Police reports for accidents not only explain what happened, but also make a determination of who was at fault.  For example, you were driving down a road when someone failed to pay attention and rear-ended your car.  If there are physical injuries or damage to public property reported, the police will come to the scene to assess the situation and summon paramedics and, possibly, traffic control officers.  First responding law enforcement officers will generally take notes and witness statements, make measurements and, sometimes, photograph the scene and physical damages.  Back at the station, they write up the accident report and all notes, measurements, diagrams and witness statements are summarized therein.  It is in this final report that police attribute who they “believe” is at fault.  This report has enormous influence on insurance companies and the decision they make to settle or deny the claim.

Fault findings in a police report are extremely important because insurance companies (adjusters and defense attorneys hired by insurance companies) will rely upon those findings to deny liability or use it as an excuse to not resolve a claim for a fair amount of compensation.  However, police fault findings are not always reliable or accurate.

When it becomes necessary to refute the fault findings in a police report in order to receive fair compensation, here is what you need to know:

The 5 Ways To Disprove And Refute Erroneous Police Fault Findings:

1) Hearsay.  The hearsay rule precludes police reports as admissible evidence at trial.  Police reports are ruled inadmissible in court because the statements and opinions expressed therein by a law enforcement officer are hearsay.  The classic example of hearsay is when a person testifying at trial repeats the statement of another witness (who is not testifying in court) which is used to prove the truth of the matter asserted.  For example, a defense witness offered to dispute liability testifying in court to the following:  “Someone at the scene told me that the cyclist was riding erratically and might have caused the accident.”  In the absence of a valid exception to the hearsay rule, opinions regarding fault written in a police report by a police officer are not admissible because it is hearsay on hearsay (double hearsay).

2) Not a Qualified Expert.  Although Police officers, Sheriff deputies and CHP officers do receive some training in accident investigation and some instruction regarding the law (Vehicle Code) as it applies to the rules of the road, they are not qualified accident reconstruction experts;  they are not lawyers or judges.  The determination of liability, by judge or jury, is usually based on the opinions rendered by highly paid forensic accident reconstruction experts at trial.

3) Non-Dispositive Findings.  The opinions by a law enforcement officer are not an adjudication of fault and, therefore, such opinions are not dispositive of anything.  The determination of fault, based on admissible evidence in a court of law, is reserved for the trier(s) of fact, (either a judge or jury) after a full-blown trial.

4) Drawings in a police report are not Accurate – Not Complete – Not to Scale.  Because police usually arrive after an accident occurred, their drawings, measurements and estimation of the point of impact are often a “best guess” based on witness statements and the location of damaged vehicles and debris.  Therefore, the “conclusion” of the officer/deputy about the location of the point of impact and “analysis” of skid marks and direction of travel are not real conclusions, but are really speculative and conjectural.

5) No Legal Experience.  Attorneys and judges are experts in the law.  Jurors are instructed on the law through jury instructions given to them by the Judge.  Officers/deputies, however, have no law school or other comprehensive legal training and must rely on a cursory understanding of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other rudimentary rules of criminal procedure and constitutional law.

6) Potential bias.  When law enforcement officers respond to the scene of an accident involving injuries to a road cyclist, they all too often blame the cyclist and author a police report which concludes with a finding of fault against the cyclist.  Perhaps, this happens so frequently because they know that cyclists are, statistically, the cause of accidents over 60% of the time, or perhaps it is their lack of accident reconstruction expertise.  I have my own opinion based on my personal experience with Malibu and Lost Hills Sheriff Deputies who appear to have a bias against cyclists and tend to find cyclists at fault for accidents involving other vehicles.

Whatever the reason, it is important to understand that police reports are not the end-all-be-all of who is at fault in an accident.  If you have concerns about the fault in a police report related to you, we advise you to discuss this with your lawyer right away. A police report does not have to be the final word.

Disclaimers:

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction.  This blog is not intended to, and does not, create an attorney client relationship, an offer of employment or a guarantee of success for clients of The Drexler Law firm.  No information or representation contained in this post should be construed as an offer of employment, guarantee of success or the creation of an attorney client relationship with The Drexler Law firm, nor as legal advice from The Drexler Law Firm or the individual author.  No reader of this post should act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer in the corresponding jurisdiction.

There are time deadlines during which a case must be brought, according to your jurisdiction or state, and failing to abide by the jurisdictional statute of limitation rules can result in your case being time-barred.

This blog is not intended to be a complete summary of the myriad of legal issues facing parents, children and the law and there are numerous additional issues, including related to driving.

For additional information, please review the California State Bar’s published guide entitled: “Kids and the Law: An A-to-Z Guide for Parents.”