How to challenge a traffic accident certificate
How to appeal a certificate of an accident?
Any road accident is accompanied by the preparation of various documentation. As practice shows, quite often users have to deal with a problem when the data specified in the accident certificate does not correspond to reality. In such a situation, the document must be appealed. We should talk in more detail about how to appeal a certificate of an accident in court.
When do you need to challenge a traffic accident certificate?
The situation on domestic highways continues to be tense. Statistics show that the number of road accidents in Russia is growing every year. There are a huge number of reasons for this phenomenon. Any road accident entails material losses, since cars are often damaged in accidents. As soon as a collision occurs, it is necessary to immediately call the traffic police to the scene. The police will record the accident and issue a certificate of accident. Unfortunately, as practice often shows, the data specified in the document may differ from reality. In such a situation, the parties to an accident are forced to look for information on how to appeal a certificate of an accident.
The road accident certificate, which is issued by traffic police at the scene of the collision, has a standard form approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs dated April 1, 2011. Thus, the document must have a certain appearance.
Only in this case can it be used further. Therefore, if you are involved in an accident in which your car was damaged, then you need to obtain a certificate of the accident. If for some reason it does not comply with current legal requirements, it contains errors or the situation is presented incorrectly, then it is necessary to appeal the certificate.
It is worth noting that the current legislative framework does not establish a procedure for appealing a certificate. Therefore, the term “appeal” itself should not be taken in its literal sense.
It is important to note that the road accident certificate is an official document on the basis of which the circumstances of the road collision and the involvement of one or another party in creating an unfavorable road situation will be determined. This document indicates all the data that will be required to exercise the rights and interests that are associated with compensation for material and moral damage, challenging the amount of compensation, etc.
In addition, a certificate of an accident is an integral part of any relationship with the insurance company. If you intend to receive an insurance payment, you will be required to provide this certificate to your insurance company.
How to appeal a traffic accident certificate
When talking about how to challenge a certificate of an accident, it is necessary to pay special attention to the fact that this requires certain circumstances. At the moment, an appeal against the certificate will be necessary in the following situations:
- The certificate contains incorrect information. For example, errors were made when indicating registration license plates, or the data of the parties to the incident was not entered at all. This circumstance also includes the absence of violated traffic rules, data on bringing the culprit of the accident to administrative responsibility, etc.;
- The certificate incorrectly displays information about the presence of damage to the vehicle that occurred as a result of the collision. As a rule, traffic police officers describe only those damages that are visible to the naked eye, completely losing sight of hidden damages. Therefore, it is necessary to indicate in the certificate the presence of possible hidden damage, due to which the technical characteristics of the car were changed for the worse;
- if people were injured as a result of an accident, but there is not a single word about them in the certificate, or errors were made in indicating their contact information, including grammatical ones;
- if the certificate is not properly certified. A certificate of an accident is an official document that must indicate the traffic police department that issued it; there must also be a stamp, a seal, and the signature of the official who compiled it.
If, during the process of applying for insurance compensation, or in court, it is determined that for some reason the certificate of an accident does not reflect the essence of the collision that occurred, then negative consequences may occur, among which can be identified an increase in the amount of the claim against the culprit of the accident, while nothing justified, or refusal to make insurance payments.
As practice shows, if there is a certificate with “defects”, it is necessary to eliminate all contradictions. Otherwise, the consideration of your case may be complicated, delayed until the certificate is corrected, or the claim may be rejected.
As a rule, at the time of writing the certificate, few people understand what its true role is in further proceedings, and therefore do not pay attention to the document. And this is a big mistake, because due to such a negligent attitude, problematic situations often arise that require a special approach.
In fact, there may be a lot of reasons for appealing a certificate. Therefore, before receiving it in your hands and signing for receipt, it is necessary, in the presence of a traffic police officer, to carefully study it for the presence of obvious or hidden errors. Only after all contradictory issues have been eliminated can you put your signature on the copy given to you, which will later need to be attached to the case of the road accident.
