Can an Insurance Company Go Against a Police Report in Georgia or South Carolina?

After a car accident, one of the first things you expect to work in your favor is the police report. If the officer determined the other driver was at fault, you may assume the insurance company will simply pay your claim. Unfortunately, it is not that straightforward.

Insurance companies in Georgia and South Carolina are not legally required to accept a police officer’s determination of fault. They conduct their own investigations and can — and regularly do — reach conclusions that differ from the police report. Understanding why this happens and what you can do about it is critical to protecting your claim.

Can an Insurance Company Ignore a Police Report?

Yes. An insurance company can disagree with, dispute, or effectively ignore the fault determination in a police report. A police report is not a binding legal ruling — it is one officer’s assessment of what happened based on the evidence available at the scene. Insurance adjusters are not required to accept that assessment, and they frequently challenge it when doing so benefits their bottom line.

That said, a police report that supports your version of events is still one of the most valuable pieces of evidence in a personal injury claim. While the insurer may dispute it, your attorney can use it as powerful leverage during negotiations or at trial.

What Information Is in a Police Report?

A police report — sometimes called a crash report or accident report — is the official document created by the law enforcement officer who responds to the scene of an accident. It typically includes:

• Date, time, and location of the accident
• Identifying information for all drivers, passengers, and vehicles involved
• Statements from the drivers, passengers, and any witnesses
• The officer’s narrative — a description of how the accident occurred based on physical evidence and witness accounts
• A diagram or photographs showing the positions of vehicles, road conditions, traffic signals, and skid marks
• Fault determination — the officer’s opinion on which driver caused or contributed to the accident
• Citations or charges — whether any traffic violations were issued at the scene
• Weather and road conditions at the time of the accident
• Injuries noted at the scene and whether anyone was transported to a hospital

In Georgia, accident reports are filed with the Georgia Department of Transportation and can be requested through the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70). In South Carolina, crash reports are maintained by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and can be obtained online or through the responding law enforcement agency.

Why Insurance Companies Review Police Reports

Insurance adjusters request and review the police report as part of their investigation into every accident claim. They are looking for:

• Fault determination — which driver the officer found responsible for the crash
• Contributing factors — whether speed, distraction, impairment, or weather played a role
• Witness information — names and contact details for witnesses they can interview independently
• Inconsistencies — any discrepancies between what you told the officer at the scene and what you later reported to the insurer
• Injury details — whether injuries were reported at the scene (a gap between the accident and your first medical visit is something insurers use against you)

While the police report is an important data point in the adjuster’s investigation, it is only one piece of the puzzle. The insurer will also review medical records, repair estimates, surveillance footage, and sometimes hire private investigators or accident reconstruction experts.

Why an Insurance Company May Dispute a Police Report

Insurance companies are businesses with a financial incentive to minimize payouts. Common reasons they challenge a police report include:

• The officer did not witness the accident — in most cases, the officer arrives after the collision and reconstructs events based on physical evidence and statements, which the insurer may argue are incomplete or unreliable
• Conflicting evidence — surveillance footage, dashcam video, or physical evidence may tell a different story than the officer’s narrative
• New witness statements — the insurer may locate witnesses who were not interviewed at the scene or who provide accounts that differ from those in the report
• Accident reconstruction — the insurer may hire an expert to challenge the officer’s conclusions about how the collision occurred
• Shared fault — the insurer may argue you were partially at fault even if the officer did not note it in the report, which can reduce your award under the comparative fault rules in both Georgia and South Carolina
• Errors in the report — mistakes in the report (wrong vehicle description, incorrect diagram, transposed statements) give the insurer grounds to question its reliability

How Police Reports Work in Georgia and South Carolina Claims

The legal weight of a police report differs slightly between Georgia and South Carolina, and understanding the rules in your state matters when building your claim.

Georgia

Under Georgia law, drivers involved in an accident that results in injury, death, or property damage exceeding $500 must report the accident to law enforcement (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273). The responding officer files a crash report with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

In Georgia courts, a police report is generally considered hearsay and is not admissible at trial as proof of fault on its own. However, the officer who wrote the report can testify in person about what they observed at the scene — the physical evidence, vehicle positions, statements made, and their professional opinion about causation. Additionally, any traffic citations issued at the scene are admissible and can be strong evidence of negligence.

Georgia follows a modified comparative fault rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33): you can recover damages as long as you are less than 50% at fault. Your award is reduced by your percentage of responsibility.

South Carolina

South Carolina requires that accidents involving injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000 be reported to law enforcement (S.C. Code § 56-5-1270). The responding officer files a report with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.

In South Carolina courts, police reports face similar hearsay limitations but may be admitted under certain exceptions. As in Georgia, the officer can testify about their observations, and traffic citations issued at the scene are admissible evidence of negligence.

South Carolina follows a modified comparative fault rule: you can recover damages as long as you are less than 51% at fault. Your award is reduced by your percentage of responsibility.

