When you get into a car accident, you may face challenges in pursuing financial recovery for your losses when the other driver or another party involved in the accident gives a false account to the police or insurance company, lies in a deposition, or on the stand at trial. Can you sue someone for lying about a car accident? When another party gives false testimony in a car accident claim in Rhode Island, what legal recourse do you have to protect your rights and interests?

Legal Grounds for Suing Someone for Making False Statements About a Car Accident

Depending on the consequences of another party involved in a car accident with you in Rhode Island lying to police, insurers, or other parties about the accident, you may have various legal claims you can pursue against them beyond the underlying car accident claim. Can you sue someone for lying about a car accident? For example, you may have a fraud/misrepresentation claim when a party provides false information about the accident that you forward to an insurance company, and you suffer adverse consequences such as the denial of your claim due to that false information, which you reasonably relied upon.

You might also have a defamation claim if a party makes false statements about you concerning a car accident claim. However, a defamation claim will require you to prove you suffered some form of reputational harm due to the defamatory statements. That harm caused you to incur some sort of loss for which the party who made the statement can financially compensate you.

Consequences of Making a False Report to the Police

A person who makes a false report or knowingly provides false information to police regarding a car accident may face significant consequences. Can you sue someone for lying about a car accident? Depending on the circumstances, a person who files a false report with the police after a car accident may face charges of obstructing an officer in execution of duty or false report of crime. A conviction for either offense carries a penalty of up to one year of incarceration and a potential fine of up to $500.

Filing a false report or document regarding a car accident under oath or affirmation with a law enforcement agency in Rhode Island may also result in a perjury charge. Rhode Island law defines the crime of perjury as knowingly making a false material declaration under oath or affirmation or making or using any record or material knowing it contains a false material declaration. A person may also face a perjury charge if they provide false testimony in a deposition or at trial during a car accident lawsuit. Perjury carries harsh penalties in the event of conviction, with a maximum possible prison sentence of 20 years.

Effect of a Car Accident Witness Lying to the Insurance Company

Parties involved in a car accident who knowingly provide false information, statements, or documents to the insurance company may adversely affect the outcome of an insurance claim or face adverse consequences if the insurance company discovers the person’s fraud. False information in an insurance claim may lead to an insurer wrongfully denying an injured car accident victim’s injury or property damage claims. However, suppose the insurance company discovers that a driver knowingly provided materially false information in a car insurance claim. In that case, an insurer may report the person to the authorities to investigate a criminal charge of insurance fraud, especially when the person provided false information to secure benefits or compensation from an insurance company.

Sometimes, you may have a legal claim against an insurance company when it denies your car accident claim based on another party’s false information. An insurance company may face liability under a bad faith claim if the insurer relied on false information provided by a driver or witness knowing the untrue nature of the information or if the insurance company knowingly disregarded facts that called the veracity of the information into doubt. For example, suppose a person’s statement in a car accident claim contains multiple provably false assertions. In that case, an insurance company may commit a bad faith denial if they fail to investigate the rest of the person’s statement before relying on it to resolve an insurance claim.

Challenging in Proving That the Other Party Lied

Unfortunately, you may face various challenges proving that the other driver or an eyewitness lied to the police or the insurance company in your car accident case. One of the top difficulties in proving that another party lied includes gathering evidence to refute the other party’s statements, such as dashcam footage, traffic surveillance/camera footage, vehicle computer data, accident scene photos/videos, and police reports. Retaining accident reconstruction, experts can help you refute another party’s false statement, as an expert can use scientific principles to analyze evidence from the accident scene to show how the other party’s account could not have possibly happened.

Alternatives to Legal Action

When you catch another party lying in a car accident claim, you might pursue other options rather than filing a legal claim to seek compensation and justice for the other party’s actions. For example, when the other driver knowingly makes a false statement, you can use their false testimony as a negotiating point in your favor when pursuing a settlement, as the other driver’s prior false statements will hurt their credibility in further litigation. Furthermore, you might report another party’s false statement to the police to let the appropriate law enforcement entities take corrective action, such as amending police accident reports or pursuing criminal investigation and prosecution against the other party, if warranted.

Contact a Car Accident Attorney Today

After getting into a car accident in Rhode Island, an experienced car accident lawyer can protect your rights and interests when another driver or party involved makes a false report or provides false testimony in a car accident case. Call Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. today at (401) 751-8855 for a free, confidential consultation with a dedicated Providence car accident lawyer to discuss your legal options when the other party in the car accident lies to the police, the insurance company, or the court.

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