The best way to document and define your case is to file a police report. Your chances of obtaining financial compensation from an insurance company dramatically decrease if you don’t have a police report which is accurate.
A lot of people don’t think that police reports need to be filed regarding minor accidents. However, they are wrong.
It’s even more important for police reports to be filed regarding accidents with less damages than those involving more injuries. The reason for this is that police will more closely investigate accidents involving more damages to see if a crime occurred, someone needs to press charges, etc. Because of this when accidents involving more damages occur, all details of the case end up being accounted for.
What Does Filing a Police Report Do?
It is vital to file a police report after a car accident. Reasons include protecting your legal rights as well as legal compliance.
While it’s preferred that you immediately file a report after an accident, accidents can be reported once you leave the scene if necessary.
It is important to file police reports after accidents because:
- They provide official records: Police reports provide official accounts of accidents and include details regarding how accidents occurred, what individuals were involved, as well as what injuries or damages were sustained. Documentation like this is vital for legal proceedings and insurance claims.
- They provide evidence: Police reports can include responding officers’ observations, and this can be crucial in supporting your case and establishing fault.
- They help in the claims process: Police reports are often required by insurance companies for claims processing. Without a police report, you could face difficulties in recovering financial compensation for your injuries.
- They provide legal protection: Failing to file a police report is sometimes seen as failing to comply with your legal obligations. This can negatively affect your ability to defend against claims or pursue financial compensation.
The filing of a police report builds a strong foundation for you to address any financial or legal issues which arise from your accident.
When Should You File a Police Report?
One possible step you can take after an accident is to report your accident to law enforcement. Every accident does not need to be reported, though. Reports do not necessarily need to be filed for minor accidents which do not result in substantial damage.
The California Vehicle Code stipulates that written reports must be made by drivers within 24 hours of any car accident when any of the following apply:
- An injury occurred in the accident
- A death occurred in the accident
- Over $1,000 of property damage occurred in the accident
If any of the above happened in your accident, you also need to file an SR-1 report through the DMV and you have 10 days to do this. SR-1 forms are reports of traffic accidents which happen in California – these forms officially document accidents. Drivers licenses can be suspended when drivers fail to fill these forms out on time. Online reporting is available for SR-1 forms.
You may be wondering if there are other reasons to file a police report. You may be wondering, “do police reports do anything?” When minor car accidents like fender bender occur, police reports aren’t absolutely necessary. However, they can help. If you’re dealing with minor damage, you may still be able to pursue a claim with insurance without the aid of a police report. However, it helps when insurance companies see you put in the effort to follow up by documenting your accident. Police reports serve as proof that accidents happens how you claim they did.
It could be helpful to directly contact an insurance company and learn about their procedures for initiating insurance claims after accidents. They will tell you about their requirements. Should they require police reports for accidents, report your accident as quickly as you can.
In addition, should your accident involve a crime, it’s important that you file a crime report. If there’s enough suspect information and enough evidence to justify pressing charges, you’ll be able to make sure that justice is served to the culprit.
How to File a Police Report in California
You may wish to make a call to 911 after your accident so an officer can respond to the accident scene. This responding officer will then end up filing a report for you.
Should emergency services fail to respond to the accident scene, you can call a local police station or the CHP to report the accident. You can also visit your local police department to file a report.
How to Order Your Car Accident Police Report
If you wish to order a police report after an accident, you need to fill out a Collision Request Form.
You print and complete this form, then deliver it in person to a CHP office or send it in the mail.
Information you will need to complete this form includes:
- The date of the car accident
- The crash location
- The names of each driver involved
- Your name and address
- Insurance information
How Long Do You Have to File a Police Report in California?
You have 24 hours from the time of the accident to file a police report in California if the accident involved injury, death or over $1,000 in property damage.
What If I don’t File a Police Report After an Accident?
Your driver’s license can be suspended by the DMV if you neglect, refuse or fail to file a report. This suspension will remain in effect until an accident report is received from you by the DMV.
If your accident involved death or injury and you failed to notify the DMV or police, you could face criminal penalties, including
- State imprisonment for a period of two, three or four years
- 90 days or at least one year of county jail time
- Fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000
How a Lawyer Can Help You After an Accident
If you’ve been injured in a car accident which was at least partially someone else’s fault, a lawyer can help maximize your financial compensation and protect you from any attempts to pin liability for the accident on you.
Under California law, when accidents occur due to negligence, the negligent parties are financially liable for any injuries which occur in the accidents. What this means in practice is that the insurance companies who insure the negligent parties are obligated to pay injury victims for any damages they sustain up to policy limits.
However, insurance companies won’t face criminal penalties for not living up to this obligation. Rather, this obligation is one which can only be enforced through civil court. What this means, in effect, is if an insurance company is only offering you low ball offers after a car accident, the only way you can force them to pay you what you’re entitled to under the law is to sue them over it and win.
Insurance companies are smart enough to know that if you aren’t represented by an attorney, you’re not going to be able to sue them and win. So, insurance companies will simply not offer you anywhere near what you’re entitled to after an accident if you don’t have a lawyer.
Hiring a law firm with a proven track record of success handling accident cases, a law firm like Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers, is the best way to convince insurance companies to pay you what you’re entitled to after an accident. Research shows that injury victims who hire legal representation recover more money than those who don’t, even after taking attorney fees into consideration.
Lawyers can also handle all communications with insurance companies for you, which is important because insurance adjusters are experts at tricking injury victims into incriminating themselves, allowing them to pay injury victims less money or no money at all.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a car accident, our law firm can help you recover financial compensation for:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Wrongful death
We represent those injured in accidents on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t charge accident victims any fee until and unless we recover compensation for them. The only fee we charge accident victims is a percentage of any recovery we obtain for them – no out-of-pocket or upfront fees are ever charged.
When accident victims can’t afford treatment for their injuries, we get them to doctors who treat them without charging them for treatment until their case is over. Doctors give our clients this great deal because doctors know that when we handle accident cases, we win them and recover the most compensation possible for our clients.
We have been representing those injured in accidents since 1990 and have recovered over $750,000,000 for our clients. Our vast experience in handling accident cases like yours means we can recover the most money possible for you.
Call us today for a free consultation, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a car accident in California.
Jeffrey Nadrich
Jeffrey Nadrich is a nationally-recognized California plaintiff’s personal injury attorney. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law. He has successfully represented thousands of injury clients over the last 40 years.
