After a crash, your state’s car accident laws will determine the compensation available. Most states follow a fault-based law that allows victims to hold the at-fault party responsible for their medical bills, future care needs, lost income, and non-economic damages.
When a police officer causes your collision, the process you must navigate to recover compensation differs from many other types of auto accident cases. Working with a car accident lawyer can ensure you identify, document, and seek compensation for all your related expenses and losses to the fullest extent allowed under the law.
Recoverable Compensation in an Accident Caused by a Police Officer
After a collision, injured victims can generally seek compensation for expenses and losses that include:
- Medical bills and future care costs related to their injuries
- Lost wages and other income missed while out of work
- Lost earning capacity if they cannot return to work
- Pain and suffering and other intangible losses
- Vehicle repairs or replacement and other property damage costs
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family and other heirs, depending on applicable laws
When the other vehicle involved in a crash is a police cruiser, the circumstances of the collision could play a central role in the compensation available to you and how you will recover it. Working with an attorney familiar with these cases is the best way to ensure you understand your options and pursue compensation most effectively. Factors that could affect your case include:
- What the officer was doing when the crash occurred (e.g., a police chase)
- If your actions contributed to the cause of the collision
- Applicable laws related to government agency liability
- Possible caps on cases against government agencies
- The strength of your case
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What Evidence Is Necessary to Recover This Compensation?
Documenting fault is central to winning compensation in most car accident cases. You will need to have strong evidence to show the police car hit you and not the other way around.
Proving fault in a police car accident claim requires presenting strong evidence to show what happened and why. If necessary and possible based on the applicable laws, your accident attorney may need to present this evidence in court, including examining witnesses and calling on experts, to convince the judge or jury of what happened.
Some common ways that police officers cause traffic accidents include:
- Speeding
- Running red lights
- Running stop signs
- Failure to yield to oncoming traffic
- Illegal U-turns
- Violation of other traffic laws
- Continuing police chases when it is not appropriate to do so
- Pursuing despite a no-chase policy
Depending on the circumstances, you could have a case against the individual officer, their department, the overseeing agency, a suspect fleeing the police, or another party. Your attorney will conduct an investigation to determine who is liable and how to hold them accountable. This could uncover evidence to back your side of the story, including:
- Dashcam video from the involved officer
- The accident report filed by the responding law enforcement agency
- Eyewitness statements
- Accident reconstruction conducted by specialists
- Expert testimony
- Medical records
- Photos or video of the accident scene
Only with convincing evidence can you recover compensation after being hit by a police car. You will want to work with a personal injury attorney who handles similar cases regularly. These claims are often complex and difficult to navigate.
What If My Injury Accident Occurred During a Police Chase?
If you were involved in a crash because of a police chase and suffered injuries, you will want to consult with a Monell claim lawyer who has a better understanding of these cases than most car crash attorneys. You might have a specific type of case if the police violated your constitutional rights by unnecessarily continuing a police pursuit that caused your collision and injuries.
To understand how these claims work, you will need to work closely with your legal team. They can assess if a Monell claim is possible based on your case facts. These claims hold police officers, departments, and government entities accountable for a police chase crash if they have policies or customs that violate people’s federal rights.
Through this type of action, a personal injury lawyer can help you recover fair compensation and possibly compel the police department to change their pursuit policy. Many municipalities have a policy that encourages officers to stop a suspect regardless of the cost of high-speed chases. An attorney familiar with this civil rights litigation can pursue a case against the department or city under 42 U.S. Code § 1983.
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Act Quickly to Preserve Your Rights and Protect Evidence From Destruction
If you want to collect fair compensation based on your police car auto accident, you should get started as soon as possible. While it is difficult to manage your personal injury claim on your own when you have injuries and no legal experience, you only have to call an experienced lawyer who understands how these cases work.
Hiring an attorney to manage your case as soon as you can comes with several benefits. This includes having someone protecting your rights, assessing your options, navigating legal complexities, and preserving the evidence available to support your financial recovery.
It is also vital to understand the deadlines, known as statutes of limitations, that apply in these cases. Many states have shorter deadlines to pursue a case against a government agency. Sometimes, these deadlines are very short. One of the first steps an attorney will take in your case is determining the applicable timeline and how quickly you must act to get justice.
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Connect With Our Police Chase Accident Lawyers for Free Today
Jenner Law handles a wide range of crash cases, including those caused by police officers or department policies that encourage high-speed chases. We will fight for justice in your case. Let’s get started with a free case consultation and assessment. Our team can determine your options and how to best approach your case.
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