If you've been hurt by a careless driver, you have the right to be compensated. Getting paid for car wrecks is a process that is made up of small details that form a case, and one of those is the accident (or police) report. This report is important to your personal injury case, so read on to learn more.
What is the accident report? This document is a summary of the accident and is written by law enforcement personnel. It is usually created by the officer who responded to your wreck, so to get access to it you need to know what category of law enforcement was involved. For example:
1. For wrecks within a city limits, the city police department likely responded.
2. For wrecks outside of town, the sheriff's department of the county likely responded.
3. For wrecks on freeways, interstates and toll roads, the highway patrol or state troopers likely responded.
How can I access the accident report?
In some cases, you may already have it. Increasingly officers are able to complete the report and print a copy out for you from their patrol vehicles. If not, check with the appropriate law enforcement office in your town, county or state to get your own copy. In some cases, the report is available right away, but don't be surprised to wait a few days. Be prepared to pay a minimal amount for copies, and you may be able to have the report sent to you in the mail, by fax or by email.
Take look at the report
Once you have access to it, be sure to look it over for omissions and errors. If you find something amiss, contact the reporting agency to find out how to make corrections or how to add a statement about an error to the report. This report contains vital information about your case, and it pays to make sure it's correct and accurate.
What to expect from the accident report
This report will contain contact and insurance information for all involved parties. Additionally, details like the time and date of the wreck, road conditions and weather will be included. One of the most important parts of the report, however, is the responding officer's opinion as to how the wreck happened and who might be to blame. If any traffic citations were issued, that will be on the report.
The information in this report is enough to get the ball rolling with your auto accident lawyer, so don't wait to access it. Speak to a personal injury attorney to learn more.
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