Read about penalties for late insurance payments here.
If you carefully monitor the drafting of the document and ensure that all the data you provide is indicated in the certificate, you can generally avoid the need to appeal the document. In such a situation, you will not frantically look for where to appeal the certificate of an accident, but will calmly go about your everyday affairs, knowing that everything is in order with all your documents.
Where and who to contact to challenge a certificate of an accident
If you notice that the certificate about the traffic accident in which you were involved does not correspond to the realities, or it contains contradictory information, then you must submit a written request to make the necessary additions or changes to the text of the certificate as quickly as possible.
The application must be submitted to the traffic police officer who compiled the document. It is worth noting that changes can be made immediately, but at the same time, any corrections must be confirmed by the personal signature of an authorized person. If it is not possible to make changes to an existing document, then the traffic police officer will be required to draw up a new certificate and certify it in accordance with current legal requirements. After this, the document can be attached to the case file of the traffic accident.
It must be added that often traffic police officers are in no hurry to admit their mistakes, and therefore refuse to satisfy the petition. If you encounter a similar situation, you can challenge the actions of an authorized representative of the traffic police by filing a corresponding complaint addressed to the head of the traffic police unit. If this does not bring the desired result, then in this case it is necessary to involve employees of the prosecutor’s office in resolving the controversial situation.
As practice shows, the most effective way to resolve contradictions with the traffic police is to file a complaint in court. However, it is worth remembering that doing this on your own can be difficult, since filing a complaint must be carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of the law. Therefore, if such a situation arises, it is better to bring on your side a qualified lawyer who will help you achieve justice and protect your interests.
Appealing a certificate of an accident
Violation of traffic rules leads to significant material losses and physical harm to road users. Since no one is insured against getting into an accident, you need to be prepared to draw up documents about the accident. The insurance policy does not always cover the losses incurred; additional funds will need to be recovered from the culprit of the incident.
A very important point is the competent drawing up of a protocol, inspection of the scene of the accident and determination of the position of each participant in the accident. Participants must read and sign the accident certificate, which is for informational purposes only. The certificate can be further challenged or, conversely, used as the main argument in a legal dispute. The court's decision on the amount of compensation to the victim is largely determined by the information reflected in the certificate of the incident.
If you disagree with the information specified in the certificate, you should appeal it within the established time frame and due process. A lawyer who practices in litigation in the automotive field of jurisprudence will be able to make a competent appeal to the court. When you visit our website, you can get online legal advice free of charge and at a time convenient for you.
The lawyer will explain how to write a complaint against the actions of traffic police officers regarding the information contained in the certificate. The specialist will give recommendations to the injured or guilty party and explain the procedure for taking further measures to protect their rights.
Pre-trial resolution of the issue
Being at the scene of an accident, each participant can express his or her point of view about the incident, which does not always coincide with the arguments of the inspectors. The presence of claims regarding the incident scheme, protocol data, and certificates of identified features can be legally challenged. If the comments and complaints are not accepted by the traffic police officers on the spot, then you will have to appeal the accident certificate in the ways permitted by law:
- the management of the unit whose employees recorded the incident;
- report the violation to the internal affairs authorities;
- write a complaint to the supervisory authorities, that is, the prosecutor’s office;
- file a claim in court.
You can send a complaint to the traffic police department addressed to the head in person, by registered letter with notification, or by using the traffic police website. The choice of appeal method depends on objective factors and the capabilities of the participant in the accident. You can file a complaint with higher authorities within 10 days; a complaint at the department must be considered within the same period.
The complaint must be drawn up in a reasoned and legally competent manner. The statement indicates the legal norms that were violated when recording the incident. It is optimal to entrust the preparation of the document to a practicing lawyer who has repeatedly performed a similar procedure.
You should begin protecting your interests with a consultation, during which the lawyer will review the circumstances of the case and propose a subsequent course of action to protect the client’s interests. After which you will need to notarize the right to represent your principal, that is, a power of attorney to participate in the procedure.
