When to Require a Police Report

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller concerned that he’d been in a small impact crash, and no police report was made. He filed a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance, but they say the crash never happened. He asked, did I make a big mistake?

Understandably, sometimes the urge to not take the time to call the police and have them document what happened in a crash will prevail over exercising better judgment to insist that a police report be made. Sometimes, you have to be somewhere, and the crash itself presents a stressful situation. You think that you don’t feel hurt and that the damage to the cars is minimal. Should you give in to the urge to skip calling the police?

Here are the pros and cons of taking the time to call the police, compared with taking alternative steps to document what happened during the crash.

We’ll leave it to listeners to decide what is more important, keeping in mind that the absence of a police report might adversely impact the chances of a claim for damages being approved.

The more substantial the accident and the more significant the damage, the more important it becomes to get a police report to include when filing an insurance claim. Whether a police report is required depends on the insurance policy’s wording. Typically, the policy will instruct on how and when to file a claim.

Depending on the wording of a policy, the ramifications of not having a police report may vary. In many instances, a claim without a police report may still be approved, but the approval process may take longer and require more investigation and verification of the details surrounding the crash. Depending on how much uncertainty is created by the fact that there is no police report for a given crash, the amount offered by insurance to settle a claim may be less than what you could otherwise get if you had more details known and outlined in a police report.

One of the biggest reasons people don’t call the police and get a report after a crash is that they think the crash was minor. However, the extent of property damage or physical bodily injury is not always apparent at the scene, and what may appear minor could turn out to have significant effects.

When a police report is impossible to obtain, the next best thing is to take detailed notes about the crash. Write down the date, time, and location of the crash. Note the names and contact information of all parties involved, insurance policy numbers, driver’s license numbers, and license plate numbers. Record the make and model of the vehicles involved, as well as their registered owners’ names and contact information. Gather the names and contact information of any witnesses. Take photographs and video clips of the scene of the crash.

The more information you can provide to an insurance carrier when making a claim, the better.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com. While there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”