Introduction:
The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between gaps in post-accident findings, including medical records, and the degree of categoricity of medico-legal opinions, assess the quality and nature of the medical and technical data, and determine the relevant data in the documentation enabling resolution of the opinioned issue.

Material and methods:
33 medical-legal opinions were analysed, including 23 prepared for the needs of civil procedure and 10 prepared in criminal matters – in total, the documentation concerned 52 people.

RESULTS::
Full medical records were present only in cases of 25% of victims injured in road accidents. Technical documentation from the scene of the accident was included in 60% of the all cases, and information on the prevalence of in-vehicle passive safety systems – only in 20%.

Conclusions:
Injuries are often non-specific and very rarely allow one to determine unambiguously whether the seat belts were fastened. Technical and medical documentation is sometimes incomplete or contains irrelevant data useless for medico-legal opinions. The persons responsible for preparing the relevant post-accident documentation and including it in the materials submitted to an expert often fail to carry out their responsibilities. The degree of categoricity of the opinion may be improved by taking more accurate technical and medical records.