When you or a loved one suffers injuries after being involved in a police car accident, you have the right to compensation. The procedure involves identifying whether the involved police parties are liable under negligence law for causing loss and harm, making it necessary for a civil court to issue a compensatory order. Involvement in an accident with a police car presents unique circumstances, as the police parties may or may not be liable to provide monetary compensation.
Subsequently, you must work with a highly skilled and experienced attorney who understands civil law. Specifically, they should guide you in preparing for your case and ensuring the liable parties are held accountable for causing injuries and other losses after the car accident.
The Nature of an Accident Involving a Police Car
Whether you are a motorist or a pedestrian on the road, you may be prone to accidents based on your or a third party’s shortcomings. As a result, you may be a road accident victim involving a member of the police force as a liable party.
If your case includes suffering injuries after a police car hits you, you will deal with unique case circumstances that require proper legal analysis. This is mainly because police officers are subject to unique regulations and exemptions that may prevent them from being fully liable.
Regardless of the situation, you still have a right to seek compensation for the harm you experienced, making it important to consult your personal injury attorney soon after the incident. Thanks to their experience handling similar matters, they should guide you through the most important steps before they begin case preparation.
Your personal injury attorney advises you to seek urgent medical treatment to ensure you undergo proper healthcare procedures as a starting point. They advise this because of the urgency of safeguarding your health.
Moreover, seeking medical attention allows you to create and retain records of the injuries suffered. Thanks to this, you can justify your position in court more easily, as the judge can reference doctors’ notes. You should, therefore, seek medical treatment even if you strongly believe you will not be hurt.
Taking photographs of the accident scene soon after it occurs is also essential, as you can obtain evidence for later use. If you are in contact with your attorney, you can send the photos moments after taking them, as it allows them to assess the situation and begin their research on how to present your case.
If the officer from the vehicle that hit you tries to engage with you, you should maintain composure and avoid admitting fault. Your lawyer may advise you to avoid contact altogether, especially if you are more likely to be intimidated by the officer’s job description.
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Under the circumstances, you should remember that you are the primary accident victim and have the right to discuss the incident with your attorney. Based on this, consider calling your personal injury lawyer to seek advice on how to talk to the police involved or whether to avoid them altogether.
Factors That Cause a Car Accident Involving a Police Car
Like other road users, police officers should generally observe road signs and other good driving practices to uphold all road users’ safety. Although officers are exempt from observing the road signs, they should remain aware of other road users, regardless of the circumstances.
If the officer involved in your case failed to observe basic road regulations, they may cause an accident under the following circumstances:
Driving With Excessive Speed
Officers should observe the set speed limits while on the road unless they are in unique circumstances that force them to violate them. Based on this, you may present a rightful court case claim if the driver was speeding without a justifiable reason.
When looking for evidence for your case, your personal injury attorney aims to determine whether the police officer had an urgent matter to attend to. They may do this by inquiring from the station they are posted to or from witnesses who observed the events moments before the accident. If there was no serious urgency with the officer’s speeding, you should consider filing a compensatory claim against them.
Driving on the Wrong Side
Further, officers must observe road regulations to stick to the correct lane when driving. The rule is especially important on two-way streets off the highway, as driving in the wrong lane could cause collisions.
As a driver, you may have suffered injuries if the police car appeared unexpectedly, giving you little reaction time to avert it. As a motorcycle rider, you may have a more serious experience if the driver is in the wrong lane, mainly because of the direct impact on your body. Subsequently, you may need more intensive medical care, requiring higher compensatory amounts when presenting your case.
Failing to Yield to Oncoming Vehicles
Road regulations also require you to yield to other drivers or pedestrians, depending on who has the right of way in a specific situation. Based on this, you can include details on how the accident involving a police vehicle arose and seek compensation if the officer failed to yield.
For example, if you were a pedestrian at a designated crosswalk when the police car hit you, the situation justifies your claims. The main premise of your lawsuit against the police car is that they did not observe the road regulations or deliberately faltered, resulting in a serious injury for you.
Your personal injury attorney requests you to recount the events leading to the accident to highlight the police officer’s shortcomings. If they can demonstrate that the police acted with impunity, the presiding judge may be more inclined to award compensation.
Running a Red Light
Observing traffic light prompts while driving or walking along a busy road is essential, as they help regulate vehicle movement and prevent safety risks. Therefore, failure to stop at a red traffic light introduces a bigger safety concern and may result in injury after an accident.
Police officers should know the set rules and work towards preventing unsafe road circumstances. If not, you can present a justified lawsuit against the responsible parties seeking legal recourse for the injuries you suffer. In doing so, you can look forward to higher chances of a favorable case outcome.
Making Illegal Turns
Turning abruptly may also be the primary cause of the car accident you were involved in, leaving you vulnerable to injuries and monetary losses. The police car may have turned abruptly without indicating properly because the officer misused their work-based privilege.
Your case facts are a primary reference point when presenting your claims in court, so you need to work closely with your attorney to ensure you consolidate them accordingly. Preparing in advance helps you establish the most persuasive arguments to present for the judge to order compensation.
How to Hold a Police Officer Liable for an Accident
As discussed, holding a police officer liable for the injuries you suffered after an accident requires you to prepare adequately, as your case involves unique circumstances. Under Section 21055 of the California Vehicle Code, an officer can avoid facing liability after causing an accident if they can prove that they met the set minimum requirements.
These requirements include having the police lights and sirens on, involvement in an emergency response, and operating the police vehicle with proper authorization. The officer must have also applied the necessary standard of care when driving to avoid liability for causing an accident.
Due to this, your case should demonstrate that the officer in question did not meet the set standards, meaning they failed to uphold road safety regulations. Your case is premised on the argument that the police officer did not comply with the regulations, so you must prepare thoroughly.
