Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
The Importance of Making a Police Report After an Accident
Accidents occur quite often. If you drive a vehicle, you will probably be involved in an accident at some time in your life. Thankfully, most accidents are minor fender-benders. Sometimes, however, a crash can result in severe injuries or even death. When an accident is due to someone’s negligence, the negligent party may owe the victim compensation for their injuries and damages. In order to collect compensation, you will need to provide evidence of negligence in the accident, along with proof of your injuries.
Why Make a Police Report?
A police report is beneficial for a number of reasons. A police report documents the accident and provides an official record of the incident. The police respond to a report at the time of the crash and are able to gather information and perform an initial investigation. When police respond to the accident they may cite one or more of the drivers for a traffic violation. If that happens, the report will be extremely useful in proving your claim.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” If an incident report was filled out, do I have a right to receive a copy?”
What Do Police Include in Their Report?
Police include a multitude of information that will later be quite useful if and when you need to file a claim. Some things that are typically included in a police accident report are the date and time of the occurrence, the weather conditions at the time, the names and contact information of the other drivers, statements from witnesses, and statements from drivers. In addition, the report may include a drawing or narrative of exactly how the accident happened and where the vehicles were at the time of the crash.
Proving Negligence in an Accident
The police report will be helpful in proving how the accident occurred. This is a critical part of proving negligence in a claim. If you are even partly negligent, you cannot seek damages in North Carolina. Therefore, you will want to pay close attention to the accident report. Be careful when speaking to others and to the police at the scene of the accident. Even saying you are sorry could later be taken as taking responsibility for the crash. In addition, the police report can also provide details that you did not realize at the time it happened.
File an Accident Report
It is always best to call the police to the scene of an accident to make a report. However, if you fail to do so, all is not lost. You still should file a report. In fact, under North Carolina law, you must file a report after the accident if anyone was hurt or if there was property damage of more than $1,000. Keep in mind that the car insurance company may require a police report in order to report the incident to them.
Obtain a Copy of the Accident Report
You will not get a copy of the accident report at the time of the crash. You will need to request a copy of the report from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. You should get a certified copy to ensure that the information contained is accurate and authentic. Plan to obtain copies to provide to the insurance company and to your attorney.
If you were hurt in a vehicle accident that was not your fault, you may be owed money. Call us at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 for a free initial consultation.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://injury.arnoldsmithlaw.com/contributory-negligence.html
https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/GeneralStatuteSections/Chapter20
https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/law-enforcement/state-highway-patrol/laws/crash-reports
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/car-accident-1446905
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