DC car accident police reports can be a helpful aid in your personal injury case. But that does not mean that they are decisive. It is almost wholly inadmissible if we go to trial to litigate your case. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted. A police “report” is a statement for hearsay purposes. Thus, they are inadmissible if provided to the court to prove the truth of the matter asserted within them. However, they may still be admissible in court for other reasons. For example, they may be used by a police officer to refresh his memory on the witness stand.
So, why do insurance carriers take police reports so seriously? There are a few reasons. For one, the insurance adjusters negotiating settlements on car accident cases did not go to law school or fully understand the rules of evidence. Of course, there remains the possibility that they are feigning ignorance to benefit their argument. Nonetheless, even if the police report for your DC car accident case blames you, it is not conclusive that you are liable.
In Washington, D.C., when you get into a car accident, the police report is known as a PD-10. It is given a six-digit identifying number. We must note this number as we will ask for it during your consultation. While slower, we are happy to request a police report on your behalf. To do this, we have you sign a police authorization form from our office. We then send this form to the Metropolitan police department along with other requisite information. We request police reports from their department via mail or e-mail. This is slower than if you go into the police department on 441 4th Street, NW, and get it yourself.
If you choose to request the police report yourself, you may submit your request to mpd.public-docs@dc.gov or send them a letter yourself. In this e-mail or letter, you must include your full name, date of the accident, location of the accident, police report number, time of the accident, a copy of your photo identification, and a copy of a completed version of PD Form 10B—Application for PD Form 10 Accident Report.
The fastest option is to go in person. Note that in-person requests are made by appointment only. To make this appointment, you need the date of the accident, the six-digit police report number, or a valid government-issued photo identification. You do not need all three.
A police report has several notable components a personal injury lawyer can use following your car accident. Below, we list the components most relevant to your case and valuable to the law firm you use to represent you.
These are essential facts to provide to the insurance carrier on both sides to proceed with settlement negotiations on your case. When we report an accident on your behalf, we need certain information to successfully and comprehensively report on. The insurance carrier will only consider the accident reported if we have sufficient information. The issue arises when a client needs clarification on all pertinent facts. There are several justifiable reasons for this. For example, a client may have been in too much pain and physically disabled to learn specific information. A brain injury may have caused a blackout, causing the plaintiff not to remember any information. Fortunately, the DC police typically do an excellent job collecting relevant information.
While clients may remember the date, time, and location, they are sometimes expected not to get all the car information. We need the car’s tag number, make and model, and the year it was manufactured. All information is relevant to your DC car accident case for a different reason. The year your car was manufactured can be important when we learn whether your car has been deemed a “total loss.” An insurance company is far quicker to consider a 2008 car a total loss than a 2024 car. This has implications on property damage and the pain and suffering award you may receive in your case.
Like missing the car information, we need the tortfeasor’s insurance information. If you neglect to collect this information at the accident scene, we should be able to get it from the police report, assuming it was inputted correctly. Remember, we cannot simply use your uninsured motorist coverage without first doing our due diligence and ensuring no insurance on the other side. We need to present proof to your insurance company of the absence of that coverage.
This is both useful and entirely worthless at the same time. The police officer will speak to witnesses and all drivers to get an idea of what happened. They will then identify each vehicle in the accident as “vehicle one” or “vehicle two.” The report will then describe the way the accident happened. While beneficial for giving an attorney and insurance carrier an idea of what happened, they should not be relied upon. Moreover, they are inadmissible in court. However, the witness who informed the officer that the accident was your fault can still testify at trial if he witnessed the accident occur.
If you believe the information in the police report is inaccurate, it is imperative to inform your DC injury attorney immediately. Which part of the report that is incorrect dictates how vital the issue is. If it is a faulty policy number for a party’s insurance, whether yours or the adverse party’s, we will find that out very quickly. However, informing your attorney and getting ahead of the issue will save time and allow your case to be processed by the insurance company faster.
Unfortunately, police reports impact insurance claims for car accidents in DC. Insurance carriers rely on police report narratives to determine liability. This is a lazy version of establishing fault. Our legal team conducts a thorough investigation to collect evidence and determine fault based on facts. There is a reason why police report narratives are inadmissible in court: they are unreliable.
Nonetheless, they do influence insurance adjusters. When this happens, we still like to try to settle your case to save on the cost of filing your case in court and on witnesses. Thus, we can, and often do, explain why the facts of the case contradict and, indeed, supersede the narrative included in the report. However, note that the police report narrative is correct a large majority of the time. But it is incorrect enough that it should not be relied upon.
Police reports are just one component of your DC car accident case. Call our office today for a free consultation if you have any questions or believe you have a case.
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