlements and personal injury litigation.
To begin, a police report plays different roles during settlement negotiations and if personal injury litigation must be filed. During negotiations, a police report is fully available to the attorneys for the insurance company and for the injured party. Every aspect of the police report is available for use, including the investigator’s opinions and conclusions about what happened and who is at fault for the accident. Usually, those opinions and conclusions “carry the day” and result in a settlement. Thus, for obvious reasons, the police report is important for settlement negotiations.
Aside from this, a police report is also extremely valuable as a source of information that allows additional and more detailed investigations. This information can include:
- Date and time of the accident
- Weather conditions
- Details about the vehicles involved
- Names, addresses, and contact information for the parties involved
- Names and contact information for any witnesses that were at the scene
- Simple drawings of the accident scene
- Whether tickets or traffic citations were issued to any party involved
- Who was injured and information about ambulances, etc.
As noted, this information provides the basis for conducting other investigations. In this sense, a police report is like a foundation stone on which a personal injury claim is built. These other investigations usually confirm the opinions and conclusions reached by the police investigator.
If a settlement cannot be reached, then a police report becomes less valuable. Such litigation will have to be filed if you cannot negotiate an insurance settlement for your Maryland auto accident claim. Litigation will have to be filed against the at-fault driver (and maybe others). The insurance company will still be involved since the company is still legally obligated to provide insurance coverage. However, even though everyone has seen and used the police report, it is not central to the litigation. This is because, for various complicated reasons, a police report is not allowed to be used at the trial of a Maryland auto accident, and it cannot be given to the judge as an exhibit in court filings. The most important reason is that a police report generally contains the opinions and conclusions of the police investigator concerning what happened, how it happened, and who is at fault. Those were important during negotiations to settle the insurance claim. But, Maryland courts exclude those types of opinions and conclusions from police investigators because it is for the court and the jury to formulate those opinions and conclusions.
Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today
This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.
