The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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hearty-tern-822

Other driver straight-up lied on the police report and now I don't know what to do

I'm still fuming about this and need some outside perspective because my brain is fried.

About three weeks ago I was driving on the highway when traffic ahead of me suddenly backed up — construction zone slowdown. I braked normally, stopped fine. The truck behind me was NOT paying attention and plowed right into me. My car got pushed forward, airbags deployed, the whole thing. His truck had some front-end damage but he was able to drive it home. I got taken to urgent care.

Here's what's killing me: I finally got a copy of the police report and that guy told the officer I "swerved into his lane without signaling" which is completely made up. I was in the same lane the entire time. There was a passenger in my car who saw everything and will back me up 100%.

Now I'm worried the insurance company is just going to take his word for it since it's in the official report. Do I have any way to challenge what's written there? Can my passenger give a recorded statement? Is there dashcam footage from other cars I could try to track down? I feel like I'm being set up to take partial blame for an accident that was entirely his fault and it's making me sick.

Also — we happen to have the same insurance carrier, which honestly makes me trust the process even less. Like whose side are they actually on here?

Has anyone dealt with a situation where the other driver just outright lied? What did you actually do about it?

14replies

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14 replies

  • 22
    curious-beaver-179

    Not legal advice, but the scenario you're describing — disputed liability, a shared carrier, and a documented injury — is exactly the kind of situation where a free consult with a PI attorney is worth your time. Most won't charge you anything to sit down and tell you where you stand. The conflicting report isn't necessarily fatal to your claim; attorneys deal with this regularly and know how to build a counter-narrative with evidence. Just don't wait too long — evidence disappears.

    • 6
      soft-spoken-late-shift487

      Took me three tries but they finally budged. Don't give up.

  • 19
    daring-newt-530

    Please don't let the insurance drama distract you from your health right now. Adrenaline masks a lot in the days right after a crash, and symptoms from whiplash or soft tissue injuries sometimes don't fully show up for a week or two. If anything new is hurting or you're having headaches, dizziness, anything like that — go back and get it documented. Gaps in medical care get used against people all the time.

  • 18
    wise-seal-208

    This happened to me almost exactly. The other driver told the officer I ran a stop sign — there was no stop sign on my side, only on his. What saved me was a neighbor's doorbell camera that caught the whole intersection. Seriously, start canvassing for any cameras in the area ASAP. Gas stations, traffic lights, nearby businesses, even residential doorbells. You'd be surprised what's out there and how fast that footage gets overwritten.

    • 14
      brave-seal-472

      The fact that you share a carrier is a huge red flag to me. That company has a financial interest in splitting liability if they can — it reduces what they pay out overall. Don't assume your adjuster is "your" adjuster. They work for the company, full stop. Be really careful about giving any recorded statement without thinking through every word first.

    • 16
      humble-grouse-637

      Three things, in order: (1) Get your passenger's contact info formally documented with the insurance company TODAY. (2) Send a written request to any businesses or traffic cameras near the scene asking them to preserve footage before it gets auto-deleted — some systems only keep 2-3 weeks. (3) Stop talking to the insurance company until you at least understand your rights. You're not obligated to give a recorded statement immediately.

  • 18
    careful-swift-379

    A few practical things worth knowing: in most states you can submit a written supplement or rebuttal to a police report — it gets attached to the original and becomes part of the official record. It won't erase what he said but it puts YOUR version in writing too. Also get your passenger's account written down and dated NOW, while the details are fresh. Witness statements that come weeks or months later carry less weight than ones documented close to the event.

  • 13
    clever-lynx-171

    Were there any other cars around you that could have witnessed the lane situation? And do you know yet whether the police officer noted any contributing factors on his end, like following too closely? Sometimes the narrative in the report isn't the only thing that matters — there can be violation codes cited separately that already point to fault.

    • 3
      thankful-road-soul547

      Adding this: keep copies of every email. It mattered for me.

  • 9
    wise-marmot-984

    Former adjuster here. Conflicting statements on a report are more common than you'd think, and they don't automatically mean you lose. What investigators actually look at is the physical evidence — point of impact on both vehicles, skid marks, damage patterns. If his story was that you swerved into his lane, the damage profile on your cars should either support or contradict that. Make sure you photograph every inch of both vehicles if you can, and ask the body shop to document the damage direction in writing.

    • 0
      grounded-backseat396

      Did the timeline change anything for you? Mine dragged on for weeks.

  • 5
    bright-marten-412

    I'm so sorry you're dealing with this on top of recovering from the actual crash. It's genuinely unfair that someone can just lie and suddenly you're scrambling to prove your own innocence. Please lean on people around you right now — this kind of stress is a lot to carry alone.

    • 7
      level-offramp838

      Thank you both, this gave me the push I needed to make the call.

    • 10
      patient-neighbor635

      That lines up with what my adjuster told me too.