Today’s blog topic is a common question that the law firm receives:
“SHOULD I CALL THE POLICE AFTER I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION?”
I highly recommend, particularly, if you are not at fault, calling the police after a minor collision or a moderate accident. In more significant accidents, other people will call the police or it will just be abundantly obvious that the police should be called as the cars need to be towed and so forth.
What I have seen a lot this year for some reason, is that my clients would get into a smaller-type accident and the other person begs for the client not to call the police. The client agrees to this and sometimes phone numbers are exchanged and/or insurance information exchanged. What can happen in these situations?:
- First of all, someone can give the wrong phone number and then when you call them later to pay to fix your car, you have no recourse.
- The second thing that can happen is that the person, after telling you that they will pay to fix your car, changes their story and says it was not their fault, basically, refusing to pay to fix your car. If you have their actual name and real phone number you could sue the person, this possibly could hinder that process. For example- In a case I am working on, after exchanging phone numbers with the other car who acknowledged fault, the client received an estimate to fix his car at about $500. He called the person that hit him, who, then, sent my client to another shop. my client received a cheaper price there (BUT why should he have to go to another shop???). Plus, the other driver essentially refused to pay the lower bill also. In another recent case, even after acknowledging fault and complying to exchange information and phone numbers, the other car claimed that the damage to my client’s car was there beforehand and that they were not at fault for the present damages and that she did not owe anything to my client.
In these situations, much of the problems that the clients are having would have easily been avoided if the police had been called and a report written up. While the police report is inadmissible, it is extremely helpful in resolving property damage issues. This is very persuasive to an insurance company. Furthermore, the police will ask the other driver for their insurance information. Which in the cases mentioned above, has become challenging to get from the other driver(s) solely with their phone number. The police will also document the VIN number of the other car. The VIN number deems itself useful in determining the insurance information when and if the other driver does not have the insurance card or insurance information.
Thus far, I am only talking about helping the client with getting their car fixed. These problems are compounded if the client is injured and ultimately seeks to make an injury claim against the other driver.
Thus, the answer to the questions is that it is highly recommended to call the police after ANY car accident, especially if you are not the one at fault. The other person may have good intentions about fixing your car BUT, this very well may change later. They may acknowledge fault at the scene of the accident and would do so to the police BUT may change their story later. Commonly, the other person is afraid of making an insurance claim against their policy since their car insurance rates may go up because they caused an accident. Which is why they may make a persuasive argument to just exchange numbers and/or names. While this CAN work out, many times it does NOT work out. Which may finally result in you, yourself, having to fix your own car, even though it was not your fault.
Every case is different and must be judged on its merits. It is a good start to get a complementary consultation regarding an accident case in case this happens to you. The advise contained in this blog is intended to be of general matter and not as to a specific situation, so please call a licensed Florida attorney. If you or a loved one has been in an accident, feel free to call the injury and accident lawyer at Drucker Law Offices, Gary J. Drucker at 561-483-9199 or 954-755-2120 or 305-981-1561.
I recommend calling the police so that a report can be written when you are in a car accident. This way, all insurance will be documents, the damages to your car will be documents, and statements from the drivers and any witnesses will be documented.
