What to Do if the Other Driver is Lying about Car Accident to their Insurance Company

What To Do When the At-Fault Driver Lies on the Car Accident Report

If the at-fault driver lies on the accident report, it is important that you never take the decision of a car insurance company as final, especially when you know that you share no blame in causing the accident. Car insurance companies usually pick and choose what information they need to get to the result they are looking for, which is always paying the least amount of money they can on every car insurance claim. If basing their decision on the story of their insured, whether it is 100% the truth or not gets the car insurance company where they want to be, they will use it.

If you’ve been injured in an accident in WV, and if your insurance company or the other party is acting in bad faith, call our car accident attorneys in West Virginia immediately. We would be happy to listen to your story and give you an honest assessment.

What Can You Do If the Story of Your Car Accident is NOT Accurate?

To prevent a potential disaster with your accident claim, it is important to understand West Virginia law and how it deals with liability involving accidents. Generally, if you are in an accident and a law enforcement officer responds, there is a record of the incident. This record is typically made up of witness statements, driver statements, the position of vehicles and sometimes a drawing of the accident itself. This information will be essential to combat any “changes” in the at-fault driver’s story.

Car insurance companies should be using the police report when they are determining fault. It is an official record of the incident, however it’s not always the case that they will. If the information is wrong on the report, you need to address it with the officer who completed the form immediately. There have been instances where an incident report is incorrect. Officers are human and can make a mistake; however, they must be willing to correct their error.

Protect Yourself When the Other Driver Changes His or Her Story

If the other driver has changed their story or flat out lies, you must remain calm and not immediately start screaming at everyone involved, primarily the auto insurance company, and more importantly, the officer that wrote the incident report. Avoiding confrontation with those involved can only help your claim and any case that may result.

What if the Other Driver is Lying at the Scene of the Accident?

Again, you need to remain calm. If someone chooses to lie at the scene of the accident, and therefore lie to an officer of the law, anything you say is not going to make them change their story. If you react poorly, the responding officer may not take you seriously either and assume both of you are lying.

The easiest way to combat a driver who is being untruthful is to gather evidence. Make sure that you have received the medical attention you need first and foremost. After that, gathering information about the accident should be a priority. This would include pictures of the scene, photos of the vehicle damage and witness information.

Key Information Needed After a Car Accident

After you have gathered some critical information, it is important that the information you have is shared with your attorney. It becomes very challenging for anyone to dispute a lie that has been provided to law enforcement or the insurance company without the assistance of someone who has worked through these issues before. Not only is it important to get the help you need, but it is also essential to make sure your story is the truth. This is especially important if the police report shows that you are somehow at fault for the accident. Your car accident firm or motorcycle accident lawyer in West Virginia will always ask about the police report and what it says.

The Car Insurance Company Will Fight You

It doesn’t matter if you are telling the truth or that the other driver is lying. The insurance company will make a decision they think is best for them and not for you. The auto insurance companies may take into consideration the evidence that has been provided through the police report and statements, but in the end, they get to initially decide who is liable unless and until you hire an attorney to force the insurance company to accept what happened.

To get the tools and resources, you need to combat the insurance company and to combat “lies” told by the at-fault driver — you need to hire an attorney.

For more information on what steps you should take after a car accident, call our WV personal injury law firm today.