The lawyer will write a complaint and send it to the management of the traffic police, meet the deadlines and write a competent appeal. If the issue cannot be resolved positively and the certificate is not amended, then an appeal to the court will be required. At the same time, competently carried out pre-trial work is always objectively perceived by the court, demonstrating the position of the plaintiff and the legal actions taken to resolve the matter.
Judicial procedure for appealing a certificate
A lawsuit should be filed in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Courts of general jurisdiction deal with issues of appealing disputes with the traffic police. If the material component of the claim is below 50 thousand rubles, then the claim should be filed in the magistrate’s court; if it is higher, then the district (city) instance will consider the dispute. According to the law, there is no strictly established sample of a complaint about an incorrectly drawn up diagram or certificate of an accident. However, the document must contain the necessary information on the controversial issue:
- name of the court;
- personal information about the applicant, contact numbers;
- position and personal data of the traffic police officer who compiled the controversial documents about the incident;
- a brief description of the incident, an indication of the violations identified;
- the applicant’s demand for restoration of justice and protection of his rights;
- applicant's signature and date.
In one process, the plaintiff can put forward two related claims: against the road service employee for an incorrect description of the incident and against the participant in the accident. Claims against the perpetrator may be justified by provisions for the recovery of material damage suffered by the plaintiff. The two requirements are interrelated.
If the court makes a positive ruling regarding the first issue and recognizes the certificate and diagram as unauthorized, then it will be necessary to again determine who is responsible for the accident. Establishing the amount of the penalty from the perpetrator is carried out with the possible involvement of an independent examination, witness testimony and traffic violations recorded by surveillance cameras.
Lawsuits challenging accident diagrams drawn up by inspectors and certificates from the accident scene are not uncommon in practice. If official documents contain inaccuracies and amendments, or difficult to read fragments, then an experienced lawyer can always challenge such an official document in court. In addition, the involvement of witness testimony and video recording information from participants in the incident can help to understand the accident objectively.
If the court's findings do not satisfy the participants in the process, then each of them can appeal the decision to higher authorities. You can file an appeal to a higher court within a month until the initial decision comes into force. There is also the possibility of filing a cassation appeal when the decision has already entered into legal force and must be executed.
Obtaining a certificate of an accident
How to appeal (challenge) a certificate of an accident?
Each of the participants in the accident, who needs this document for subsequent claims for insurance payments, can appeal the certificate of an accident. The basis for challenging may be failure to comply with the form of the document, or incorrectly recorded circumstances of the collision and its consequences. In this material we will find out how to challenge a certificate of an accident, and what the appeal may affect.
What it is
A road accident certificate is an official document confirming all the circumstances of a car collision:
- place and time of the accident;
- composition of road accident participants, including car owners, passengers and pedestrians;
- information about the nature of bodily injuries caused as a result of a road incident;
- description of the nature and extent of damage to the vehicle;
- conclusion about the guilt of one or more persons in an accident.
The certificate is filled out after a traffic police officer is called to the scene of the accident. To record all important circumstances, the inspector draws up protocols on administrative offenses, road accident diagrams, takes explanations from the parties, conducts an inspection of the car with the participation of both car owners, etc.
In some cases, calling a traffic police officer to the scene is not required. For example, if the preliminary assessment of damage does not exceed 50 thousand rubles, and there are no injured citizens in the accident, car owners can fill out a mutual notification form under the Europrotocol program. In such a situation, a traffic police certificate is not required, since all the circumstances will be recorded by the participants in the accident themselves.
Grounds for challenge
When drawing up a certificate of an accident, each of the car owners can not only take part in procedural actions, but also submit their objections and comments on each fact and circumstance. Therefore, the simplest and most obvious option to avoid an appeal is to eliminate possible errors on the spot. The grounds for challenge can be grouped as follows:
- identification of violations in the form of drawing up a certificate - for example, lack of information about one or more participants in an accident, errors in describing the parameters of the car, lack of a stamp of the traffic police agency, etc.;
- incorrect conclusion about guilt in an accident;
- errors when indicating the legally significant circumstances of the accident, the list of vehicle damage, and the nature of the physical damage.
