The information in a police report could add to the weight of a personal injury case. In other words, it could act to strengthen such a case.

When do the police report on an accident?

The report is made if and when the police get called to the scene. If no one that was involved called the police, then no offices would arrive on the scene, and no officers would speak with the involved parties, or with any witnesses.
What sort of information could be found in a police report?

Claimants that have obtained such a document have access to some noteworthy facts. Many of the facts that need to get mentioned in a demand letter can be found the information reported by any officers that might have arrived at the scene.

For instance, that reported information should include mention of the accident’s location, as well of the time of day, when it took place. The names of any cross streets should also be mentioned. Of course, there would be no picture of those same streets, or of any spot where the 2 of them happened to intersect. There might be a rough drawing.

Personal Injury Lawyer in St John’s knows that a police report could become a settlement tool. It could make reference to a citation that was given to one of the disputing parties. Obviously, the party that received the citation had been negligent. If there was proof that the same negligence had caused a given claimant’s injury, then the negligent party could be asked to compensate the injured claimant.

Some police reports contain the names of witnesses. That can prove helpful, if the reported collision had resulted from a huge impact, and the victim had been taken to the hospital. In that case, the report’s information could provide the recovering victim with details on the accident, along with witnesses’ names.

Limits on the utilization of police reports

Any document that has information reported by police officers is deemed inadmissible in court. Why is that the case? The legal system certainly recognizes the officers’ right to arrive at and report on the scene of an accident.

The reported details are viewed as hearsay, because the officers did not actually see the accident, when it was taking place. Judges are tasked with the job of ruling if and when any piece of evidence qualifies as hearsay. Something that does qualify as hearsay cannot be presented to the jury.

If a police officer’s car were to become involved in an auto accident, then that same officer would be allowed to testify in court. His or her testimony would hold a great deal of weight, because it could not qualify as hearsay. Any claimant should consider that possibility.