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, crash reports are stored by the Georgia Department of Transportation; you can buy a copy through BuyCrash or by mailing GDOT’s Individual Crash Report Request form ($5 per report; $2 more for a certified copy). Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(5), a requester must submit a written statement of need, but anyone named in the report is entitled to a copy. In South Carolina, the official copy comes from the SCDMV: request it online or file Form FR-50 at a branch or by mail ($10 per report).

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 between Georgia and South Carolina, and understanding the rules in your state matters when building your claim.

Georgia

Under Georgia law, the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury, death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more must immediately notify the local police, the county sheriff, or the nearest state patrol office (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273). The responding officer files a crash report with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

In Georgia courts, the parts of a police report that record the officer’s own observations at the scene can come in under the public-records exception to the hearsay rule, O.C.G.A. § 24-8-803(8) (Maloof v. MARTA, Ga. Ct. App. 2015). What drivers and witnesses told the officer is still hearsay, and the report is not conclusive proof of fault. The officer who wrote the report can testify in person about what they observed at the scene — the physical evidence, vehicle positions and road conditions. A traffic citation itself is not evidence in a Georgia civil case: convictions are inadmissible, but a guilty plea may be shown as an admission against interest (Howard v. Lay), as may a forfeited cash bond, which O.C.G.A. § 40-13-58 treats as an admission of guilt. That admission is only a circumstance for the jury to weigh, not conclusive proof 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 a driver in a crash involving injury or death to notify the local police, the county sheriff, or the nearest Highway Patrol office immediately (S.C. Code § 56-5-1260). The investigating officer must forward a written report to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles within 24 hours of completing the investigation. If the crash caused injury, death, or $1,000 or more in property damage and no officer investigated it, the driver or owner must file a written report with the SCDMV within 15 days (S.C. Code § 56-5-1270).

In South Carolina the rule is statutory and stricter: none of these required reports “may be evidence of the negligence or due care of either party at the trial of any action at law to recover damages,” although an officer may refer to the report on the stand to refresh their recollection (S.C. Code § 56-5-1290). The officer can testify about their observations, but no evidence of a conviction for a traffic violation is admissible in a civil action (S.C. Code § 56-5-6160). A guilty plea to the ticket may be received as an admission, subject to explanation or rebuttal, but a bond forfeiture or a no-contest plea may not (Samuel v. Mouzon, 282 S.C. 616 (Ct. App. 1984)).

South Carolina follows a modified comparative fault rule (Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243 (1991)): 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 crash report is not evidence of negligence in South Carolina (S.C. Code § 56-5-1290) and only the officer’s own observations come in under Georgia’s public-records exception (O.C.G.A. § 24-8-803(8)), 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
• Guilty pleas — the ticket itself is not admissible in a civil case in either state (Georgia: Howard v. Lay; South Carolina: S.C. Code § 56-5-6160), but if the other driver pleads guilty to the violation (running a red light, following too closely, DUI), that plea can be shown as an admission against interest, subject to their explanation
• 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 the legal definition of negligence from Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.

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 investigating agency — only the agency that wrote the report can change it; ask the investigating officer, in writing, to correct factual errors (e.g., wrong vehicle color, incorrect street name). Whether a supplemental or amended report is issued is up to the officer and the agency
• 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 the investigation behind it 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 and training
• Using a guilty plea as an admission — the ticket itself is not admissible in either state, but if the other driver pleaded guilty to it, that plea is an admission against interest the jury may weigh (Georgia: Gaddis v. Skelton; South Carolina: Samuel v. Mouzon)
• 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 your own insurer (for example on an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim) denies a covered loss in the face of the police report without credible justification, your attorney can pursue the statutory bad-faith penalty: in Georgia, up to 50% of the loss or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees, after a 60-day written demand by the policyholder (O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6); in South Carolina, attorney’s fees for an unreasonable refusal to pay (S.C. Code § 38-59-40). Against the other driver’s insurer, the leverage is the lawsuit itself

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

Graeham C. Gillin

Partner, COO