If you suffer serious injury or someone you love dies in an auto collision in Mississippi, you might experience severe pain, intense anxiety, disabilities, disfigurement, and a long grueling process of rehabilitation.  These difficult physical and emotional challenges can be even more upsetting when you are faced with financial obstacles like high medical bills, prolonged periods off-work, and even an inability to return to work.

Although injury victims have the option of pursuing a legal claim for damages for such a loss, many people never pursue a claim or even talk to their insurance company, especially if the other driver did not suffer significant vehicle damage or any injuries.  A common reason that many people elect not to pursue an auto accident settlement or judgment is because they assume they are at-fault for causing the crash.  Motorists might base their assumption on a traffic ticket, law enforcement accident report, witness feedback (such as passengers or the driver of the other vehicle), or the driver’s own conclusions.  This blog analyzes why collision victims should not simply rely on the conclusions of an accident report or an investigating police officer.

Why Police Accident Reports Might Be Wrong Regarding the “At-Fault” Driver

While the fact you received a traffic citation or you were identified as the “at-fault” driver in a police report is certainly important, police officer and the reports they prepare do not constitute the final word on liability for a car crash in Mississippi.  There are a range of reasons the report might be inaccurate, such as:

• The injured driver was rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention, so the officer only heard the other driver’s version of the accident.
• Mistakes might have been made during the investigation by the officer that resulted in an invalid conclusion.
• Witnesses at the scene who were not truthful might have persuaded the officer to write the report in a way that favored their version of events.
• Police accident investigators often fail to consider factors like unsafe roadway design, construction, or maintenance issues as a cause of accidents.
• The officer’s interpretation of physical evidence at the scene might be influenced by witnesses who were mistaken because of faulty vision or a partially obstructed view.

These are just a few reasons that the conclusions of the police officer in a law enforcement accident report might be inaccurate.  If you are involved in a crash, you should ask the officer for the report number as well as the name and badge number of the officer.  This information will make obtaining a copy of the report easier after it has been completed.  If you find any missing or inaccurate information in the report that might explain why you were determined to have been responsible for causing the accident, you should contact the officer to attempt to get the information corrected.  The officer might amend the report or write a supplemental report.

Issuance of a Traffic Citation Also Is Not a Good Indicator of Financial Responsibility for a Crash

It also is misguided to rely on the assumption that a traffic citation establishes that the crash was your fault.  There are a number of reasons that receipt of a traffic ticket is not necessarily a reliable indicator that you caused a crash:

The traffic ticket might have been issued for a violation unrelated to the car crash.  The officer might have determined that you had non-functioning headlights during the crash investigation.  Although you might be cited for this violation, your non-functioning headlights would not be relevant to the issue of fault if you are rear-ended while at a stop sign.  Further, people get traffic tickets dismissed all the time, which often is based on the fact the officer did not have sufficient evidence to prove that the person cited engaged in the unlawful driving practice.

Our Mississippi Car Accident Lawyers are here to assist you in learning more about your legal options, even if you may partially or completely be at fault for an accident.  Contact Barrett Law today at (601)790-1505 to schedule your free consultation.