A Police Report Blames You for the Crash: Does It Have to Be Changed Before You Can Sue?

Attorney Answer

No. Getting the report changed is not a step you have to finish before you can bring a claim. In fact, a Pennsylvania court deciding a claim for damages does not look at the report's copy at all. What you do need to do now is open your own first-party medical claim, which pays regardless of fault, and keep the deadline in view.

The report is not evidence of fault in a damages case. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(4) says:

The copy of the report shall not be admissible as evidence in any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of a motor vehicle accident.

So an officer's view that you were at fault does not decide a civil claim. Who caused the crash is proved the ordinary way: the physical evidence, the damage pattern, the scene, witnesses, and any video.

You are entitled to a copy of it, and it can be supplemented. Under § 3751(b)(1):

Police departments shall, upon request, furnish a certified copy of the full report of the police investigation of any vehicle accident to any person involved in the accident, his attorney or insurer, and to the Federal Government, branches of the military service, Commonwealth agencies, and to officials of political subdivisions and to agencies of other states and nations and their political subdivisions.

And § 3751(a) contemplates later additions:

If the initial report is not complete, a supplemental report shall be submitted at a later date.

Your friend has a point that the report matters in practice. Insurers read it, and it shapes their first position. But nothing makes amending it a precondition to a claim. Be careful how you go about it, though. If the officer concluded you were at fault, there may be a traffic citation in the background. Before you give the police any further statement about how the crash happened, ask a lawyer how to do it.

Your medical care is paid regardless of fault. Your own auto policy carries first-party medical benefits. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711(a) requires:

An insurer issuing or delivering liability insurance policies covering any motor vehicle of the type required to be registered under this title, except recreational vehicles not intended for highway use, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles or motorized pedalcycles or like type vehicles, registered and operated in this Commonwealth, shall include coverage providing a medical benefit in the amount of $5,000.

Those benefits come first from your own policy, under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1713(a). Fault plays no part in them.

If fault ends up shared, you can still recover. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), a claimant whose negligence “was not greater than” the other driver's still recovers, reduced by their own share. So the question is never just “was I at fault at all.”

What you can do

1. Request a certified copy of the full report under § 3751(b)(1). The fee is capped at $15, or $25 in a city of the first class.

2. Open a first-party medical claim with your own insurer now, and keep every bill and referral.

3. Photograph the car before it is salvaged, especially the points of impact.

4. Keep the case number, and the names of anyone who saw the crash.

5. Ask a Pennsylvania lawyer before giving the police or any insurer a statement about how the crash happened.

6. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for your injuries must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, which covers “An action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.” Evidence goes sooner: a destroyed car is usually scrapped within weeks, and scene marks fade quickly.