Auto Insurance Claims: uninsured motorist / inaccurate police report, inaccurate report, civil matter

Question
my 21 year old son was involved in an accident where another vehicle pulled out in front of him on very icy road conditions.  The officer that handled it did not take a statement from him but from his passenger  and the driver of the other vehicle. then the officer issued my son a citation for not being able to control his vehicle and let the other driver leave.  My son questioned the citation and the officer grabbed it back and said forget it just get the he-- out of here!  My son let his insurance lapse (he is uninsured) and of course the other drivers insurance co. is seeking payment from him for damages.  the problem is that the Police report is inaccurate and is finding him at fault which the insurance company is basing their claim against him on. My sons damages were minimal and some how the other driver has had 5000.00 in damages fixed.  We have been trying to advise him the best we can on how to contest this as in going to a public defender... seeing a lawyer... the public defender said that he can not help because there was no ticket or citation issued and it is not a legal matter  but a person / civil matter.  Lawyers have told him that there is not enough evidence to prove fault and that it would be cheaper to pay off the $5000.00 rather than legal costs.  He does not have this kind of money or really able to make payments ... he is young and just getting started out on his own.  mistakes were made in handling the accident like they moved their vehicles and no pictures were taken and no info exchanged between him and the other driver.  He only has his passenger as a witness and the other driver was alone, pulling out from a stop sign.  How should he go about trying to get the police report amended and how should he handle the insurance company wanting their money based on an inaccurate report?  He has until February 5th 2009 to get back with them. He so badly wants to do the right thing and work with them feeling bad that he was not insured.  But he feels he is being held totally liable and treated with prejudice possibly because of it.  please any advise?

Answer
Hi Linda,

This is a tough situation. To get the police report amended your son would have to contact the police officer who wrote it or perhaps his supervisor. However, even if he is successful in getting the report amanded, the other drivers insurance company will likely not change their mind. They will almost always stick to the original report.

About the only thing your son could do is to file suit against the other driver to have a judge determine liability. If your son is able to convince the judge that he is more correct than the other driver, he may win his case. The judge may also find in favor of the other driver or may place a percentage of liability on each driver.

With little evidence it is hard to say which way it will go. If your son decides not to try to fight this the other drivers insurance company will make payment arrangements with him.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh