Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Attorneys
After an 18-wheeler crash, law enforcement plays a key role in investigating and documenting what happened. Their report is often one of the most critical pieces of evidence in a victim’s pursuit of justice. However, police officers are human—they make mistakes. And errors in a police report are far more common than you might think, especially when a crash is severe or fatal.
When a police report is wrong, the trucking company will seize the opportunity to use the flawed information to deny responsibility and pay you as little as possible for the harm they’ve caused. Only a proven truck accident lawyer—one with Billions won and a track record of successfully challenging hundreds of inaccurate crash reports—has the experience and resources to expose these errors and prove what really happened.
Read on to learn how an incorrect police report can impact your future and how our undefeated Texas truck accident attorneys can protect your rights and secure the justice and compensation your family deserves.
If you suspect an error in your crash report, don’t wait. Call us now at 1-888-603-3636.
What Is a Police Crash Report?
In Texas, drivers must contact law enforcement to file a police report after any motor vehicle accident, including a large truck crash, that results in injuries, fatalities, or at least $1,000 in property damage.
When officers respond to the scene, the law (under Texas Transportation Code §550.062) requires them to create an official written report — called a crash report — and submit it to the Texas Department of Transportation within ten days of the crash.
A police report can be used as critical evidence later as it provides an official account of the accident, including details such as the location, time, weather conditions, and the parties involved.
However, it’s important to carefully review a crash report for inaccuracies and errors, as they could significantly impact your ability to pursue justice and compensation.
What Does a Crash Report Typically Include?
An 18-wheeler crash report includes the officer’s observations, findings, and statements from those involved, including:
Basic Information About the Parties Involved: The report lists the names, contact information, driver’s license numbers, and insurance details of all drivers involved in the crash. If passengers or pedestrians were affected, their details may also be included.
Description of the Accident Scene: Officers document critical details such as the location of the crash, the extent of vehicle damage, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, weather conditions, and road hazards. These observations help reconstruct how the crash occurred.
Statements from Drivers and Witnesses: The officer records statements from each driver involved, as well as any available witnesses. However, these accounts may be subjective, inconsistent, or even false—especially if a truck driver is trying to avoid liability.
Diagrams or Photos: Many police reports include sketches of the accident scene, showing vehicle positions, points of impact, and any relevant road features. Some officers may also take photos, but this varies by department and the severity of the crash.
Preliminary Determination of Fault: Based on the officer’s assessment, the report may include an opinion on which driver—or drivers—were at fault. However, this determination is not final and can be challenged, particularly if the officer’s conclusions are based on incomplete or inaccurate information.
Be sure to cooperate fully with the responding officers and provide accurate details about what occurred. Stick to the facts and never speculate about fault, even if you think you were partly to blame for the crash.
Why Do Police Get the Facts Wrong?
Police officers face significant challenges when responding to a large truck or 18-wheeler crash, which are often far more catastrophic than a car accident. Because they must rely on their own judgment to reconstruct events, mistakes can easily happen due to the chaotic nature at the scene, time constraints, missing evidence, or even intentional misstatements by one of the involved parties.
A crash report is more likely to contain major errors when:
Fatalities Are Involved
Incorrect police reports are most common in fatal truck accidents. When there is no surviving victim to refute the truck driver’s version of events, officers often have to rely solely on the truck driver’s account — and these drivers have every reason to put the blame on someone else. Sadly, without key evidence or witness testimony, a driver’s self-serving narrative can shape the official report and be used by a trucking company to blame the deceased victim.
The Report Is Rushed
Officers must quickly assess the crash scene, secure the area, and gather information—all while dealing with potential road closures, injured victims, and public safety concerns. Under these pressures, critical details can be overlooked, misinterpreted, or rushed.
Witness Statements Are Unreliable
Eyewitness accounts can be unreliable, especially in high-stress situations. Witnesses may contradict one another, misremember key details, or provide statements influenced by personal bias or poor visibility at the time of the crash. Officers often have to piece together conflicting testimonies without the benefit of a full forensic investigation.
Evidence Is Overlooked
Unlike experienced accident reconstruction experts, police officers don’t always have the time or resources to analyze all available evidence. Skid marks, black box data, surveillance footage, and mechanical failures may go unexamined, leading to a report that paints an incomplete or inaccurate picture of what really happened.
The Truck Driver Is Lying
A commercial truck driver involved in a serious or fatal crash has every incentive to shift blame. Facing potential job loss, lawsuits, or even criminal charges, they may lie about what happened—denying distracted driving, fatigue, speeding, or other negligent behaviors. Without a thorough investigation, their version of events may end up in the official report, further skewing the facts.
Will an Inaccurate Police Report Hurt My Case?
The short answer is yes. A police report plays a critical role in truck accident lawsuits, shaping how much compensation you can recover. Unfortunately, trucking companies and their insurers will use every error to deny responsibility pay you as little as possible. Even your own insurance company may use it to reduce their financial obligation.
From the moment of the crash, the trucking company’s insurers and defense attorneys are focused only on protecting their bottom line—not on doing what’s right. They will twist the facts, downplay your injuries, and stop at nothing to use a flawed police report to their advantage.
A wrong or incomplete report can result in:
- Denied claims: Both the trucking company’s insurer and your own insurance provider refusing to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.
- Substantially lower settlement: Insurers using inaccuracies in the report to dispute the severity of your injuries and justify paying you far less than you deserve.
