Hi, my name is Matt Eason. In this video, we’ll address the question of whether a police report automatically goes to your insurance company after an accident. I’ve been practicing personal injury law here in Sacramento for 25 years and regularly see wrong police reports.
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Clients often ask me, “Will that report automatically go to their insurance company?” The short answer is no.
It’s helpful to understand the purpose of the police report to understand why a police report does not automatically go to an insurance company. A police officer is not a judge, is not a jury, not an arbitrator. A police officer typically did not see the accident occur. A police officer is rather someone who acts as a historian. They come to the accident scene. They may take statements from witnesses. They may take photographs. They may take measurements to help someone, later on, conclude who was at fault in the accident. Yes, at the bottom of the police report, an officer often will attribute fault, but that’s just their opinion of fault and not binding on anybody.
Because the police report is not binding on anybody, it is subject to interpretation and argument, and it is subject to being factually wrong. As such, it is not automatically sent to the insurance companies after an accident. If a police report is inaccurate, you have the right to challenge that in court; in fact, most police reports themselves are not even admissible in evidence in court.
That said, it is one of the first documents an insurance company will ask for after an accident because it helps the company perform its due diligence to determine who is at fault in an accident.
Sometimes, the police report does not automatically go to the insurance company because it is not a conclusive, binding statement of fact against or for you. However, it is usually sent to the insurance company by one side or the other to advocate their point and provide facts that might suggest why somebody was at fault.
My name again is Matt Eason. If you’ve been involved in a car accident and have questions about insurance or making a claim, I hope you consider contacting one of our Sacramento auto accident lawyers. It’s Eason & Tambornini. We are located at 1234 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Our phone number is (916) 438-1819.
