need help from a police officer

I have a problem, i am trying to get my police report amended, the accident happend about this time last year. "Is there any law that says it cannot be amended" The reason why i want it amended is because i want to get my full detuctible from my insurance co rather than 50%, I have only waited untill now to have it amended because the diagram where the vehicles are placed are not actually correct, and thats part of the reason why they said they were"GEICO" were going to give me 50%. Sorry to be unclear....Here is what happened all the following is on the current and only PO report. I am traveling east bound on 25 "which is a one lane each way road" Vhicle 2 is behind me traveling east bound as well. Vehicle 1 "myself" attempted to make a right turn onto oaklawn, vehicle 2 hits vehicle 1 pushing it into veh 3 at stopsign on oaklawn. Ok now first he was only sighted for tailgaitng, 2nd its a school zone 20 mph after he hit me in the bedside he pused me into the other car and then pushed both of us 5 feet sideways, thats over 7000lbs of vehicle he just pushed, he was deffinetly going faster than 20mph in my book, 3rd he claims that i turned right into his path, keep in mind the PO report shows me in the E/B lane, he is as well.. NOW if i am e/b and i turned into him he would be in the shoulder which is not a turning lane, AND he also claims that he was going to make a right, he should have been sighted for illegal use of a lane, he also claims i was in the left lane now from his point of view it is a left lane if he is in the shoulder, now the left lane from is point of view would put me in the EB lane which is what the PO report shows and the lane i was supposed to be in.. If i am correct if he was going to make a right as he claims since i am infront of him he is supposed to yield to me. Finally is he is going to make a right what is he doing going that fast....he probably said that to cover himself...So report does not show the shoulder, nore does it say he was going to make a right, "He only told his insurance he was going to make a right and i turned into him. his claim is different than the report that why i want it amended to work in my favor, i am not trying to commit fraud, i just want some of the details ILLUMINATED that should have been in the first place.

passenger side where he hit me in the bedside
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3253358

Driverside damage occured when i was pushed into the other vehicle while turning
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3253369

The people that you should be contacting is the agency that originally took the report and tell them you want to file supplementary (additional) information.

You're probably more likely to get incorrect information from a web forum than correct information. Though if you've already accepted the payment from your insurance company your claim is probably considered settled and closed, and no further payment would be available from it anyway. Additionally statute of limitations is usually a year and a day.

Actually i did not accept a check for 50%, my insurance co called me a informed me that they issued a check, i told the 50% in not accptable, thats when i started to go about trying to make this work in my favor, i am not trying to scam here i just want what should be mine, The insurance co by the way said it was settled when they issued the check but i did not cash it so it is not actually settled, anyhow i have 150 more days untill the check is void. I have to make some phone calles to the insur co, i already spoke to the supervisor of the lady i spoke to previously, so now i am going to have to speak to the next higher up supervisor, Then tomorrow i am going to go to the police HQ and see if i can get the officer to write a letter stating that the info on the police report is missing something and that is the "shoulder" with that info it would place the guy who hit me in the shoulder, contradicting his position in the report thus making him more at fault hence illegal use of a lane, also if i am told correctly the only time one should pass in the shoulder is if the person in front is making a left turn with their blinker on. It is clear to me that he was attempting to go around me through an intersecton and continue straight, just a few more random things here... diagram shows us both E/B he was sighted for following to close.... he claims to his isurance i turned into him, which would once again place him illegally using the shoulder to make a right turn as he claims he was going to do... Now if i can find out somehow where his destination was that day at around that time, I dont know.......

It's unlikely that the officer will change his report. As for a "shoulder", in California it is illegal to go off the paved portion of the road or pass where there is insufficent room.
However it will take an expert witness in a court of law to show the officer may have been wrong. Unless your friend's dad is an attorney and the expert comes free (that was me) it will cost a bundle.
You will find it is the same for the check the insurance company sent you. They made a decision and your refusing to cash the check within the time limit will just put more money in their pocket.
They *will* fight you on this and it will cost you a lot of money up front to even get started on what will be a long expensive road.
Chances are that if you read your insurnace policy you will find that you agreed to what they said.

It is the insurance company's job to get the amendment (supplement). Their investigators should have (and probably did) gone out to the scene and interviewed both parties involved (you and the other driver) and made their determination based on that. Geico is no "slouchy" insurance company. I don't doubt they did their job efficiently. (No, I don't work for Geico).

As you were "tagged" as vehicle 1, you get the ticket... and bear at the very LEAST 50% of the "blame". Did you go to court and fight that ticket? Failure to yield, right?

My daughter was in an accident a few years ago... almost this same exact scenario. She fought it in court... and the charges were thrown out due to the officer's poor report. Unfortunately, my daughter ended up humiliating the officer in court. She knew more about accident reconstruction that he did...

