Attorney
After getting injured in a car accident in Virginia, your first thoughts are probably about your medical issues. Once the dust settles, however, you might wonder if you can take legal action against the at-fault driver. You will want to talk to a Virginia personal injury attorney to see if you have a claim for compensation. One of the first steps in the process is obtaining your car accident report in Virginia.
Getting a Copy of Your Car Accident Police Report from the Virginia Law Enforcement Agency
You have a right to get a copy of the accident report if you were involved in the collision or you are an authorized representative for someone who was. If you want to get a copy of the report yourself, you can request it from the DMV website, using form CRD-93, Information Request. The report will cost eight dollars.
Many personal injury attorneys request a copy of the accident report on behalf of their clients. Form CRD-93 allows these entities to request a Police Crash Report:
- A driver.
- A passenger.
- Someone who got injured in or as a result of the collision, like a pedestrian.
- Someone who legally represents a person who got injured or was involved in the crash.
- The parent or legal guardian of a minor who got injured or killed in the accident.
- The owner of a vehicle or other property involved in the crash.
- The personal representative of someone who got injured or killed in the collision, for example, next of kin, guardian, or executor.
- An authorized representative of an insurance company that might have civil liability in the crash or is reviewing an application for automobile insurance of an involved party in the future.
The general public cannot get access to Police Crash Reports if they are not in one of these categories.
Why You Need a Copy of Your Car Accident Police Report in Virginia
A Police Crash Report will list all parties involved in, injured, or killed in a collision. Their addresses, telephone numbers, insurance information, and other contact data will be on the report. Also, the report might assess blame for the accident to one or more parties. Sometimes, the report does not reveal clear fault of any party.
The report will list weather information, lighting information, and other details about the accident and scene of the crash. The points of impact of each vehicle should get drawn on the form by the officer. Many of these details can come in handy if one of the parties tries to lie about what happened.
What To Do If No Officer Came to the Scene of the Car Accident
Virginia allows you to report an accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by submitting an accident report, form FR200, with an information request form, CRD-93, with a payment of $8.00. The DMV webpage, “Reporting a Crash to DMV” provides the current links, addresses, and other essential information. You will want to talk to a Virginia personal injury attorney about your legal options if you got injured in a Virginia automobile accident. Get in touch with our office today for help with your case, we offer a free consultation.