Did you know that there were over 400,000 car crashes reported in Florida during 2021 alone? Over 3,700 of those car crashes were fatal incidents, with over 250,000 of them resulting in injuries to the people involved. With such a high number of car accidents taking place in the Sunshine State in one year, your chances of experiencing a car accident as a Florida resident are quite high.
If you have been living in Pompano Beach for a long time and have never been in a car accident, you should consider yourself a very lucky individual. Of course, there is always a first time for everything. Nobody is saying that you will most definitely get into an accident. However, it would be a good idea to be ready for the possibility of it happening to you. Nobody wants to think about what to do if they get into an accident, but it is always a good idea to be ready if such an unfortunate event happens.
Even if you have never been in an accident, the odds are that you definitely know someone who has experienced one. Car accidents can cause considerable damage and they can often be life-changing. The damages a person suffers in a car crash can impact a person’s life well beyond the actual vehicle damage. Depending on the severity of injuries a victim suffers from, they might have to contend with mountains of medical bills for a long time. Beyond the vehicle damage repairs and medical expenses, car accidents can permanently scar a person — and the trauma of a bad car crash is something many people carry for the rest of their lives.
If you or someone you know ever gets into an accident, you should know that there are ways for you to become financially whole again. However, you need to make sure that you take certain steps that can maximize your chances of getting adequate compensation for the damages you have suffered. One of the most important things to do after experiencing a car accident is to call the authorities and file a police report.
Today’s post will discuss the importance of filing a police report after experiencing a car crash beyond your civic duties as a Floridian.
Filing a Police Report After an Accident
Ideally, you should not waste any time filing a police report after being involved in a car accident. If you experience a car crash and you are not incapacitated, you should immediately dial 911. Even if the accident did not result in any injuries to you, it is a good idea to call the police. Suppose that you were unscathed in the crash but the other driver has suffered injuries. In that case, it is your legal duty to call the police and emergency services to help them.
Calling the police immediately after an accident, regardless of the severity of it, is important for more than your civic duties. Filing a report with the police gives you an important piece of evidence to back you up when filing a claim with your insurance company to seek compensation for the damages you suffered. When you call the police, they will come to the accident site, investigate it, and file an unbiased account of what they saw. This piece of documentation will come in handy later.
What does the Police Include in the Police Report After a Car Accident?
When you file a claim with your insurance company to seek reparations for the damages you suffered, they will send insurance adjusters to investigate the validity of your claim. Of course, the police officers arriving on the scene will be there before the insurance adjusters and they can file a report that accurately reflects on the accident scene. How the police report an accident scene and an insurance adjuster investigates it can be drastically different.
Police officers are examining the site to determine all the facts. Insurance adjusters are also sent by the insurance company to determine the facts, but they have the motivation to find anything that could reduce the liability of the insurance company. Police reports are completely unbiased. There are several things a police report after a car accident might include. Some of them are:
- When and where the car crash happened
- Details of the individuals involved in the car accident
- The weather conditions at the accident site when the crash happened
- Statements from anyone who saw the events leading up to the accident
The police can take several weeks to complete their investigation, depending on the specifics of the situation. Getting a copy of the report they file is important. There are two ways you can get a copy of the police report. You can get the receipt of the police report which contains the case number for your car accident. Once the report has been filed, you will need to call the traffic division at the local station in Pompano Beach and make a formal request to get a copy of the report they filed.
Another way to get the copy would be to make a request with your insurance company. Your insurer will have access to it with the police and may be able to give you a copy if they collected it.
Why is the Police Report Important?
The most important reason to make sure that you call the police and file a report with them is to ensure that there is a record of you doing your civil duty after an accident. However, its importance also relates to your chances of seeking full and fair compensation for the damages you suffered. A police report is an unbiased account of the accident and you can use that as evidence to back yourself up when you file a claim with your insurance company.
Suppose that the accident was severe and it qualifies as a case you can file a third-party lawsuit against the other driver for. In that case, the police report might be crucial to making a strong case against the at-fault driver. Having a police report can also speed up the process with your insurance company when you file the claim. It can help the insurance company and your attorney make more accurate estimations of the damages you should be rewarded.
If the accident was caused due to the negligence of the other driver, there is a possibility of using the police report in building a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. The information included in your accident’s police report can make a world of difference in how much you can win as compensation in the settlement.
If you suffered damages much greater than your insurance can cover, you will have to work with an attorney to file a personal injury claim to seek extra compensation, especially if the other driver was the one who caused the crash. When you file a personal injury claim against the driver, they can work with their legal team and insurance company to reach an out-of-court settlement. Provided that they offer a settlement amount that fairly reflects the damages you suffered, the case will never have to go to court.
However, there is a chance that the other driver might not be keen on paying a settlement. In that case, you might have to take matters to the courtroom where you will present all the facts to the judge and jury. They will examine all the evidence you provide to back your claim and the defendant will provide evidence proving their claim. After studying all the facts, the court will decide the outcome of the case.
Consider Contacting Car Accident Lawyers After Filing a Report
Most car accident cases in Florida are decided before they ever reach court. Nobody likes going through the lengthy process of litigation. Of course, getting a favorable outcome from a car accident case requires building a strong case. Filing a police report gives you an important piece of evidence to make a strong case, but you need more than that to succeed. Personal injury laws in Florida are complex. Unless you have a considerable amount of legal experience, it is always better to work with experienced car accident lawyers.
Pompano Beach auto accident lawyers who have dealt with such cases know all the ins and outs of Florida’s personal injury law. They can help you collect all the necessary evidence to make a strong case. Besides helping you with the evidence, the best lawyers can also help you negotiate a better settlement for your car accident claim — whether it is a claim with your insurer or the at-fault party in a third-party lawsuit.
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