Your attorney helps you find evidence to support the claims related to your case, especially in demonstrating the police officer’s shortcomings. The following are the main factors that result in an officer being liable for causing injuries after a car accident:
- The Officer Lacked the Authorization to Drive the Police Car
Officers work in several departments, meaning each person receives authorization to undertake specific operations. Work ranks also determine whether officers can undertake specific operations, including driving a patrol vehicle.
Your argument may thus be that the officer who caused the accident operated the car without authorization, meaning they violated several codes. To demonstrate this, your attorney may obtain records from the relevant police station detailing each officer's responsibilities. If the details are sufficient to show that the officer was at fault, you are in a better position to request the court for a compensatory order.
Nevertheless, building the argument requires your attorney to find the required information by questioning other officers at the station. Doing so may be complex, as they may deny access to specific details. Requesting the judge to draft an order to release documents is crucial in these circumstances.
- The Officer Was Not Involved in an Emergency Response Operation
Additionally, you should establish that the officer was not in an emergency response operation when the accident occurred. Highlighting this factor is important because it demonstrates that the officer lacked urgency to drive recklessly and that they possibly caused the accident out of impunity.
Your attorney should obtain details on situations classified as types of emergency response operations to help you determine whether the officer was justified in their actions. Examples include:
- Pursuing a Fugitive
Fugitives are persons fleeing repercussions of the criminal justice system, such as serving jail time. Police officers may have to run an emergency operation to chase a fugitive, as their role is to arrest and return them under the California justice system.
Since police chases involve a lot of unforeseen circumstances, you may become an accident victim if you are in the way. The situation may arise in multiple instances by the driving officer. These include wrong turns, excessive speed, and running the red lights, often exposing you to higher safety risks.
If you can demonstrate that no records exist of an ongoing police chase when the accident occurred, you may have a rightful claim against the officer. This is because they lack a justified reason for failing to observe road regulations, resulting in your injuries.
- Responding to a Caller in Danger
When a citizen calls the police in distress because they believe their life is in danger, the officers should respond as soon as possible. This creates an emergency that calls for quick but careful action from the officers to prevent accidents when responding to the call.
As an accident victim, you should recount the details of what happened before the impact to show that the officer acted without proper regard for others’ safety. Giving your testimony is important because it shows that while the officer was engaged in an emergency response operation, they did not uphold road rules.
However, most successful cases involve officers who did not have a legitimate emergency call to answer but chose to violate road regulations. If so, you should consolidate your evidence to demonstrate how the officer endangered you and other road users.
- Involvement in a Rescue Operation
Sometimes, rescue operations may involve the police force, especially when a person is in danger of physical harm from an armed third party. Additional situations, like kidnapping, may also fall within the emergency rescue operation category.
In court, the liable party should elaborate on the circumstances they were responding to and demonstrate that the incident was an emergency. In return, your evidence should show that no records indicate that the officer had a running operation when they caused a road accident.
You can do this by providing records on call logs, dispatch schedules, and other police entries demonstrating an existing rescue operation. You have a better chance of receiving compensation by disproving the officer’s claim of responding to an emergency.
- The Officer Was Grossly Negligent
While officers may face exemptions after causing an accident based on the nature of their work, they must still apply a standard of care when driving. Failure to do so jeopardizes other road users’ safety, resulting in road accidents like the one you are involved in.
The minimum standard of care for all motorists prevents them from being grossly negligent, meaning they must observe specific regulations. For example, giving way to pedestrians and avoiding situations that may endanger them is critical, as they are more prone to severe injuries upon impact.
Further, drivers must fully control their vehicles and maintain concentration, regardless of being in an emergency or high-stress situation. Based on this, the officer should not drive recklessly while responding to a safety alert.
As the victim, the negligence rules require you to demonstrate that the liable party acted negligently. To do this, your attorney must ensure you demonstrate the four main elements of a negligence case. They are:
- The officer had a duty of care to drive safely.
- They breached their duty.
- The accident you suffered injuries from arose because of the breach.
- You suffered damages from the incident.
Each element requires you to provide sufficient proof of the officer’s shortcomings, so your attorney should help you identify compelling information. Further, when elaborating on your losses, include documents like doctor's reports and medical bills to justify your claims.
The main compensatory claims to consider include:
- Loss of wages.
- Pain and suffering.
- Medical expenses.
- Property damage.
- Loss of consortium.
- Wrongful death if you are suing on behalf of the deceased’s family.
Parties Liable to Pay for Compensation
If the court finds your case persuasive, they will award you a compensatory sum sufficient to help you cover the losses you suffered. Although the police officer who caused the car accident is the primary liable party, they are not responsible for paying compensation.
The exception is under Section 17001 of the California Vehicle Code, which requires the hiring entity to meet the financial implications after an officer causes a road accident if they are within their work scope. Based on this, you can expect compensation from the county or state office or the law enforcement office overseeing the officer’s operations.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
After suffering serious injuries in a car accident, you, as the victim, have a rightful claim against the responsible party to seek compensation. The primary reason for filing a lawsuit against them is to help you recover from your losses, including physical and financial pain. However, dealing with a car accident case that involved a police car introduces unique circumstances that require expert legal analysis and advice. You, therefore, need to work with a skilled legal team to justify your position and persuade the court to grant the necessary compensation order.
At the San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm, we aim to provide quality legal advice and representation if you suffer from injuries after an accident with a police car. We understand the importance of assessing the case facts and holding the police accountable, and we are well-equipped to represent you. You can also count on us to provide additional guidance and courtroom representation when hearings begin. Our services are available for clients throughout California. For more information on how to seek compensation after an accident involving a police car, call us today at 619-478-4059.