When preparing your claim, our lawyers may obtain any documents or reports connected to your recent accident, including the crash report from law enforcement.
How you get your accident report may depend on the police department that responded to the scene, whether it was the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office or a municipal police department. Typically, victims can download reports online, which may be easier than requesting copies in person, especially if they are still recovering from painful injuries. When we have your report, we can quickly review it for accuracy, as errors might benefit the negligent driver. We can see if officers spoke to witnesses and noted their contact details in the report while also considering officers’ impressions and possible contributing factors.
For a free and confidential case review from our New Jersey car accident lawyers, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111.
Where to Go for Police Reports for Accidents in Hudson County, NJ?
Suppose you were recently injured in a car crash in Hudson County. In that case, officers from a local municipal police department or the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office may respond to your 911 call and help process the scene.
When speaking to police officers at the crash site, confirm which police department they are from so that we know the correct jurisdiction when obtaining your report. Accident reports from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office are available online soon after accidents, as officers must complete them within five days, according to N.J.S.A. § 39:4-131. Municipal police departments might also upload reports to CrashDocs.com when finalized, and our lawyers can confirm if this is true in your case.
The New Jersey State Police also has an online portal for crash reports for accidents on toll and non-toll roads that victims may use to access their reports.
The online report retrieval options make it easier for seriously injured victims to obtain these documents, and our Elizabeth, NJ car accident lawyers can help them compile the necessary information about an accident and their involvement to download reports online soon after collisions.
What to Do After Getting a Police Report for a Car Accident in Hudson County, NJ
Once we have the accident report for your recent crash, we can review it for accuracy, alerting law enforcement to errors that need addressing. We can also note whether officers included witnesses’ information in the report and promptly contact them to schedule interviews, during which we can preserve their statements as evidence of negligence. Considering officers’ impressions, including contributing and primary causes, is also important, despite the accident report’s inadmissibility in court.
Review the Report for Accuracy
Though inadmissible in car accident claims, police reports help our lawyers better understand an accident’s circumstances and sequence of events, and their accuracy is still important. Police reports are somewhat confusing documents, and officers might use abbreviations or jargon victims are unfamiliar with to describe a crash and its fallout. We can read accident reports with victims to explain their contents and identify possible inaccuracies, which we can relay to law enforcement if they must amend the report to reflect the accident’s facts.
Note Eyewitnesses’ Information
Eyewitness statements can tip the scales in a victim’s favor, particularly if their case is threatened by a negligent driver’s comparative negligence arguments. As soon as we have your crash report, we can read it to confirm whether or not officers spoke to witnesses and recorded their contact information. Officers might do this after especially traumatic accidents, particularly if witnesses stop to help victims until paramedics arrive. Without the police report, victims might struggle to identify witnesses, especially if they could not speak to them at the scene because of their injuries. This is another important reason why victims should call 911 and report all car accidents, even if they appear minor initially.
Consider Officers’ Impressions and Possible Contributing Causes
Police reports for car accidents typically have sections for officers to include their impressions and indicate possible contributing and primary causes. We can read those sections carefully to gauge a negligent driver’s potential arguments against full liability, such as poor road or weather conditions. After reading police reports, we may provide them to crash reconstruction experts to refer to when piecing together what happened and confirming an at-fault driver’s negligence.
Do You Need to Get a Police Report to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Hudson County, NJ?
You need to report an accident to the police if it results in injury, death, or more than $500 in property damage, according to § 39:4-130. Following this immediate reporting, drivers may also have to make written reports to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission within ten days.
You must do this to comply with post-accident procedures in New Jersey, and failure to do so could lead to fines, even if you were injured by a negligent driver.
Negligent drivers might also seek to obtain police reports to look for any reason they can evade full liability, such as environmental factors like potholes, poor lighting, or bad weather. We can prepare for this possibility by reviewing reports ourselves soon after collisions. Gauging the cost of property damage is difficult, and adrenaline from a crash might cause victims to ignore injuries, making them think they are unhurt and do not have a legal obligation to report the accident to law enforcement. Unfortunately, victims might notice injuries and damages later, and not having documentation that an accident took place involving the negligent driver could undermine their compensation claims. Because of this, always call the police and report an accident so we can get the resulting police report in case we need it when preparing your case against a liable party.
Call Our Accident Attorneys in Hudson County, NJ for Help Today
Call the Hoboken, NJ car accident lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 for a free case review.