You should always obtain the crash report (aka “police report”) if you were involved in a car accident. Police reports are important for many reasons and could have a massive impact on your personal injury case. First off, police reports contain information that is needed to file a personal injury or property damage claim. Specifically, the report will identify the vehicles involved, the owners of the vehicles, the drivers involved and the insurance coverage available. Having the police report reflect this information is much better than trying to write it down yourself or trying to remember it. Police officers are trained to acquire this information more accurately and have the skills to detect when other drivers may be attempting to offer fraudulent information.
The insurance information is needed in order to open your bodily injury or property damage claim. To do so, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will need to be called. Once a representative is on the phone, the at-fault driver’s information and policy number will need to be given. Details about the accident will be disclosed and the insurance company will assign a claim number, appoint an insurance adjuster to handle the claim and begin its investigation. The car accident attorneys at Scottsdale Injury Lawyers strongly recommend that you hire an attorney early on and allow the attorney to make the call to the insurance company to open any insurance claims.
The police report is important because it shows the responding officer’s thoughts as to how the accident happened. Typically, when police officers respond to an accident, they conduct an investigation as to the events and how they occurred. Among other things, police officers will interview the parties involved, interview witnesses, take photographs, and will give an ultimate conclusion as to how they believe the accident occurred.
In police reports, the driver who is listed as “Traffic Unit No. 1” is typically considered the at-fault party.
Most importantly, the police report sometimes will have a finding as to which driver or party was at fault for causing the crash or collision. This may be contained in the narrative section. If the narrative section does set forth a finding of fault, the report will still list the at-fault driver first. In police reports, the driver who is listed as “Traffic Unit No. 1” is typically considered the at-fault party. In certain situations, the police report may also show that the responding officer issued a criminal citation to the person at fault. This unbiased opinion can help your personal injury or property damage claim.
Insurance companies almost always follow the findings of fault in a police report. This is true even if the insurance company’s own insured driver tells a different story or claims not to be at fault. Essentially, if a driver’s opinion on fault differs from that of the police report, an insurance company will usually disregard it and side with the findings in the police report. As such, if you were involved in a car accident and are questioned by the police as to the events that led up to it, you must state your side of the story with emphasis. Someone who does not have good control of the facts or claims they do not remember what happened, may find themselves at-fault in the police report even if that is not the case.
Essentially, if a driver’s opinion on fault differs from that of the police report, an insurance company will usually disregard it and side with the findings in the police report.
It goes without saying that a police report can be beneficial to your personal injury case. However, even if you believe the report would not be favorable to your case, you should still obtain it. As trained and experienced as police officers are, they are also human. If the other driver is attempting to argue against your case, based on the police report findings, you will need the police report so that you can analyze it. A skilled attorney will be able to investigate your case and determine whether the information on the police report is fair and accurate.
So how can you obtain a copy of the police report for your Scottsdale or Maricopa County car accident? The process depends on which police agency responded to the scene and drafted the report. In the City of Scottsdale, there are four agencies you are most likely to encounter after a car accident. These include: Scottsdale Police Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the Salt River Police Department. Below are steps for obtaining your police report from the following agencies. Of course, if you hire Scottsdale Injury Lawyers to handle your car accident case, we can obtain the report on your behalf.
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury as the result of a car accident or motor vehicle crash, contact Scottsdale Injury Lawyers today. One of our skilled Scottsdale personal injury attorneys is available now to discuss your case. You can reach us at (480) 900-7390. A consultation costs nothing. There is no fee to pay for our attorneys to tell you if you have a case. We only earn a fee if we take your case and win it or recover a settlement on your behalf.
About the author: The content on this page was provided by Scottsdale personal injury attorney and civil rights lawyer Tony Piccuta. Piccuta graduated with honors from Indiana University-Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana (Ranked Top 35 US News & World Report 2018). Piccuta took and passed the State bars of Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada (all on the first try). He actively practices throughout Arizona and California. He is a trial attorney that regularly handles serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. He has obtained six and seven figure verdicts in both state and federal court. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for six years straight. He is a member of the Arizona Association of Justice, Maricopa County Bar Association, Scottsdale Bar Association, American Association for Justice, National Police Accountability Project and Consumer Attorneys of California, among other organizations.
Disclaimer: The information on this web site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information on this page is attorney advertising. Reading and relying upon the content on this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, you should contact our law firm for a free consultation and to discuss your specific case and issues.