Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

If a Georgia Auto Accident or truck accident results in the death of a driver, passenger or bystander, a Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Report is drafted by the investigating police officer, just like for any other accident. However, when a fatality is involved, Georgia law requires that a supplemental accident report be drafted by specially trained officers. Sometimes these officers work for police departments, but rural areas and small cities may not possess the resources to staff a specially trained team. Usually, if a municipality does not have appropriate personnel, then the county will provide a team. If the county does not have a team, then another local jurisdiction can provide a team. If no local officers are qualified, then the Georgia State Patrol will investigate and draft the fatality accident report supplement.

What do these specially trained officers do? Well, they perform a complete forensic investigation, including but not limited to: a) an evaluation of the collision dynamics; b) a mechanical inspection of the vehicles; c) a more thorough identification and interview process for drivers, passengers and witnesses; d) speed calculations; e) time and distance studies; f) crash data downloads from on board vehicle computers on tractor trailer rigs that have been involved in serious accidents; and g) computer animations. If you have ever driven in metro Atlanta or Gwinnett, Cobb or Dekalb Counties near major interstates, you know that if an accident has resulted in a death, that the entire road can be shut down for hours. These teams do their jobs carefully, regardless of the ambient chaos around them.

The most highly trained of these Georgia accident investigation teams are the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Teams of the Georgia State Patrol. SCRT units were authorized in 1997 after the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia demanded greater emphasis be placed on forensic examinations so that serious violators of Georgia's traffic laws could be prosecuted and so Georgia DUI accident victims could obtain justice. SCRT officers receive over 1100 hours of comprehensive training in traffic accident investigation and reconstruction. Since January 1998, the SCRT units have conducted over 2000 fatal crash investigations. There are 5 SCRT teams in Georgia, spread out among the state so that they can cover all regions of Georgia quickly and efficiently.

Georgia Accident Reports and supplements for fatal car or truck accidents can be difficult to make sense of. You should contact an experienced Georgia wrongful death attorney to obtain copies and discuss the contents with the investigating officers. The reports, including any SCRT Reports, should be available through the Georgia Open Records Act.

Like any accident report, time is of the essence when mistakes are made. Mistakes can become "facts" if not corrected. Be diligent in obtaining and reviewing a report should a tragedy occur.

In this latest installment on Georgia Accident Reports, we ask the question: What happens if you are in a Georgia accident on private property, like a parking lot? Who decides fault between the parties, and how does one obtain the insurance information for the other driver? If a crime was committed, like a drunk driving wreck or a hit and run collision, then the police will of course have jurisdiction. If a crime or obvious traffic offense was not committed, then an officer is under no obligation to act. Law enforcement officers will usually not draft an accident report if there are no injuries and the accident occurred on private property. I myself have been involved in truck accident in a private parking lot. The police officer refused to complete a report. Luckily for me, the other driver was honest about what happened, and his insurance company paid the claim. This dosen't always happen.

The Georgia Department of Transportation does offer a Georgia Private Property Accident Report. This form is very detailed and thorough with respect to the quantity of information. However, this form is not required to be filed in Atlanta with the DOT and according to a DOT spokesperson I spoke to: "Is only for people to give to their insurance company."

It is questionable to me whether this report is valuable at all, since the person filling it out will probably be only one party to the accident emphasizing his or her own version of events. On the back of the form, there is a blank where one can list in narrative detail what happened, but this does not require all parties to complete it.

Accident reports accomplish 2 things: they provide information and they assign blame. The Private Property Accident Report provides a lot of information but does not assist with determining fault. I would tell my clients to provide information, but to omit any question or blank that requires him or her to make judgments or conclusions concerning fault. I think an insurance adjuster, absent an admission of fault by his insured or overwhelming physical evidence, will deny a claim and dare the other driver to sue. Unless there is a third party arbiter of fault, the insurance company always has an out. This is unfortunate, but it makes you appreciate a police officer. They really do protect and serve.

If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, truck crash or motorcycle wreck on private property, then you should contact an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney to protect your interests. If you are approached by the other driver or his or her insurance company, don't say anything until you speak to a lawyer and formulate a strategy.

In a previous post, I outlined how to get a copy of a Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Report. Now that you have obtained one, other questions may arise such as: a) "What do all those funny codes mean"; b) "How do you interpret the diagrams"? and c) "Is the accident report admissible in court?"

The Georgia Accident Report is drafted, coded and signed by a police officer or other law enforcement official in charge of investigating an auto accident, truck accident or motorcycle accident in the state of Georgia. All Georgia police officers are trained to complete accident reports at the police academy. Georgia officers must learn and know the Georgia Accident Report Training Instructions.

Usually, an accident report is completed by the officer that arrives on the scene, interviews the witnesses, makes the measurements and assesses the facts. They sometimes include the Georgia Accident Report Overlay or Key, which serves as a legend for the codes on the accident report. The officer can choose to cite one or both drivers, or neither driver.

Sometimes these forms are hand-coded and sometimes they are typed. Sometimes they are not completed correctly. Officers are human. They make mistakes. It is the responsibility of those who were involved in the accident to seek out the officer and convince him to correct these forms or point out irregularities in the forms that could affect the driver's substantive rights. Call the officer if the accident report is wrong.

Just because you try to contact an officer, however, does not mean he will call you back. I have had good luck getting police officers to call me back. Being that I am an injury trial lawyer, they usually would rather talk to me on the phone then have me issue them a subpoena. No one likes to sit all day around the courthouse I suppose.

Are Georgia Accident Reports admissible in court? Not generally. Accident Reports are considered heresay evidence. Heresay is not generally admissible. However, if the officer who drafted the report is on the stand, you may be able to use the report to help the officer refresh his memory or to impeachment the officer if his testimony differs from what is on the report.

What happens with an auto or truck accident causing the death of a driver or passenger? A special investigation must be performed and a supplemental accident report completed. This is a complicated topic for another day.

Accident reports can be great for proving your case against the offending driver. They are usually right, and insurance companies usually respect the results. If the accident report is wrong, however, all is not lost. Just be proactive in making sure your rights are protected. Talk to an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney if you are seriously injured in a Georgia motor vehicle accident and you are worried about what has been included or omitted from the accident report.