
You may know that one of the first actions you must take after your car accident is to call 911 so that a law enforcement officer can conduct a police report. But you may not understand exactly how this official report is to help your future car accident claim. Follow along to find out how a police report might benefit your case and how a proficient St. Mary’s County car accident lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you in the filing process.
How can a police report benefit my car accident case?
As the plaintiff of a car accident case, you carry a burden of proof. Meaning, you must present the court with enough pieces of proof that point to the negligence of the other driver (i.e., the defendant). And so, a copy of the police report conducted at the scene of your accident is arguably one of the important pieces of proof that you need to make this point. Without further ado, some of the many benefits of a police report are as follows:
- It offers a neutral account of your accident by an unbiased third party (i.e., a law enforcement officer).
- It offers an expert observation of how the events of your accident likely played out (i.e., the direction of skid marks, the direction of cars upon collision, etc).
- It offers an expert opinion on how external factors may have contributed to your accident (i.e., the inclement weather conditions, the present weather-related debris, the present safety hazards, etc).
- It provides a comprehensive, visual diagram of the scene of your accident.
- It provides the contact information of the other driver (i.e., the defendant), along with their car insurance information.
- It provides the contact information of present witnesses, along with their testimonies on the events of your accident.
- It allows a law enforcement officer to serve as a witness in your case proceedings later on.
What is the statute of limitations for my case?
It is in your best interest to collect a copy of the police report while you are still at the scene of your accident. This is because you must make time to collect the other pieces of proof necessary for your case (i.e., surveillance camera footage, medical records, medical bills, personal statements by loved ones, etc).
Collecting this proof may take time, so you must be mindful of the statute of limitations at play. In the state of Maryland, the deadline for filing personal injury claims, such as car accident cases, is generally three years.
That said, you must not do anything to jeopardize your personal injury claim. So please retain the services of a talented St. Mary’s County auto accident lawyer from The Dorsey Law Firm as soon as you can.