When car crashes occur in Hudson County, one of the first things victims should prioritize for their financial recovery is getting the police report corresponding to the accident.
After an auto accident in Hudson County, victims should call for help. Officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office or the local municipal police department will then arrive and complete an accident report, which you can download from CrashDocs.org once it becomes available. This could take several business days or longer, and our lawyers can contact law enforcement about any considerable filing delays. When we have the police report, we can read it with you, explain its contents, and plan how to use it to support your compensation claim against a negligent driver. The only way to have a police report made after a crash is to call 911, which victims should do, no matter how minor an accident seems.
For a free, confidential case assessment from Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., call our New Jersey car accident attorneys today at (201) 777-1111.
Where Can Victims Go to Get Police Reports for Car Accidents in Hudson County, NJ?
After a crash, make a note of which police agency responds to your accident, whether it is the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office or a local municipal police department. Though both law enforcement agencies upload accident reports online, if you want to get your report in person, you’ll need to know which police department to go to.
The Hudson County Sheriff’s Office
Police officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office might respond to your car accident scene, whether to assist municipal police departments in their investigations or to head these investigations themselves. If officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office come to the accident site, they will finish and upload the report to CrashDocs.org for easy access, according to the department’s website. To get your report online, you must input the report number, your last name, and the accident date.
You can also go to the Records Room of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, located at Hudson Plaza in Jersey City. The Records Room is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon.
Municipal Police Departments
There are 12 municipalities in Hudson County with their own police departments. If you call 911 for an accident in any of the local municipalities – Bayonne, East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, Hoboken, Jersey City, Kearny, North Bergan, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken, or West New York – the local police department will likely respond, depending on its available resources at the time. Otherwise, it might seek assistance from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office.
Once municipal police departments finalize accident reports in New Jersey, they likely also send them to CrashDocs.org, just like the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office does. Victims can also go to the responding municipal police department in person and provide staff with their information to obtain a report.
New Jersey State Police
The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) collects accident reports from most accidents around the state – except those on the Atlantic City Expressway – and makes them accessible via its website. Victims can download reports for accidents on toll and non-toll roads from the NJSP, which cost $5 and $13 per download, respectively.
How Long Does it Take to Get a Car Accident Report from the Police in Hudson County, NJ?
When police officers respond to car accidents in Hudson County, they will immediately start processing the scene and speaking to involved parties. In the following days, they will put the finishing touches on the report and upload it online.
Police officers have five days after an accident to finish their reports and make them available to victims. Accuracy in police reports is especially important, regardless of their admissibility in court, as these documents help our New Jersey personal injury attorneys determine an accident’s sequence of events. Officers understand this, and it might take some extra time to check all of the information is correct, like each driver’s insurance and vehicle information, eyewitnesses’ details, and victims’ injuries at the scene.
Then again, while ensuring accuracy is important, delaying filing a police report could also delay a victim’s claim. If it has been over a week since the accident occurred and you still cannot locate your report online or in person, our lawyers can contact the proper police station to inquire about the delay. Once we have the report, we will read it with you carefully to confirm it is accurate. If there are any errors in the report, we can alert officers to amend it.
How to Read a Car Accident Report from the Police in Hudson County, NJ
Car accident reports in New Jersey are somewhat difficult to read, and our lawyers can help victims make sense of these documents and their contents after a crash.
In the report, officers will indicate the accident’s location, road conditions, weather conditions, crash type, vehicle type, and direction of travel. Officers will also reference victims’ injuries in these reports, noting where and how seriously victims are injured. Police officers will also use the report to indicate if the involved parties wore seat belts during the accident or if the victim refused medical attention at the scene. Our lawyers are familiar with the abbreviations and verbiage officers use in accident reports and can help victims understand these documents following serious collisions.
In addition to writing an accident report, officers might take pictures at the scene and speak to eyewitnesses. If there are supplemental materials to your report, our lawyers can help you obtain them after the accident. This information might lead us to additional evidence we can use to strengthen your case in Hudson County, such as eyewitness statements.
Call Our Accident Lawyers About Your Case in Hudson County, NJ
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 for a free evaluation of your case from our Jersey City, NJ car accident attorneys.