Being hurt in an accident presents many questions that need to be answered as soon as at the scene of the crash itself. This can be very overwhelming for someone who’s still trying to figure out whether or not they are seriously hurt.
You and the other people involved in your California car accident may feel fine, so you may be tempted to skip out on contacting the police and bringing the police to the scene. However, there are certain circumstances in which you must report an accident to the authorities. Furthermore, it is in your best interests to contact the authorities to notify them about an accident so that you have a paper trail and something to reflect back on as you file an injury claim.
The situations in which you must file a police report in California include if someone was killed in the crash, if someone suffered any type of injury including minor injuries, or if the collision generated property damage to a vehicle or any other piece of personal property that may be valued at more than $1,000. It is better to be on the safe side and contact the police when you’ve been involved in a vehicle accident. At the scene, you may not remember the specifics of how the cars collided, what you hit or the speed that you or someone else were going.
However, piecing this together with a police report from your insight and any other eyewitnesses or involved parties could be very helpful for painting a picture of exactly what happened. Having a police report can become a component of your personal injury lawsuit down the road. Schedule a consultation with our qualified personal injury attorneys in San Francisco, California to learn more.