Calling the Police

Throughout the years I have heard so many people tell me that the police are not on your side; I have heard so many defense attorneys tell their clients never to speak to the police. When it comes to a motor vehicle accident or personal injury, Police can be extremely helpful in determining liability and memorializing it in their reports. This is why I tell all my clients that are hurt from the fault of another person to call the police if they are able. At the time of the accident, adrenaline will be high, emotions will be high, and in some cases, people may be very disorientated.

Do not let the other operator convince you not to call the police and to just exchange driving information. While the other driver may appear at the time of the accident like an honest and kind person, this may not be true once you both leave the scene. I have unfortunately seen so many cases where liability is clear at the time of the accident, both parties exchange driving information and my client depends on the other driver’s word that they will be honest when reporting the claim to their insurance company. This however is not always the case. Unfortunately, people lie. My client calls their insurance company and reports the claim truthfully while the other driver calls their insurance company and lies.

A simple call to the police can pay dividends in preserving the truth. After the accident if you are capable of calling the police, do so. When the police arrive at the scene, they can interview witnesses if there are any as well as evaluate the scene and determine based on all the evidence how the accident happened. At this point, a report will be written preserving the truth of how the accident occurred. This step can be crucial if dealing with an at fault driver who later tries to lie to his insurance company transferring liability to you.

There might be situations where calling the police is not an option. In many cases at the time of the accident my clients are so severely injured that they are transported by ambulance to the hospital. In these situations, the opportunity to exchange registrations/driver information with the at fault driver and call the police is not an option. That’s perfectly okay, but this is why hiring an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights is critical.

An experienced personal injury attorney will exhaust all options in preserving any and all evidence determining liability. Such evidence includes traffic camera footage at the scene, following up with local or state police that responded to the scene, and investigating if there were any witnesses.

If you have any questions or have been involved in a motor vehicle accident and want to see if you have a case, call my office at (833) 368-4529 for a free consultation.