LAWYER

Don't you have a State Board of Insurance there in California that you can contact? But than again California has to be one of the 2 most screwed up states in the union....Guess which the other one is?

Morgan & Morgan

Illinois?

 

This.

There are now signs on the freeway in California that say "Involved in a minor accident? Pull off the freeway and exchange information".
Basically, don't call us, deal with it amongst yourselves.

Always get a police report.

Always.

Damn....Should have said 3

People dealing with other people in a high stress situation without a mediary?

 

It is a much higher hurdle but he is not completely hosed.

Why is it a much higher hurdle? Police report or lack thereof isn't an issue at all. Well, maybe it is to some shithead insurance adjuster, but it's not to the legal system.

The fact that no ambulance was called at the scene, the fact that no police were called, the fact that he didn't start having pain or seek treatment until months later ... those are problems. Lack of report isn't. It's not like lack of a report means the accident didn't happen, someone wasn't at fault, etc. Courts decide those things without police reports (which are inadmissible anyway in most states) all the time.

I guess it differs state to state. In Texas I would always get a police report unless it happened on private property like a parking lot. On a public roadway a police report goes a long way here.

Xrays don't show damage to a disc

For the people

IANAL just a guy who has been in a couple of accidents, had his parked car hit, and his POV vandalized. Oh yeah and I was sued once. In the cases where I was hit by others, and thankfully never injured, I notified my insurance and turned over the police reports, my insurance company sent me to the local body shop when I was in CA and things got fixed. I never had to go to court.

When I was sued here in WV, I gave a police report, notified the insurance company about my accident, and never knew another thing about it till my insurance went up and found out the bastard sued for damages that exceed the value of his car and claimed injuries. The settlement indicated his car was worth more than I thought, but less than he assumed, and that he was injured as badly as I suspected. Apparently I hurt his feeling when I told the cops what I thought of his middle aged never had a driver's license ass.

The police reports, as the lawyer who represented my mother when she was sued (for the value of a nice home) explained it, establishes (or at least is supposed to) some facts. The accident happened, no visible injuries on the scene (injuries that require immediate transport are basically their own proof according to the lawyer), who the drivers were (or at least claim to be), who the passengers were (or at least claim to be){the lawyer actually rolled his eyes when he said that}, whether anyone was visibly intoxicated (or tested), which vehicles were involved in the wreck, time of day and some other things. The rest is a whodunit of he said she said, unless someone immediately claims responsibility.

Edited, I see you add some things while I was writing my post and editing it for an intelligent thought. Yes, people can win in court without a police report, yes it happens a lot. However, having the proper documentation, if possible, helps get your insurance company off it's ass and starts the ball rolling. Does it mean they will actually do their damn job, hell no. But in every case I have been involved in, even when I was at fault, a police report somehow seemed to make things a lot less of a hassle.

The most hassle I ever had with an insurance company was when some clown hit my car in a parking lot in Murrietta, CA (I was there to see Col. Lewis Millett give a talk to a local Republican group). Since it was a damaged car in a parking lot and the owner never left a note, I did not bother to call the Murrieta PD or whomever serviced the area at that time. I contacted my insurance and spent several hours on the phone trying to get them to pony up and fix the damage, I had one bitch ask how they knew that the accident happened the way I said it did... That was the time I thought I was going to have to get an attorney to get the ball rolling on getting my truck fixed.

It's a hurdle because the people involved in the accident have time to talk to their insurance companies and "figure out" their story. A police report, while it is considered hearsay, is still considered qualified to be read into evidence because it contains statements from all parties involved immediately after the incident while their memories are still fresh.

For example, on a police report the driver of a vehicle might say "I didn't see the car in front of me stopping," to which the insurance company goes "Oh, so you weren't paying attention." Without those on-scene admissions, the insurance companies have the time tune the driver's statements to decrease liability.

No one has to pay until a court makes them. Initiate a suit now.
Retain a lawyer.
Get medical attention and documentation of your "loss"
Good luck.

Always have a police response.
Get transported if injured.

Don't invite the man into your life!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

not having a police report will cost you unfortunately and time has passed too, which will be an uphill battle.

A Police report would have at least documented that the incident happened and put all parties there. Car C rear ended car B; possibly causing car B to strike car A. All three units exchange information and go their merry ways. Now car C is hurt, car B's insurance is claiming that car C is all at fault, and now car C is basically pleading the 5th so their insurance company is claiming there is no evidence C was involved...... What  a mess.

What we know is that two witnesses (car A and car B) put car C on scene, involved, and at fault. And its apparent that car C and their insurance company is trying to get out of this.


In this case about all you can do is get an attorney to sue car B and C and their insurance companies.

Well, if your are drunk, muling cocaine, have outstanding warrants, or there is a dead hooker in the trunk, yeah I would opt for the no cops rule. In this case, it is kind of necessary.