These violations affect the ability to receive compensation under an MTPL or CASCO policy, or significantly complicate this procedure.
Appealing a certificate of an accident is allowed in the following ways:
- direct contact with the official who issued the certificate - if the error does not affect legally significant circumstances, and all participants in the accident agree to make changes, the certificate will be amended or a new document will be issued;
- filing a complaint with a higher official of the territorial department or traffic police department;
- filing a complaint with the prosecutor's office;
- challenge through the courts.
If other participants in the accident have objections to changes to the contents of the certificate, or this will lead to a significant change in the situation, the document can only be challenged in court.
Challenge procedure
Each party can determine whether the road accident certificate does not comply with the requirements of the law. Violations may also be indicated in the decision of the insurance company, which will refuse to confirm the insured event or to transfer funds under the MTPL policy. Therefore, each participant in the accident can challenge the certificate, or filing a simultaneous complaint is allowed.
If there are technical errors in the certificate (misprints, blots, etc.), they can be corrected by making additions or issuing a new document. To do this, you need to make an oral or written statement to the inspector who issued the certificate, or to a higher official. If there are significant errors or objections from the parties, any changes can only be made through the court.
If the certificate is disputed through officials of the traffic police or the prosecutor's office, attention is drawn to the following points:
- whether the traffic police officer has the authority to draw up procedural documents;
- completeness and reliability of the information included in the certificate - for this purpose, the data recorded in protocols, diagrams, etc. are compared;
- the presence in the procedural documents of objections and additions from participants in the accident that were not taken into account when issuing the certificate;
- the significance of the violations committed - whether they affect a possible appeal to the insurance company to receive compensation.
Based on the results of consideration of the complaint, the applicant will be issued a new certificate, or changes and additions will be made to the existing document.
In most cases, you will have to go through a court procedure to obtain the proper documentation of an accident. Let's look at how to appeal a certificate of an accident in court, and what circumstances the participants in the process will prove.
Legal challenge
If there is a judicial act canceling or changing the traffic police certificate, the insurance company will not be able to refuse payments. Therefore, appealing to the courts will be the most effective option for appeal. When filing a complaint, you need to consider the following points:
- name of the court (cases of this category are heard in courts of general jurisdiction);
- information about the applicant, as well as about other interested parties - not only the traffic police representative is involved in the case, but also other participants in the accident, whose interests may depend on the content of the certificate;
- information about the document that is the subject of the complaint - date and number, the official who issued the certificate;
- a brief summary of the circumstances of the accident that were included in the certificate;
- information about the accident certificate that is disputed by the applicant;
- requirement to invalidate the certificate or change its content;
- personal signature and date of document preparation.
Not only the participant in the accident, but also his representative can file a complaint. To do this, you need to issue a power of attorney through a notary office.
When considering a complaint, the court is obliged to establish the factual picture of the accident and the correctness of the circumstances of the accident in the traffic police certificate. In particular, the following facts will be relevant:
- if the traffic police inspector unreasonably did not take into account the arguments and objections of the participants in the road incident when drawing up the certificate, the certificate will most likely be declared invalid;
- if the parties were negligent in checking the procedural documents at the scene of the accident and voluntarily indicated the absence of objections, it will be extremely difficult to challenge the certificate;
- When considering a complaint, the reasoned opinion of all parties to the dispute will be taken into account - for this purpose written or oral objections to the essence of the complaint are submitted.
The most common cases of filing complaints are challenging the guilt of an accident, as well as disagreement with the nature and extent of the damage. A traffic police officer can not only establish the unambiguous guilt of one of the drivers, but also indicate the mutual nature of the guilt. In this case, the certificate cannot contain the exact amount of guilt, since this is within the powers of the court. The court will determine the proportional fault of each driver, and the insurance company will use the court's conclusion to determine the amount of payments.
