When you are involved in a car accident there will be a lot of questions. Should you go to the hospital? Should you file a police report? Should you contact a personal injury attorney? Read on to learn more about the situations that warrant filing a police report and learn when you should call a personal injury lawyer.
Situations that may not require you to file a police report
In the state of California, you do not have to file a police report if no one was injured and there was not significant property damage. Note that “significant” property damage is considered to be $1,000. Essentially, if you are in a fender bender in which there is nothing more than a blemish on your vehicle and no one was hurt, then you may choose not to call the police.
Situations in which you absolutely want to file a police report
There are also situations that are obviously situations in which you need to contact the police. For example, if there was a serious injury or if there was significant damage to a vehicle. However, even in the absence of either of these issues you will also want a police report if you and the other driver do not agree on what happened. While not required by law in this situation, it can help your case.
Police reports can be helpful
If you are not sure if it is necessary to file a police report, let us make this clear: It can be helpful to do so. Why? Because it documents the scene. Even if you have eyewitnesses, know that their memories can be unreliable. Even if you are not hurt, it may be hard to recall the specifics of your accident weeks, months, or perhaps even years after it happened. When you have a police report that outlines what happened, you will have a solid recording of exactly what happened.
What will be included in the police re port
The police report will document the scene of the accident along with weather conditions. Depending on several factors, it may also have other facts such as the name of any witnesses and other essential details. When you have a police report, it can also prevent the other side of the accident from telling a different story after the accident.
Do you need a police report? Ask an attorney
If you have been injured in a car accident but you are not sure if you should file a report with the police you can reach out to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation. In most cases, we recommend filing rather than not filing. After all, the only thing you stand to lose is a little bit of time. That time will be well worth it if the police report ends up being the difference between recovering damages and not recovering damages.
