- July 2, 2021
A car accident report in Buffalo, NY is the most important piece of evidence that can help you claim compensation. This accident report is submitted in court to the jury and the insurance company during the case proceedings. As much as this seems unlikely to happen, attorneys often get calls complaining that the report of their car crash is faulty or has errors.
These errors seem minor but cause an individual to pay for something they didn’t do. To steer clear of any such situation you need to go through your report thoroughly. If you notice any mistakes, you must get them corrected no matter how insignificant they seem.
There are a few things you need to know about your car accident report in Buffalo, NY.
Details Included in Car Accident Report in Buffalo, NY:
A car accident report in Buffalo, NY contains valuable information adding up to prove your guilt or innocence in the case. It can let the jury and insurance company verify your version of events in the accident. This information includes:
- Accident details (time, date, location, etc.)
- Statement from the drivers or witnesses involved
- Contact information for all involved witnesses and parties
- Injury documentation
- Witness contact and statement
- Photographs and a scene diagram
- Damage to vehicles
- The narrative from the officer and opinion of fault
- Citations issued
Common Errors in Reporting:
If any part of the information provided is faulty it can jeopardize the investigation and invalidate your version. Some of the mistakes that police officers usually make include:
- Incorrect description of the damage to the vehicles
- Placing drivers or passengers of the vehicles in the wrong car
- Faulty crash diagram
- Erroneous narrative reporting including mixing up the cars
- Misquoting the words of involved parties or witnesses
- Failing to include the necessary information
- Misreporting an injury complaint of a driver or passenger
- Reporting that no one was injured or that no injuries were reported
- Error in noting the speed of the vehicles involved
- Fault in the report of physical evidence at the scene
- Failure in including any driver or witness statement because of injury or unavailability
How to Fix a Faulty Car Crash Police Report:
A police report might sound to you like a rigid piece of document that once written cannot be changed. However, it is a misconception. The law considers human error a real thing and allows the involved parties to request amendments in the report. The police officer might have misheard some detail or noted down the wrong time of the day. This is very much a possibility being amid such a chaotic situation.
Bearing that in mind, here is what you can do to get your car accident report in Buffalo, NY fixed:
1. Request an Amendment to Your Police Report:
If you end up in a car crash case and you find an error in the police report, you must contact the police department. Dial the non-emergency number to inquire about the process of getting the report amended. The department will most likely assign the same officer who wrote the report to handle the amendment. So it is important to keep your tone polite and courteous. However, the approval of the amendment also depends on the type of error in your report.
2. Factual Vs Narrative Errors:
Factual errors are relatively easier to amend. As long as you have a document to prove the error, you will face no trouble. It is easier to detect a factual error, which is usually something like reporting the wrong make of the car or the wrong location of the accident. To prove against the report, you could use the pictures you took at the accident scene and the statements of a witness.
If the report has non-factual, narrative errors you would have to go through a great struggle to amend the report. This is because you won’t have anything to prove the error. A non-factual error would be something like a witness statement.
If the statement includes something you don’t agree with, you have the choice to account for the events in the accident on your own. Your version will then be submitted as evidence with the police report. Unfortunately, this type of evidence can be subjective and create a dispute, and it may end up not being included in the report.
Take Help of a Car Accident Attorney:
If you spot an error in your car accident report in Buffalo, NY, you should hire a car accident attorney. They will help you in proving the error and settling the amendment in your favor. Our team at Buffalo Car Accident Lawyers are experts in dealing with car accident cases. Contact us to discuss your case or just visit us online.
