The Significance of Reporting a Car Accident to the Police
As customary for many people, we call the police whenever a car accident or any untoward incident happens.
Why is it important?
When we report crimes or emergencies such as car accidents, the police are informed of the incident and eventually, we get a written confirmation or report that a crime or accident occurred. Through a police report, we get all the necessary information that will be helpful to us later.
Significance of Police Report in Car Accident
To parties involved in a car accident, a police report is important for several reasons:
- It is helpful in determining how a crash occurred, the damage to the vehicles involved, and who was at fault
- It contains all information about the drivers, cars, passengers, auto insurance and other details such as weather and road conditions and traffic law violations of the drivers
- A police accident report is a credible and unbiased account of the crash done by a police officer based on facts on the scene of accident
- The information contained in a police report are essential to your injury claim and the insurance company
What to do
To help law enforcers write a car accident report, parties involved in the accident must cooperate with investigators.
If the accident is minor and no one was injured, it is best to pull to the side of the road and wait for the police. You can also exchange information with the other driver while waiting.
If the police report was taken at the scene of the accident, make sure to take down the officer’s name and phone number in case you have questions about the report later.
Get a hard copy of the police report and make sure you receive a police report number to be able to get your copy, which will take about a week to be sent to you by mail.
Limit your discussion of the accident only to the police and your lawyer. It would be best not to admit fault or liability on the accident.
Legal Implications
A police report is part of the legal documents to be submitted when you file your claim for recovery of damages in a car accident. The information contained in a police report can strengthen and bolster your chance of recovering compensation.
Along with the medical report and other supporting documents, a police report is a vital part of a personal injury claim that you must not take for granted.