Legal Question in Personal Injury in Tennessee

Re: Car Accident

The accident report as a document is, in fact, inadmissible in the legal proceeding you reference. However,its content, as recorded by the investigating officer, is admissible through the officer's oral testimony. Thus, the statements made at the scene by the adverse party about the accident (and yours too!) will be heard at trial and are very important to your cause of action as to that adverse party's liability for the accident AND to draw into question his credibility.

Re: Car Accident

You need to subpoena the police officer into court to testify what the other party told him. As a party to the litigation, the party's out of court statements are admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule.

Re: Car Accident

By statute, Police accident reports are not admissible in a trial.

T.C.A. � 55-10-114. states:

(a) All accident reports made by any person or by garages shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting, and shall be for the confidential use of the department or other state agencies having use of the records for accident prevention purposes, or for the administration of the laws of this state relating to the deposit of security and proof of financial responsibility by persons driving or the owners of motor vehicles, except that the department may disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when such identity is not otherwise known or when such person denies having been present at such accident.

(b) No reports or information mentioned in this section shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident, except that the department shall furnish upon demand of any party to such trial, or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the department in compliance with law.

Although the report is not admissible for public policy reasons, the officer's testimony is. The officer probably did not see the accident, so would not be a witness as to what happenned, However, the officer can testify as to what the other driver said at the scene (which are written in the report).

Use the officer's testimony, not the report.