There are many reasons you should file a police report after a car accident in Connecticut. Some of these are legal requirements, but there are also benefits to you, should you decide to pursue a claim. This blog post will explain why you ought to consider filing a police report after an accident. Please contact our Hartford County car accident attorneys if you’ve been in a car accident recently so we can review your case with you in detail.
Connecticut State Requirements Regarding Police Reports
The first reason you should file a police report is that the state of Connecticut requires a police report after an accident. If you do not file the report within the required time frame, you may be fined.
Connecticut’s accident reporting laws are arranged by damage, such that your time limit to file a police report depends on how much damage the accident represents. Most crashes are reported within ten days, and it may be advisable to file within five business days, if your property damage amount comes to more than $1,000. Should the police arrive on the scene, they will submit a report immediately.
However, though greater damage can require you to report sooner, you still need to report even minor accidents. Even assuming little damage and no injuries, you’ll still be obligated to report.
How Can a Police Report Benefit My Car Accident Claim?
If you decide to bring a claim, the police may be a benefit to you, even if the damage is minor. Many people understandably worry about how tiresome the process of filing can be, but without that report, you won’t be able to file an insurance claim.
The report will be available to you on the Connecticut State website, after which you should show the report to your lawyer. Police reports also make it easier to work with insurance companies. You’ll only need to provide the name of the police department and the report number. Car insurance companies also need to investigate your case, as a part of the process of proving fault and calculating a settlement.
A police report will contain all relevant information: the names of those involved, their phone numbers, their addresses, their dates of birth, their gender, their insurance information, who was at fault, whether there were any injuries, whether there was any damage and how much, whether there were any injuries or medical reports obtained, a description of the physical damage, as well as statements from those involved in the accident and any witnesses.
Fortunately, the police report will be admissible in court. Police reports would usually be inadmissible hearsay in court, but there is an exception for hearsay in the case of police-reported car accidents. However, not everything in the report will be used as evidence. The court may determine that parts of the report are relevant only to the police’s perception and not necessarily to the legal reality
