If I'm Injured in an Auto Accident Due to Negligence of a Police Officer, Who is Responsible?

If you are involved with a police officer in an auto accident you should be taken care of if the officer is found negligent of causing the accident. This, of course, varies from state to state since many of them practice different auto insurance laws. The unfortunate thing about being involved in an accident with a police officer is that this instantly becomes your word against the cop’s and this can be a bad place to be with certain officers. Negligence of an auto accident is what it is, no matter who is involved; however, police officers do have the ability to bend the truth to fit their needs.

An auto accident in March of 2009, in Florida, saw a 23 year-old woman struck and killed when a cop blew through a red light and slammed into her vehicle in the middle of an intersection. The police officer claims that he was in pursuit of another vehicle, though the officer did not have his lights or sirens on. Miami Dade Police is not taking responsibility because they are getting around the fact that the police officer was the negligent motorist involved in the accident. Who knows what the truth is as of now, but it seems suspicious to say the least. In cases like this, a family should contact a good attorney.

In the end, the determining factor is the negligence and fault laws that are in place in the state the accident happened. Michigan, for example, is a no fault insurance state so this means that, no matter what happens, your insurance pays for your damages and the other person’s insurance does the same thing. There is, of course, a lot of grey area in states like this but it determines how you will need to handle the insurance company.

Other states are going to require someone to be at fault and be responsible for the damage that was caused. This will typically be the negligent driver who gets the ticket and is responsible for the events that follow the accident. In the states where a motorist is held accountable, this applies to anyone whether you are a restaurant manager, off duty police officer, fireman, or truck driver.