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The police officer didn't file accident report. What is the best way or established protocol to help or encourage them to do it?

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Mark_A

Active Member
From the Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute:

"Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of whatever it asserts, which is then offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter. The problem with hearsay is that when the person being quoted is not present, it becomes impossible to establish credibility. As a result, hearsay evidence is generally not admissible in court. However, there are exceptions to the hearsay rule..."

You can read the full text and the exceptions in the link below:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/hea...f,becomes impossible to establish credibility.

The information I previously quoted from another site equated "out-of-court" with "not under oath" which I think is a reasonable statement. There are some other proceedings besides a court that has testimony that would be under-oath, and that testimony would be the same as in a court (not hearsay and admissible). As stated, there are exceptions to these rules described in the Cornell link above.
 


BensonBingham

Active Member
I'm in Boston, MA.
My auto insurance claims rep requested and paid for the police report, but did not receive it. The accident was in December. The other car insurance initially accepted full liability, but later completely denied it. They say there is no evidence, our driver tells a different story, it is all "word vs word case".
They found out that there is no police report.

I spoke with one of the managers /supervisors at the Geico Claims Department (another party's insurance). She agrees that another driver should yield when entering the traffic circle, there is a sign posted there. Hitting a car already in the circle, perpendicular to the center of the passenger side, happened either because he could not break on a slippery road, or was distracted.
But I hear in her voice (as well as of another their Claims representative I talked to earlier) that they see the missing police report as their "last line of defense", since there is nothing but "different stories from two sides".

My insurance rep requested the police report again, called the State Police station, an officer there assured they will email it.
Instead he emailed (I quote it) "On my end I do not see an accident report. The only report related to that incident was an arrest that have nothing to do with the crash itself. Looks like the Primary Trooper completed the crash as a paper exchange due to minor in nature of the crash." I don't know how to interpret the above sentence written/sent probably without reading it again himself.

He gave the email of the trooper, who has not yet replied to my representative or my request.

But the accident was not minor. The damage to my car is over $3K, closer t o$4K. My son was injured, but not hospitalized. I emailed the trooper his own Incident report (basic info - names, vehicles, insurance, date, time, location), my MA RMV crash report, other brief relevant information.

At least 7 people came to the scene. First a fire truck with paramedics who were just waiting for the ambulance, then the first police officer, then the ambulance, which assessed the injuries and recommended but did not insist on going to the hospital (my son is 21). Finally, another police car arrived. They let me go and continued questioning and explaining something to another driver.

What else could I do to help the police officer to write and submit the results of his assessment (in his basic report it is called "investigation")? I can drive to that police station myself, but it is far away and I am not sure if it will help. The chances of seeing the responding officer ("Primary Trooper") there are low.
It’s frustrating when a police report is missing, especially with the severity of your case. You’ve already done a lot by contacting the officer and providing the necessary details, but if there’s still no response, you might want to consider submitting a formal complaint with the police department or requesting an internal review. Sometimes, getting a legal professional involved can help get a quicker response. An attorney can also help document the facts of your case and ensure that you have the necessary evidence to support your claims, even if the police report is delayed.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
It’s frustrating when a police report is missing, especially with the severity of your case. You’ve already done a lot by contacting the officer and providing the necessary details, but if there’s still no response, you might want to consider submitting a formal complaint with the police department or requesting an internal review. Sometimes, getting a legal professional involved can help get a quicker response. An attorney can also help document the facts of your case and ensure that you have the necessary evidence to support your claims, even if the police report is delayed.
You suggest filing a complaint? Really? To what end? Are you aware of a legal requirement for a police report to be filed in this type of situation?
 

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