6 million car accidents occur in the US every year, so there is a good chance that you or a loved one will be in a car accident at some point.
No matter how small the accident, getting a police report is critical. You’ll get a lot of “free-advice” from well-meaning friends, but a police report is there to protect both parties and help provide structure to the accident recovery process. Even if you are at fault, the report ensures all parties are civil and events are documented accurately by a third party on the scene. Whether an accident is a minor fender-bender or a major collision, the police have an important legal role to play.
After being in an accident, you should always call the police because often you cannot determine the severity of an accident immediately after it has happened. You may be in shock and feel relatively okay until the next day when you will feel the full extent of the impact of the collision. The police report is a clear and concise piece of evidence in place in case you need to seek compensation or legal help in the days and weeks after the event. In every single case, a crash report is helpful when it comes to damage and compensation. This is especially true for injury accidents so be sure to file a report yourself if for some reason one isn’t made for you.
Since a crash report helps determine fault in a car crash, you can negotiate with the insurance company if you are armed with technical proof along with photographic evidence to get compensated. If the police can cite the exact laws broken that resulted in the crash, then you can make a better case.
Included in a typical report:
At the scene of the incident, if you pay close attention, you will notice the investigating officer conducting a number of tasks: inspecting vehicles, talking to people, measuring distances, writing notes and taking photographs. The officer is completing some or all of these tasks in order to gather necessary information for later drafting the police report. In short, the police report is a summary of the police officer’s investigation of the accident and their findings.
The police report will often contain some or all of the following information:
- Date, time, and location of the collision
- Citations and/or violations of law
- Identifying information for parties involved in the car accident, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and insurance information
- Witness information if any
- Location of damage to the vehicles involved in the accident
- Weather, roadway, and lighting conditions at the scene
- Diagram of the accident
- Statements from the parties and witnesses
D+Z: Experienced Accident Attorneys In Massachusetts & Rhode Island
If you have been injured in an accident, please contact us to speak with an experienced attorney. Dussault & Zatir P.C. lawyers are on call at +1-800-542-4LAW to answer your personal injury questions. With offices in New Bedford, Fall River, and Taunton, Massachusetts, as well as an office in Providence, Rhode Island, if you’ve been injured, our lawyers are here to fight for you.
The Law Offices of Dussault & Zatir
*The above is not to be considered as legal advice. Every case is different and the laws which apply may differ from state to state.