I am not saying that the OP had a dead hooker or cocaine in the trunk of his car...or anything like that.Please do not sue me OP.

Go and see at least two lawyers.  Ask them what they can do for you.  Pick the one with the best answer.  



Be prepared to BRIEFLY explain why you didn't file a police report.  

OP, check your IM.

Don't worry... You got at least 4 months before he starts thinking about sueing you.

 

 

An accident report is the result of an investigation by the reporting officer; the results of the investigation include a diagram based upon the officer's reconstruction of the accident.

Physical evidence is used for this.

Witness interviews may assist in the reconstruction of the accident.

My accident reports were used in civil cases any number of times.

Accidents involving death or serious injury were handled by the specialists who are experts in accident reconstruction.

Where in Virginia do you practice that this information is not admissible?

Dbrowne1, I'm a cop who did the law school thing. I happen to agree with you here -you're dead on, for the most part. Except when it's a reconstruction report....

And it's even funnier to watch lawyers try to tell cops how to do their jobs.

Which is a problem regardless of whether there's a police report.



No it's not. In fact, it's specifically EXCLUDED from admission into evidence in many states' statutes, even if it weren't inadmissible hearsay (which it is).

For example (this one's for Stickman): http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.52.080

Wait.

You're from Virginia.

OP is from California.

And you're linking me shit from Washington?

I got an idea. Why don't you look in the Supreme Court of Virginia Rules of Evidence, Rule 2: 803 (5) and (8).

How were they "used" in civil cases?

"Used" is a very vague term. The reports aren't admissible ANYWHERE in the state, in ANY court, because the Code says so and because much of their contents would be hearsay in any event.

This is really basic stuff.

And GD bitches about paying for cops..............

It works amazingly well most of the time

"Accident reconstruction" evidence is extremely limited in terms of what's allowed into evidence in my state - but that's a product of my state's specific case law and may not apply elsewhere.

The normal "check the box" accident reports generally aren't admissible anywhere, though maybe there are a small number of states where they are.

The reports aren't admissible in CA, either. California Vehicle Code section 20013 provides: “No such accident report shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident...”

I got a better idea - why don't you go read https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-378 and get back to me.

Do you have personal injury protection coverage, medical payments  coverage or uninsured motorist coverage? If you do not I fear you are shit outta luck and hiring a lawyer won't help. At least not against your insurance company.

It happened in California.

Or did you not read the OP?

But let me get this straight. I can come to Virginia, drive 100 miles an hour, crash into a school bus, kill 30 kids, and they can't use the POLICE REPORT against me in a criminal trial?

If you didnt seek treatment for months after the accident you might be out of luck. A lawyer might not even be able to help with that. Defandant's insurance company will most likely say that since theres a huge treatment gap,  its impossible to relate those injuries directly to the accident. If you need treatment and cant pay for it call your insurance co and see if you have med pay coverage. Typically itd be between $5,000-$10,000 for medical expenses after an accident.  its not tons of money but it can help.

Go read California Vehicle Code section 20013 and get back to me. It reads almost identically to the VA code section.

Better yet, go find us a single state where they ARE admissible.

But let me get this straight. I can come to Virginia, drive 100 miles an hour, crash into a school bus, kill 30 kids, and they can't use the POLICE REPORT against me in a criminal trial?

This is the best answer so far. I agree.

Do you understand English? Did you read the Code section I just linked? Did you read the one in California, and the other one in Washington, too?

The report doesn't come in as evidence. If the guy who wrote the report gets subpoenaed, he can testify to things he observed directly or to statements that fit a hearsay exception. That's it.

The section linked me says the report can't be used as evidence in a criminal trial. So answer my question.

Read it again, Sparky. Or find someone who can read, to read it to you. It applies to both civil and criminal trials.

It's amazing how you can arrogantly and condescendingly avoid answering a simple fucking question. Stop acting like a d-bag. If you want to give legal advice over the internet and have a serious discussion about this, you'd be best to drop the attitude. Otherwise, GTFO.

What question have I not answered? Police accident reports are not admissible as evidence in any criminal or civil trial in Virginia. Or in California. I posted citations to the relevant Code sections. Is there some other windmill that you'd like to tilt at, now?

Long story short.  My wife was cited for failure to yield.  The officer didn't see the accident, he just reported the information that he collected at the scene.  There was one witness that my wife contacted and the witness stated that she didn't think the other drivers headlights were on..  This accident occured just prior to "dawn".  This came up in court and the judge asked the officer about it, he stated that he didn't witness the accident.  The judge dismissed the charges.

For someone who conducts business on this site, you'd think you would treat your potential customers a little nicer.

I'll go find someone a lot more polite and a little less full of himself to answer my questions.

Nice chatting with you, Dave.

To be fair, it depends on the day.

I just learned the hard way the only way to win is to become what you hate. Play dirty, I promise you everyone else is.