If the fault in an accident is related to a violation of specific traffic rules, in order to change the certificate, you need to challenge the administrative protocol or resolution. The materials of the administrative proceedings will be used as evidence when considering the complaint against the certificate.
The subject of the dispute may be the incorrect indication of damage from an accident:
- incomplete listing of damaged vehicle elements;
- erroneous conclusion about the absence of hidden damage (such a conclusion can only be made by an auto expert);
- erroneous indication of the location of the first impact in a collision, which will affect the determination of the culprit of the accident;
- erroneous inclusion in the certificate of damage that already existed at the time of the road accident.
To challenge these conclusions of a traffic police officer, it may be necessary to conduct an auto examination. In this case, the expert will assess the actual consequences of the accident, and also indicate the presence of damage that existed at the time of the accident.
Based on the results of the consideration of the case, the court may recognize the certificate of an accident as fully or partially invalid. It is also possible to make changes to the specified form - all changed points will be listed in the judicial act. If the certificate is declared completely invalid, the traffic police service will be obliged to issue a new document taking into account the established circumstances.
After receiving a new or updated certificate of an accident, this document must be submitted to the insurance company to receive MTPL or CASCO payments. Although the contents of the certificate indicate a list of external damages, the exact amount of damage will be determined during an inspection of the car by an appraiser. If the car owner does not agree with the assessment results, you can undergo an independent examination.
The insurance company does not have the right to refuse to accept a traffic police certificate or appeal it in court. If changes to the certificate were made by a judicial act, it is also provided to the insurance company. The certificate of guilt of one of the participants in the accident will be taken into account when considering the application for payments. If the certificate states that the drivers are both at fault, the insurance company will be able to refuse to award payments - in this case, you need to go to court and determine the degree of guilt of each car owner.
How to appeal an accident scheme
A traffic accident is not a very pleasant situation, even in some ways stressful. On the one hand, your thoughts will be tuned to the damaged car, and on the other hand, the second participant in the accident. Your actions can determine many things, such as whether you receive insurance compensation.
The main and more popular issue is compensation for damage caused to a car as a result of an accident.
First actions in case of an accident
To ensure your rights in case of an accident, you must follow some basic rules. The resolution of disputes if they arise depends on this.
If you are involved in an accident, the first thing you should do is call a traffic police representative. You cannot remove your car from the scene of the incident before the traffic police arrive, so as not to disrupt the drawing up of the incident diagram.
When there are victims in an accident, it is necessary to call an ambulance.
Also get contact information from witnesses to the incident. The next step is to call the insurance company where your car is serviced. Notify the company about the incident, make sure that their employee goes to the scene of the incident to draw up an accident diagram. This will serve as evidence in court if a dispute arises regarding damages. In addition, the insurance company will send a tow truck.
Be sure to take personal information from the second participant in the accident, as well as information about his insurance company, to notify it about the incident. Although in such cases the second participant in the accident must warn the company himself, in practice, unfortunately, this is not always the case.
After the traffic police officer draws up a map of the incident, you should carefully read it. Pay attention to the correctness of the diagram, where the car is parked, and whether the damage is indicated. If you disagree with any data, indicate this when signing the diagram. If possible, take a photo of the accident diagram.
When all participants in the incident make no claims and there are no injuries, draw up a diagram of the accident yourself and take it to the nearest traffic police post to document the incident.
Documents for receiving insurance payment
For example, the second participant is to blame for the incident. Then, within fifteen days from the date of the incident, contact his insurance company to compensate for the damage and receive an insurance payment.
The company conducts a vehicle examination within five working days. The appraiser submits a report on the work done to the insurance company.
You are allowed to independently choose an automobile examination, but you must take into account the timing and procedure for its implementation, which is agreed upon in advance. And in this case, the period does not exceed five days.
By submitting the necessary documents to the insurance company, insurance is covered within thirty days. When payments are delayed, penalties are imposed for overdue days.
Please also attach to your application:
- certificate of incident;
- administrative offense protocol.