Anyway... I won't go into all of the gorey details, but it took over a year and a half for her case to be settled with the insurance company. And even though we didn't think it "fair" because the citation was thrown out of court, etc etc... the best our insurance company really could do was to settle for 50% of the "blame" and the accident did NOT go against her with regards to her insurance rates or driving record.

Bottom line... you've had almost a year to get all of this information together for your insurance company. Ask them if they sent an investigator to the scene. Ask if they took photos. Ask if they contacted the reporting officer for his photos and measurements. If none of this was done... well... there's not a whole lot you can do now... except get a lawyer... quickly!

1. Your post is almost impossible to read, so I skimmed.

2. If this is in California, your accident report is not eligible to be amended due to the length of time that has passed. I'll have to check SWITRS-Statewide Integrated Traffic Report System Manual for the specifics about amending traffic collision reports.

3. Veh number 2 was on the right most edge of the roadway. How is this edge dilineated? Is it a solid white line, dashed yellow, etc? You were making a right from a one lane road, and veh 2 broadsided you from the right edge of the roadway. (?)

4. Based upon the pics, I'd estimate the speed of veh 2 not more than 25 MPH.

5. In California, there's no mandatory requirement for a traffic collision report in non-injury accidents. Was anyone injured?

-dan

2000xlt - You did not mention what state you are in, nor your carrier. Since every state has a unique set of insurance statutes and regulations I cannot respond to your query with specifics. Nevertheless, for this response I really need not know that information as the general rules are the same. When you sign the contract for coverage a binder is issued by the insurance carrier. In that contract - like it or not - you waive your right to authority over settlement of a claim. Most often in PD cases (property damage) where there are no independant witnesses, each carrier involved in the claim will open a file, briefly investigate and absent compelling evidence of fault (keep in mind that most states use a comparative negligence approach for determining fault) agree to a split percentage on "fault." It sounds like in your case they agreed to 50 percent. Like it or not even with an "amended" police report - something I am certain you will not get - your carrier can still settle out without you.

BTW - the officer can only report what he/she has been told by the participants to the accident. Absent a live witness you have the classic "he said - she said" liability case. Your carrier will not spend the money to fight these situations.

Hopefully you will not have another accident, but if you do the first thing you need to remember is to locate anyone nearby that may be a witness. Take down names, telephone numbers and addresses. Then take photos. Use your camera phone if that is all that is avialable. And most importantly take a day to reconstruct the scene. Keep a note pad - write down what you recall. Then when you get your day in court you are prepared. Keep in mind that even if you prevail, your carrier may still settle out without you. That is where a good lawyer comes in handy. People hate lawyers - until they need one. We really do get a bad rap. Mostly undesreved. Certainly there are bad apples - thankfully most are easy to spot. You might try contacting a local attorney to ask about your rights vis-a-vis your carrier, and the other party. Please keep in mind that you may be too late. The statute of limitations may have run given the time that has passed.

Lastly, if you have your check do not sign it until you have 1) spoken to an attorney about your rights, or 2) accepted the circumstance you find yourself in. Every insurance carrier places a release of PD liability clause on every check it mails out. Once you sign you waive your rights to furhter claims for PD.

Good luck.

sasha I was not sighted for a ticket, There has not been a court involved,i am not the one who should be yielding "NY by the way" as the officer said to me after i called him yesterday veh 2 the one behind me should have yielded to me. The reason why it took almost a year is i was waiting to hear from the insurance co about a settlement, once i found about 50% for the check i started calling to obtain more info not seeming to be needed befor, Now like i said the diagram shows me e/b veh 2 also e/b i make a right from the e/b into the road on my right there is a shoulder to my right with a solid white line"the shoulder this is not in the police report, thats what i want it amended for" as i am turning veh 2 hits me. Thats the police report says, i'll try to scan it so i can show it here. My insurance says veh 2 says when i made the right turn i turned into veh 2, this would place him in the shoulder which is not a turning lane, and also this put him in the place not as it shows in the police report, he says i turned into him he should have also been sight for illegal use of a lane,.. I will try to get some pics of the road also.

2000... Sounds to me that if no one was cited for the accident, then there is alot more here that should have been investigated. Negligence on the part of the officer? The insurance company? Who knows? Anyway... if you were officially listed in the police report as vehicle 1, then you are considered "at fault"... as I said above, at the very least 50%... (read Nebula's post regarding even split of "fault"). And yes... witnesses are VERY important!! That is what got my daughter out of her accident.

Probably at this point, there *IS* no point of trying to go back and reconstruct or "amend" the report or anything else. It all should have been done alot sooner. I'd say, sign the check, cash it and move on. Trying to pursue this any further now will end up costing you what you already have in your hands and then anything more that you MIGHT get.