The Evidentiary Value of a Police Report at Trial

Even though a police report may not be directly admissible as evidence of fault in Georgia or South Carolina, it remains highly valuable for several reasons:

• Foundation for officer testimony — the report refreshes the officer’s memory and provides the basis for their courtroom testimony about what they observed
• Impeachment tool — if the other driver’s trial testimony contradicts what they told the officer at the scene, the report can be used to expose that inconsistency
• Settlement leverage — the vast majority of personal injury cases settle before trial, and during negotiations, the police report carries significant persuasive weight with adjusters and defense attorneys
• Traffic citations — if the other driver was cited for a violation (running a red light, following too closely, DUI), that citation is admissible and can be powerful evidence of negligence
• Documenting the scene — the officer’s diagram, photographs, and notes about road and weather conditions preserve evidence that may otherwise be lost

For a broader overview of how evidence is used in negligence claims, see Cornell Law Institute’s legal definition of negligence.

What to Do if the Police Report Is Wrong or Incomplete

Police officers are human, and reports sometimes contain errors — wrong vehicle descriptions, inaccurate diagrams, transposed driver statements, or even an incorrect fault determination. If you believe the report is inaccurate:

• Request a copy immediately — review the report as soon as it is available so errors can be identified early
• Contact the responding agency — in Georgia and South Carolina, you can submit a written request to the law enforcement agency asking for factual corrections (e.g., wrong vehicle color, incorrect street name)
• Provide a supplemental statement — if the officer’s narrative does not reflect your account, your attorney can submit a supplemental statement to be attached to the report
• Gather independent evidence — dashcam footage, surveillance video, photographs, and witness statements can contradict errors in the report and establish the true facts
• Hire an accident reconstruction expert — in disputed-fault cases, an expert can analyze physical evidence to produce an independent opinion about how the crash occurred

An inaccurate police report does not doom your claim. Your attorney can present independent evidence that overrides the officer’s conclusions.

Other Evidence That Strengthens Your Claim

A police report is important, but it should never be your only evidence. Building a strong personal injury claim means gathering multiple types of supporting documentation:

• Photographs and video — images of vehicle damage, injuries, the accident scene, traffic signals, and road conditions
• Dashcam and surveillance footage — video evidence can be decisive in disputed-fault cases
• Medical records — documentation of your injuries, treatment, and prognosis starting from the day of the accident
• Witness statements — accounts from independent witnesses who saw the accident occur
• Cell phone records — evidence that the other driver was texting or using their phone at the time of the crash
• Expert testimony — accident reconstruction experts, medical experts, and economists who can establish causation and quantify your damages
• Employment records — pay stubs and employer statements documenting lost wages and reduced earning capacity

Types of Accident Cases Where Police Reports Matter

Police reports play an important role in virtually every accident claim, but they are especially critical in the following types of cases:

• Car accidents — the most common case type where police reports document fault, citations, and contributing factors
• Truck accidents — police reports in commercial vehicle crashes often note hours-of-service violations, overweight loads, or mechanical defects that point to trucking company liability
• Motorcycle accidents — police reports help counter the common bias that motorcycle riders are reckless, especially when the report confirms the other driver was at fault
• Pedestrian accidents — the officer’s documentation of crosswalk locations, traffic signals, and driver speed is critical evidence
• Bicycle accidents — police reports establish whether the driver violated right-of-way rules or failed to yield to a cyclist
• Slip and fall accidents — incident reports filed by property managers serve a similar function to police reports and document the hazardous condition that caused your fall
• Wrongful death cases — when an accident is fatal, the police report and any resulting criminal charges become central evidence in the civil claim
• Boating accidents — marine accident reports filed with state agencies document operator negligence, impairment, or safety violations

How an Attorney Can Use a Police Report to Your Advantage

Even when an insurance company disputes the police report, an experienced personal injury attorney knows how to leverage it effectively:

• Subpoenaing the officer — if the case goes to trial, your attorney can call the responding officer to testify about their observations, training, and professional opinion
• Using citations as evidence of negligence — traffic tickets issued at the scene are admissible and difficult for the defense to explain away
• Exposing inconsistencies — if the other driver’s testimony at deposition or trial contradicts what they told the officer at the scene, the police report is a powerful impeachment tool
• Combining the report with independent evidence — pairing the police report with dashcam footage, witness statements, and expert analysis builds a case that is much harder for the insurer to deny
• Challenging the insurer’s investigation — when the insurance company’s conclusions contradict the police report without credible justification, your attorney can argue that the denial was made in bad faith

Free Consultation — No Fee Unless We Win

At Roden Law, we handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. If you’ve been in an accident in Georgia or South Carolina and the insurance company is disputing the police report or denying your claim, contact us today for a free case evaluation or call 1-844-RESULTS.

About the Author

Eric Roden

Founding Partner, CEO