When damage is caused to your car, take with you the documents for your car (certificate, passport). Don’t forget the independent expert’s findings on the amount of damage. This is necessary in cases where the results of the examination conducted by the insurance company are much less than the actual damage;
- receipt for payment for expert services;
- and other documents confirming and justifying the harm caused.
Appealing a certificate of an accident
Participants in a road accident, including those who suffered material damage, are issued a certificate of road accident, in accordance with legal requirements. Regulatory and legal documents approve the form and grounds for its issuance.
In practice, the information recorded in the certificate may not always be true or accurate. And then the participant in the accident has to appeal the certificate.
A certificate of an accident is a document certifying involvement in the incident, displaying information for the protection of rights and interests related to compensation for damage caused during an accident. For example, this is an assessment of damage, challenging it, information about the culprit.
A certificate of a traffic accident is submitted to the insurance company, which in turn compensates for the damage to those involved in the incident.
When the insurance company does not fully cover your expenses or refuses to pay the insurance, you have the right to file a lawsuit to collect insurance payments. But first, you file a claim with the insurer. Please note that an improperly completed claim will result in its refusal to be satisfied.
Grounds for refusal to pay may be in the following cases:
- the damaged car is not included in the insurance policy;
- the damage was caused while learning to drive a car;
- damage to health while performing work duties;
- in case of damage to securities, jewelry and other objects of science and art;
Also, the insurance company will refuse to pay insurance if the identity of the culprit of the accident has not been established or the damage to the car was sustained in another accident.
If you don’t see convincing arguments in the insurance company’s written refusal, you don’t need to waste time re-submitting a claim, go straight to court.
Reasons for appealing a traffic accident certificate
The information provided in the certificate is not true.
For example, the information of the participants in the accident and their car is incorrectly indicated, the license plate number is incorrectly indicated, it is not noted that the culprit bears administrative responsibility, or what traffic rules were violated.
The certificate does not correctly record the damage.
The traffic police inspector records only those damages that are immediately visible. It is also necessary to assume and pay attention to hidden damage.
When there are victims in an accident, but information about them is recorded incorrectly or is missing altogether.
And lastly, when the certificate is not certified correctly. For example, when information about the traffic police officer who filled out the certificate is not indicated, there is no stamp or signature.
These inaccuracies can have a negative impact when applying for insurance, namely, this entails the refusal of the insurance company to compensate for the damage, or a reduction in the amount of insurance payments. It can also unreasonably increase the amount of claims in a claim against the defendant.
Such cases can be considered in courts, both in civil proceedings and in cases of administrative offense. At this stage, inaccuracies and contradictions in the data specified in the accident certificate are identified.
It is very important that the certificate is impeccable in form and content. Unfortunately, those involved in the incident think about this only when they identify the inaccuracies discussed above. Upon receipt, carefully read and sign the copy, which will be attached to the materials about the accident. This will help avoid appealing the accident certificate in court.
Petitions and complaints about road accidents
How to appeal a certificate of an accident?
Having identified inaccuracies or incorrect content in the road accident certificate, you or your representative submit a petition to change or supplement the document.
The request is written to the traffic police officer. As a result of consideration of the request, the certificate is supplemented with missing information or incorrect information is corrected. The employee who makes corrections must certify the corrections with his signature. If it is technically impossible to correct the certificate, then another certificate of the accident is drawn up. The corrected or other certificate is attached to the materials of the incident case.
If a traffic police officer refuses to correct his mistakes and thus satisfy your request, then you have the right to appeal his actions. A complaint regarding an accident is submitted by you or your lawyer to the head of the traffic police where the inspector works. You can also file a complaint with the prosecutor's office.
A good defense may be to file claims and complaints regarding road accidents in court to challenge the actions of an official. Your lawyer or assistant will help you collect all the necessary sample documents.
Appealing a certificate of an accident
After a traffic accident, participants receive documents containing information about the event. They include a certificate of the accident.
Based on the data entered into this document, insurance payment is made under MTPL. If the information is incorrect, the driver can appeal the certificate.