- Blame shifted onto you: Defense attorneys and insurance adjusters arguing that you were partially or fully at fault to reduce or eliminate your compensation.
That’s why it’s critical to act fast to correct an inaccurate police report before it derails your case. Your family’s financial recovery and future depend on it.
What to Do If You Suspect a Police Report Is Wrong
If you suspect a police report contains errors, take these immediate steps to protect your rights:
1. Contact a Top-Rated Truck Accident Lawyer
A proven truck accident attorney has the experience, resources, and legal strategies to challenge inaccuracies in the report. We gather crucial evidence, consult the best accident reconstruction experts, and work to have the flawed report corrected or thrown out as evidence before it impacts your case — and your future.
2. Collect Supporting Evidence
The more evidence you collect, the better equipped your lawyer will be to disprove the inaccuracies in the report. Gathering the right evidence immediately strengthens your case, such as:
- Photos and videos of the crash scene, vehicle damage, and road conditions
- Surveillance or dashcam footage
- Medical records documenting your injuries
- Eyewitness statements that contradict the report’s findings
- Truck black box data, which records the truck’s speed, braking, and other critical details
3. Write Down Any Inconsistencies in the Report
Carefully review the police report for errors or missing details. Noting these inconsistencies provides your lawyer with critical ammunition to challenge the report in court. Look for:
- Incorrect vehicle positions or impact points
- Inaccurate speed estimates
- False or misleading statements from the truck driver
- Missing witness testimony or evidence
- Wrongly assigned fault
By documenting these discrepancies, you can help your attorney preserve vital evidence, file a formal correction request with the police department, and—most importantly—use these inconsistencies to undermine the report’s credibility in your lawsuit.
Without a skilled lawyer on your side, the chance of having a flawed report excluded from your case is simply not possible. Don’t let it derail your fight for justice — call us at 1-888-603-3636.
How Zehl & Associates Fights Back When the Police Report Is Wrong
Errors in a crash report create serious legal obstacles to obtaining the full justice and compensation you deserve. But an inaccurate police report does not have to dictate your future.
That’s why it’s critical to have an experienced truck accident attorney who knows how to uncover the truth, challenge inaccuracies, and prevent a flawed report from costing you the justice you deserve.
At Zehl & Associates, our undefeated Texas truck accident lawyers know exactly how to expose errors, counter trucking company tactics, and secure the maximum compensation possible for our clients.
- We send the best experts in the nation to investigate and reconstruct the crash. Our nationally-recognized team of lawyers, accident reconstructionists, and safety experts immediately go to the scene to gather and analyze physical crash evidence, including skid marks, gouge marks, and vehicle damage. Beyond the crash site, we uncover critical evidence the trucking company wants to keep hidden—such as driver logs, training and maintenance records, safety violations, and internal communications — to expose trucking company negligence and prove what really happened.
- We discredit and exclude inaccurate police reports. Once our investigation reveals errors, we take immediate legal action to ensure the faulty report is thrown out—so the trucking company cannot use it against you at trial.
- We hold the at-fault parties fully accountable. We go beyond the police report, using witness depositions, forensic analysis, ECM data, company records, and expert testimony to prove how the accident could—and should—have been prevented. Our ability to expose reckless corporate practices and violations has resulted in some of the largest punitive damage awards in truck accident cases.
- We NEVER settle for less than full compensation. Trucking companies know we NEVER settle for less than our clients deserve. Our reputation for winning the largest record-breaking truck accident verdicts and settlements—both in Texas and nationwide—means they take us seriously from day one.
- We prepare every case for trial. If the defendant refuses to offer a settlement that fully compensates our clients for all their injuries and losses, we will take the case to trial, where we remain undefeated.
- We support you every step of the way. From 24/7 access to our team to ensuring you receive the best medical care, we take care of everything—so you can focus on what matters most.
If you believe a police report contains errors that could hurt your case, call us now at 1-888-603-3636 for a free consultation. We’ll take immediate action to protect your rights and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Our Houston Truck Accident Lawyers Have Won Record-Setting Recoveries in Cases Involving Incorrect Police Reports
Our trial attorneys have successfully challenged and disproven hundreds of incorrect police reports, allowing our clients to recover some of the largest truck and 18 wheeler accident settlements in the country.
Recently, we secured a $20 million settlement for a family whose beloved husband and father was tragically killed by a distracted 18-wheeler driver who was on his cellphone at the time of the crash.
The trucking company and its driver aggressively denied liability, relying on a flawed police report that wrongly blamed our client for driving in the wrong lane. But our team uncovered the truth—proving not only that the truck driver was distracted, but that he had lied to the investigating officer at the scene.
By discrediting the inaccurate police report and exposing the trucking company’s false claims, we held them fully accountable—securing the justice and financial recovery our clients deserved.
Learn more about this record settlement and why our clients say: Zehl did absolutely everything for our family.
Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consult
If you or a loved one were involved in a truck or 18 wheeler accident, it’s critical that you don’t just hire any lawyer. You want an experienced Truck Accident Lawyer with a history of recovering the #1 largest verdicts and settlements in history against the biggest trucking and transportation companies in the country.
If you believe a police report contains errors that could hurt your case, call us at 1-888-603-3636 for a free consultation or send us a confidential email via our Contact Us form.
All consultations are free, and you won’t pay us a dime unless we win your case.