If you’ve been involved in a car accident and are filing a personal injury case, keep in mind that there is probably a police report available that you can access.
How to get a copy of the police report
You generally can’t include a copy of the police report as evidence in court. That said, you can certainly use it as evidence before your claim goes to trial (if this ever occurs!) Be sure to remember the law department that the officer who came to your accident scene and drafted the report is from. Call the department and ask them how you can obtain a copy of the report.
Note that you’ll get the report faster if you can give the officer’s name and badge number. You can also make an online request. You’ll generally need to pay a small fee to access the police report, as per personal injury lawyer in Burlington.
How to use the police report in your case
Be sure to gather all official documents that are related to your case. Doing so will only make your case stronger. Examples of these documents include medical records and copies of medical bills.You can draft and include a demand letter.
You can find important facts in the police report
You can find facts like the day and time the accident occurred, the weather conditions at the time of the accident, the names of any witnesses.
You can’t include a police report as evidence in court because it’s considered to be hearsay. The reason being is that the police officer didn’t witness the accident as it occurred. Therefore, he or she doesn’t have any firsthand knowledge of exactly what occurred. There is another reason why you can’t use police reports as evidence in court – it’s impossible to cross-examine a package of documents.
What you will need for your appeal
Present the evidence for your case in a calm and professional manner. Argue that you have sufficient evidence that proves that you need benefits.An interesting section of the complaint is the demand for judgment. It’s also known as a prayer for relief. This is your chance to tell the courts how and what amount you want the defendant to pay you in monetary damages. It also lets the courts know how exactly you want it to punish the defendant.
The summons warns the defendant that he or she has a certain amount of time to formally file an answer to your complaint. The defendant can try to have your case dismissed during this period of time. The defendant will be alerted as to the possible consequences that he or she will face for not responding to the summons in time.