In what cases is it possible
A road accident certificate is an official document reflecting the causes and circumstances that led to the occurrence of a road accident.
It indicates all the data necessary to realize the interests and rights associated with obtaining material and moral compensation for causing harm.
In simple words, the certificate contains information about the accident that occurred, identifying the guilty and injured parties.
A road accident certificate is the main document of the relationship between the driver and the insurance company. To receive compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance, it is necessary to provide it, otherwise the company will refuse compensation for damage.
To challenge a certificate of an accident, certain circumstances are required, which are the basis for a trial. The driver must justify his request to appeal the document.
And this could be one of the reasons:
-
The certificate contains incorrect information. When preparing the document, errors may be made in information about the participants in the accident, descriptions of cars, etc. This item also includes the absence in the certificate of traffic rules that were violated by drivers, external factors that led to the collision, and data on bringing the guilty party to administrative responsibility.
Each driver must carefully read the provided certificate to ensure that all the necessary information is available and that it is accurate.
The damage received is incorrectly indicated. When inspecting vehicles, traffic police officers may incorrectly indicate damage. It is also possible that the certificate describes only scratches and dents on the body that are visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, the car received other damage hidden under the hood. For this reason, the certificate must indicate that other damage is possible that impairs the technical capabilities of the vehicle.
If during the review of documents or court proceedings errors or inaccuracies in the preparation of the certificate are identified, it may be declared invalid.
And this not only deprives the victim of insurance compensation, but can also cause an increase in the financial liability of the guilty party.
The at-fault driver can go to court to appeal the accident certificate if he believes that the amount of payment and claims are greatly exaggerated.
Of course, he will need to justify his position, but in many cases this is relevant to reduce financial liability to the injured party.
The injured party can also appeal the certificate if the amount of compensation is underestimated and is not enough to restore the car.
There are many reasons for challenging a traffic accident certificate. Each of them is considered individually and requires a long period of time to solve the problem.
To avoid difficulties in obtaining insurance compensation and appealing the certificate, you must carefully study the document before signing.
Procedure for appealing a certificate of an accident
According to judicial practice, if errors are made in the road accident certificate, then before filing a claim in court, the errors must be corrected.
If this is not done, the case will be suspended indefinitely. In the absence of a correctly completed certificate, the application may be rejected.
At the time of drawing up the certificate, few drivers understand the importance of this document. This leads to negligence when signing the certificate.
Neglecting the need to carefully study the information in a document and timely correct errors leads to big problems, including the need to search for evidence that you are right.
Therefore, you should carefully read the information and immediately point out any mistakes made in order to correct them immediately.
If errors in the certificate were discovered later, an appeal is carried out in the traffic police department where the document was drawn up and issued.
The procedure has several nuances:
- A petition is drawn up in the name of the employee who issued the certificate with a request to make adjustments to the certificate. The complaint must be motivated and justified, it must indicate the reasons for the need for corrections;
- When the application is approved, adjustments are made to the certificate, if possible. Any corrections must be certified by the signature of an official;
- If it is not technically possible to make corrections, then a new certificate is drawn up. The completed document is attached to the materials about the accident;
- A traffic police officer may refuse to satisfy a request for justified reasons.
If correction of the certificate was refused, you can appeal the document in other ways:
- By writing an appeal addressed to the head of the traffic police department on behalf of the driver or his lawyer. The statement indicates that contacting the official did not change the situation.
- You can appeal the illegal actions of law enforcement officers to the prosecutor's office.
- You can defend yourself against illegal actions of officials in court. This method is the most effective.
The most difficult thing is to appeal a document in court. The procedure requires knowledge of legal acts and competent drafting of documents.
And to increase the chances of your claim being satisfied, you should contact an experienced lawyer. He will help you draw up a statement of claim and tell you about the actions of the plaintiff.
What is the punishment for a fatal drunk driving accident is explained in the article: punishment for a fatal drunk driving accident.
Read about registration of a fatal accident with a motorcyclist in St. Petersburg here.
