Will the Non-Policing of Fender Benders without Police Reports in Philadelphia Result in Increased Litigation - Experienced Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Says “No Doubt”
As of this date, you should know that Philadelphia police officers are not required to respond to minor fender bender car accidents in the City of Philadelphia. This experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer predicts more chaos and increased litigation as insurance companies who do not have police reports already seem to use this lack as a reason to litigate and assess credibility of the players and parties in the accident.
Worse yet, consider the scenario where it is late at night, your car is in an accident and you are afraid to get out of the car to exchange information due to the fact that the other vehicle is loaded with gangster type characters or if you are a woman and a man is in the other car, a frightening situation may also prevail. I recently read an article by Solomon Jones in the Philadelphia Daily News who stated that “If you are among the conscientious drivers who have real insurance, you don’t want a police report.” He claims that that little piece of paper just helps the uninsured people who hit your car to get a neck brace through your insurance company and drive your rates sky-high.” I firmly disagree. If you are in a car accident that is not your fault, you have the right to recover compensatory damages not only for bodily injury but also for property damage to your vehicle and many people do not have proper coverage for damage to their auto.
In many of the cases that I have been involved with since 1979 involving car accidents where there was no police report, the insurance adjusters signaled the case with a fraud alert. They use this tactic to deny, delay and defend non-payment of otherwise valid claims. The litigation process can be costly and if the case does not have serious enough damage in terms of physical injury, you may have a difficult time finding a lawyer to accept the case and prove which party is credible.
I will be curious to observe how this situation plays out over the next few months and years.
