Online Traffic Crash Report

How can a car accident lawyer help you with filing an insurance claim after a vehicle collision? An experienced attorney knows every law on the books in your state that addresses the aftermath of a vehicle collision, such as how to assign fault for a crash, as well as file an insurance claim before the deadline imposed by your insurance company. The best car accident lawyers also know about the importance of a traffic crash report, which describes in detail the events that unfolded before, during, and after a vehicle collision.

If you have enough evidence to prove another party committed one or more acts of negligence that caused a car accident, an experienced attorney helps you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Interviews with witnesses provide legal support for the physical evidence gathered at the scene of the incident. Your lawyer also can negotiate a favorable settlement that gets you the compensation that you deserve, without having to go through the trial phase of the litigation process. Once again, a traffic crash report plays an integral role in helping you win monetary damages for the negligence caused by another party.

Many states have recently updated their reporting systems by making available to the public online traffic crash reports. The advantages of accessing an online traffic crash report include processing insurance claims faster, as well as having the ability to contest the information presented in a digitally prepared incident report. An experienced car accident lawyer knows where to find an online traffic crash report and has a deep understanding of how to gain access to the physical evidence that supports the conclusions made within a report.

For more than three decades, the car accident lawyers at Morgan and Morgan have helped clients understand the implications of the information presented in a traffic crash report, which also is referred to in many circumstances as the official police report. When you meet with one of the car accident lawyers at Morgan and Morgan, one of the first items on the agenda involves reviewing the online traffic crash report and determining from the information presented how to proceed with your case.

Schedule a free case evaluation today to learn more about how to leverage the information presented in an online traffic crash report in your favor when filing an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

What Do I Need to Know About a Traffic Crash Report?

The first order of business after a car accident in most cases is to contact the nearest law enforcement agency to help process the scene of a crash and secure the accident scene to prevent additional harmful incidents. Unless you get involved in a minor fender bender that leaves all parties unscathed, you should call 911 to activate the emergency response system that alerts both medical and law enforcement personnel about your predicament.

After the nearest law enforcement agency responds to the scene of the vehicle crash, one or more officers conduct an extensive investigation that collects physical evidence and includes the statements provided by witnesses. At the conclusion of the onsite investigation, the officer or officers responsible for conducting the investigation create an incident report that your car accident lawyer refers to when determining how to proceed with your case. The incident report presents a detailed account of what transpired before, during, and after the auto crash, as well as summarizes the witness statements and physical evidence presented to determine the cause of the vehicle collision.

Copies of the incident report go to your insurance company, and if you file a civil lawsuit, to the clerk processing your case for litigation.

What Information Should Law Enforcement Personnel Present in an Incident Report?

The law enforcement agency responsible for compiling the information presented in an online traffic crash report must include certain information to help both parties file a valid insurance claim. The online traffic crash report should include accurate contact information, such as your name, address, and phone number at the top of the incident report. Also located near the top of the report, a section requires the submission of the date, time, and location of the auto crash. Before you read the details of the car accident, you should see the name of your insurance company and the vehicle registration information of all parties involved in the incident.

One of the key pieces of evidence included in an online traffic crash report is a detailed diagram that displays the movement of each vehicle before, during, and after the vehicle collision. A member of the law enforcement agency’s forensics team creates the diagram, which provides keen insight into not only what caused the car accident, but also which party should assume most, if not all of the blame for the collision. Accompanying the online traffic crash report are photographs of physical evidence, such as debris and the tire tracks made at the time of impact. Photographs of your injuries demonstrate the severity of the symptoms and individual witness accounts provide legal support for the conclusion reached by the law enforcement officers that submitted the online traffic crash report.

At the end of the formal incident report, the officer signing off on the document cites any traffic violations, as well as offers a professional analysis that describes the cause of the incident and whether anyone should assume legal liability for the injuries sustained as a result of the vehicle collision.

What Are the Advantages of an Online Traffic Crash Reporting System?

Before the availability of a system that presents information concerning a car accident online, the parties involved in a vehicle collision had to wait a considerable amount of time to receive a copy of the official incident report. With medical bills quickly mounting and the cost of property damage repairs cleaning out a monthly budget, a victim of a car accident might experience significant financial distress that can lead to filing for bankruptcy. An online traffic crash report allows all parties involved to gain quick access to the pertinent information that forms the basis of developing a certain legal strategy.

An online traffic crash report tends to be more accurate than a printed version of the same legal document. Digital documents do not contain many of the errors found in printed documents, such as illegible handwriting and omissions of data that help a car accident lawyer determine legal liability. Moving incident reports to a digital format also allows all interested parties to access the documents associated with a car accident from the comfort of their homes. This is an especially important advantage during a health crisis, such as the one experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Do I Prove Negligence?

For you to file a persuasive civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your car accident lawyer must prove the presence of the four elements of negligence.

Duty of Care

The duty of care doctrine requires a party to assume legal responsibility for the well-being of other parties. For example, a healthcare provider assumes a duty of care to protect the health of every patient treated by the healthcare provider. In a car accident case, all parties involved in a collision assume a duty of care every time they get behind the wheel of an automobile to protect the health of other drivers and passengers. This element is the easiest one to prove negligence in regards to a car accident case.

Breaching the Duty of Care Doctrine

Proving that another party breached the duty of care doctrine represents the core element for establishing negligence. Your car accident lawyer must link the physical evidence and witness statements with the commission of at least one act of negligence. For instance, if a motorist ran a red light, which caused a car accident, the motorist has breached the duty of care doctrine by committing the act of negligence called reckless driving. A breach in the duty of care doctrine can be either intentional or unintentional, with an intentional breach in the duty of care doctrine typically resulting in the awarding of punitive damages.

Caused Your Injuries

As the third element of proving negligence for a personal injury incident, causation demonstrates a car accident resulted in you sustaining one or more injuries. For our reckless driving example, the act of running a red light that caused a car accident must have produced one or more injuries. Proving this element of negligence is not as easy as it seems, as the other party’s attorney might try to associate your injuries with another event. Instead of linking your injuries to a car accident caused by reckless driving, the other party’s lawyer might claim you sustained your injuries from another event, such as a recreational sport or a home improvement project.

Suffered Financial Losses

As the fourth element of proving negligence, showing the judge that you suffered financial losses requires you to submit copies of medical bills and the receipts generated from repairing property damage. The copies of medical bills and property damage receipts should be properly dated to demonstrate you suffered financial losses around the same time you got involved in a motor vehicle collision. If you cannot prove the fourth element of negligence, the judge hearing your case will deny your request for monetary damages.

Hire an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer for Your Case

One of the highly-rated car accident lawyers at Morgan and Morgan can provide legal support in many ways. Your attorney conducts a thorough investigation that includes gathering and organizing physical evidence. Hiring an experienced lawyer ensures you meet every deadline required to process an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. A car accident lawyer also helps you understand the information presented in an online traffic crash report.

The most important type of legal support concerns getting you the compensation that you deserve. You have the right to request compensation to cover the costs associated with economic damages, which consist of lost wages, medical bills, and repairs to property damage. Medical bills include diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. Your car accident lawyer also requests compensation for non-economic damages and if applicable, punitive damages that cover an intentional or serious unintentional act of negligence.

Schedule a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan car accident lawyer to learn more about an online traffic crash report.