How to file a claim
The statement of claim must contain information:
- name of the court where the appeal is sent;
- personal data of the applicant, contact phone number;
- personal data and position of the person who issued the road accident certificate;
- a short description of the incident, identified inaccuracies;
- the plaintiff's demand for protection of his rights and restoration of justice;
- signature of the plaintiff and date of drawing up the application.
The applicant can indicate two claims: an incorrectly drawn up document and an incorrectly determined fault of the driver (or the amount of damage).
If demands are made against the culprit of the accident to recover material compensation, then before applying, the car must undergo an independent examination, after which a document is issued indicating the amount of damage caused.
If the court's decision is positive, a new certificate of the accident is issued and the guilt of the parties is re-determined. It must fully indicate the damage received.
Attached documents
The list of documents required in court should be checked with a lawyer when receiving a consultation.
Each case is considered individually, but in any circumstances it is necessary to prepare:
- certificate of accident;
- a written refusal by traffic police officers to satisfy the request;
- statement of claim.
When considering the case, you will need to provide evidence of incorrectly entered information.
These include:
- witness statements;
- video recordings;
- the result of an independent examination indicating the amount of damage.
Which court should I go to?
Issues of appealing the actions of traffic police officers are dealt with by the court of general instance. It should be taken into account that if the amount of damage does not exceed 50 thousand rubles, then you should apply to the magistrate’s court.
If the amount of damage exceeds the specified amount, the case will be considered by the district authority.
People who do not have a legal education may have many questions and difficulties in the process of preparing documents. And before going to court, you should solve them with the support of a lawyer.
For example, sometimes drivers' claims are unfounded. And writing a statement of claim in this case is pointless.
Therefore, you should initially consult with specialists savvy in legal matters. They can provide a sample for appealing a certificate of an accident and a statement of claim to the court.
The court may reject the application for lack of evidence or if the application is incorrectly drawn up. It should contain clear requirements.
Examples of justifications for appeal:
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The person responsible for the accident believes that not all information was indicated in the diagram of the scene of the accident. He believes that not all technical damage diagnosed in the injured party’s car was sustained in this accident.
Resolution of the situation is required to establish the actual damage and review the amount of compensation.
Deadlines for submitting documents
You can go to court within 3 years from the date of the accident. But you must appeal the certificate to the traffic police within 10 days from the date of the accident.
It is worth considering that the insurance company sets its own deadlines - 5 days. During this period, documents must be provided to receive insurance compensation.
Therefore, you should not delay in challenging the information in the certificate, since if there is incorrect information, payment of compensation will be denied.
Out-of-court appeal
Litigation takes quite a long time to resolve. And before a global solution to the problem, you should try to appeal the certificate outside of court.
It was described above that you should initially contact the employee who prepared the document, then a representative of a higher position or the prosecutor’s office.
The following should be taken into account:
- the law does not require pre-trial settlement of the issue;
- You should not contact two authorities at once, since each of them will need original documents about the accident;
- It is worth starting to solve the problem with an out-of-court appeal - this method is more convenient and takes less time.
Most often, it is possible to appeal a certificate of an accident peacefully, by contacting the traffic police department. But law enforcement officers do not like to admit their mistakes.
This causes a number of difficulties associated with the need to prove one’s case and substantiate claims.
It makes sense to contact the prosecutor's office, provided that the traffic police officer and his management refused to appeal the accident certificate. A higher authority may oblige officials to comply with the applicant’s request.
A certificate of an accident is an important document required to receive insurance payment under compulsory motor liability insurance. It must contain information about the participants in the accident, the vehicles and the damage caused.
If errors were made in the document when drafting, or important information is missing, then the driver interested in the material issue can appeal the certificate.
To do this, he will need to contact the traffic police department where the document was issued and submit an application for making adjustments.
What is the punishment for leaving the scene of an accident in 2018, is shown in the article: punishment for leaving the scene of an accident.
For how long you can file a lawsuit against the culprit of an accident, see the page.
Find out from this information whether there is joint liability in the event of an accident by the owner of the car.