Do I Have to Call the Police After Being Involved in a Car Accident?
Ohio law does not require you to contact the police for minor car accidents with no injuries and damages below $1,000.
However, it’s in your best interest to get a police report.
A police report provides a description of the accident and an initial determination of who is at fault. Additionally, having police at the scene ensures that you and the other party involved in the accident exchange insurance information if you need to file a claim. You will need the other driver’s insurance information in order to make a claim on their policy.
GB Law has represented car accident cases in which injuries occurred in the accidents and went unnoticed for weeks.
It’s important to seek immediate medical attention after any accident, no matter how minor it seems, and document as much evidence as possible—and a police report can go a long way.
Why Do You Need a Police Report to File an Insurance Claim with Your Insurance Company?
You can still file an insurance claim without a police report, but having a police report can expedite the claims process and help you receive compensation from your insurance company sooner.
When you file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and your insurance company, the insurance provider will ask for a police report and may make their initial determination of who was at fault based primarily on the responding law enforcement officer’s report and to document basic information about the motorist and the vehicle involved.
But there are times when the police may not respond to an auto accident.
So what happens if you don’t have an accident report?
Why Didn’t the Police Show Up to the Scene of the Accident?
It is possible to be in an accident and for police to not respond to your accident. There could be any number of reasons that law enforcement could not respond.
It could have been during a time of adverse weather when there were only enough resources for major injury accidents. Similarly, there could have been a major accident or incident where there were no available officers to respond.
Or more recently, due to COVID-19, police did not respond to an accident unless major injuries were reported. This scenario was the case for many people in 2020 and 2021.
How Do You File a Car Insurance Claim Without a Police Report?
Call 911
Whether or not police come to an accident scene, you should gather your own evidence and report the accident.
Call 911 as this is an important record in itself. Even if it’s a minor accident, a 911 call can still serve as an official record of the accident. The phone calls to 911 are recorded and those recordings serve as a record of the accident.
Record Evidence
Decades ago, many consumer organizations recommended keeping a disposable camera and notepad in your trunk or glove compartment for the purpose of taking notes and pictures after an accident.
If you carry a cell phone — as almost everyone does — your cell phone can be an easy way to take videos, photos, and even voice memos describing what, where, how, why, and when—everything that happened. Take photos of the vehicles involved in the accident, the location and the driver’s license and insurance card for each motorist involved in the accident.
If you are injured and unable to take videos or photos, ask someone to help you.
Your vehicle and the surrounding area can offer important evidence which will soon be gone when the vehicle is moved away from the crash scene. A 360-degree slow-moving video of the crash scene may provide important information during a later investigation.
Contact a Car Accident Attorney
You don’t have to navigate the post-accident administrative tasks alone. As personal injury attorneys, we understand that for our clients, the aftermath of a car accident is overwhelming.
It’s so easy to unintentionally do or say something that does not benefit your claim. You may answer an insurance representative’s question honestly without understanding how it will be used.
It’s not uncommon for adjusters to take seemingly insignificant comments out of context, such as a statement that you are feeling okay today.
If you promptly contact a skilled and experienced Ohio personal injury lawyer at GB Law after an accident, we can help you document your injuries and get law enforcement all the information they need to compile a crash report.
Your auto insurance—and the other party’s insurance—is going to want a police record of the accident.
Although communications with police departments and insurance adjusters may seem like navigating uncharted waters, we’re well-versed in everything that needs to be done, and in what order.
You can focus on recovering and healing while we fight for your rights. In the meantime, we’ll negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf and protect your rights after a car accident.
Along with getting the police report made, we can also help preserve evidence and footage from police body cams to truck dash cams and even nearby Ring doorbells.
But this evidence can disappear quickly. It’s absolutely critical you reach out to an attorney as soon as possible.
What Do You Do If You Didn’t Receive a Copy of the Police Accident Report?
Even if the police showed up and made a report after a car accident, it’s possible you didn’t receive a copy of the report.
If this happens, you can contact the police and request a copy of the police report. Alternatively, you can ask your attorneys to request it for you.
Were You in a Car Accident with No Police Report? Call the Car Accident Lawyers at GB Law for a Free Consultation
At GB Law, we offer a free case evaluation to answer your questions and discuss your legal rights and options. There is no obligation, and if we represent you, we’re only paid if we recover money for you.