Do I Need an Attorney if the Police Officer Cited the Other Driver?

Many vehicular collisions occur when a driver breaks a traffic law (e.g., failure to control speed). Upon arrival, the responding officer may issue citations to drivers believed to have broken the law. The citation’s effect on a related civil injury claim depends on the disposition of the proceedings in traffic court. 

What Do Law Enforcement Officers Do at the Scene of the Collision?

After a collision, the parties should call 911 and request police assistance. Once at the scene, law enforcement officers check to see whether anyone needs medical attention. Afterward, officers usually speak to the drivers and gather the information necessary for a crash report.

Beyond that, the actions taken by police officers vary from department to department and officer to officer. For example, some officers may take photographs of the collision and the vehicles, collect eyewitness statements and contact information, and issue citations to drivers believed to have violated a traffic law. Other officers may choose not to do some or any of those tasks. 

Does a Traffic Citation Help Prove the At-Fault Driver Was Negligent?

Traffic violations are considered criminal violations. In Texas, most prosecutors use the citation or a sworn written complaint to charge a driver accused of breaking a traffic law. Once charged, an accused driver must plead “guilty,” “not guilty,” or “nolo contendere” (no contest). 

A not guilty plea requires the prosecutor to prove that the driver violated a traffic law beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. A guilty plea is a judicial admission of the driver’s guilt and relieves the prosecutor from proving the violation at trial. A plea of no contest has the same legal consequences as a guilty plea, except a plea of no contest—and the subsequent judgment—is inadmissible to establish legal liability in a related civil suit.

Most drivers accused of a traffic violation rarely fight their case to a contested trial. Instead, drivers routinely plead guilty or no contest before trial. If the at-fault driver pleads guilty to violating a traffic law, a plaintiff can use that plea as evidence of negligence in a related civil trial. However, accused drivers often plead no contest to avoid automatic liability in related civil proceedings. Since most accused drivers plead no contest, plaintiffs rarely use traffic citations to prove the at-fault driver’s negligence at trial. 

How Could an Accident Attorney Help Me With My Injury Case?

In most instances, insurance companies accept the responding police officer’s crash report as evidence that the at-fault driver’s negligence caused the collision. Proving that the at-fault driver was negligent is only half the battle, though. The plaintiff must also prove that the at-fault driver’s negligence caused the plaintiff to sustain damages. 

The primary issue in most injury cases is the plaintiff’s damages, not whether the at-fault driver was negligent. Even when an insurance company concedes liability, it is likely to contest the extent of a victim’s damages. For example, Texas auto liability carriers routinely deem some medical treatments as “unreasonable” or “unnecessary” and refuse to pay their associated medical bills.  

An experienced injury lawyer can help develop a claim properly and maximize the client’s recovery by gathering, organizing, and presenting the evidence needed to establish the at-fault driver’s negligence, the client’s damages, and the causal relationship between the two. Generally, the longer it takes for a crash victim to hire an attorney, the more likely the insurance company will undervalue the claim, even if the responding officer cited the at-fault driver for a traffic violation. Since most attorneys do not charge for initial consultations, accident victims do not lose much by discussing an injury case with an attorney. 

Speak With an Experienced Injury Lawyer After a Car Wreck

If someone else’s negligence injures you or a loved one, you have enough things to worry about. Do not let dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance company be one of them. We deal with the insurance company so you can focus on getting your life back to normal. You have one chance to do this; make the right choice by choosing the right attorney. Call us at (956) 291-7870 or email us at contact@rdjlawyer.com for a free consultation and case evaluation.