A police report may help you pursue compensation after a Georgia motor vehicle accident. You can request a Georgia police accident report from the law enforcement agency itself or the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). You may also purchase a police report online for immediate download.
Our Georgia car accident lawyers at Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., often use police reports when building motor vehicle collision cases. Requesting a police report could help you strengthen a claim when an insurance company won’t offer a fair settlement.
What Information Is on the Police Car Accident Report?
According to the GDOT, a police department should use the Georgia Motor Vehicle Crash Report (GDOT-523) form to file a collision report. The police reffport may contain this information:
- Date, time, and location of the wreck
- Information about vehicles involved
- Information about drivers involved and their condition
- Information about the behaviors of drivers that may have contributed to the crash
- Information about occupants
- Diagrams
- Narrative of the collision
- Witness information
- Description of damage to vehicles and people
The form includes space for other data and details a police officer may consider relevant when filing their report. For example, perhaps your crash involved a commercial motor vehicle. A section of the form offers space for additional information the federal government may require in these circumstances.
How Much Does It Cost to Get a Police Accident Report in Georgia?
The cost of getting a copy of a police accident report in Georgia can depend on your method. Options include:
- Order a police report online – GDOT allows users to order police accident reports online through BuyCrash. Ordering a police report through BuyCrash costs $13.
- Request a police report by mail – You can mail a form to GDOT to request a physical copy of a police accident report. A report costs $5 if you choose this method. For a certified report, the cost is $7.
- Visit the law enforcement agency – You may visit the police department that filed the report in person to request a copy. The fee for buying a report directly from the police will vary from one law enforcement agency to another.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS), you may also submit a request for a police report through Georgia’s Open Records Act. The cost of a crash report through this method begins at $5.
How Long Might It Take to Receive My Accident Report?
Contact the law enforcement agency that investigated your accident to find out how long it may be before the police report is available. Often, a police report becomes available a few days after a collision. However, the timeline may be longer in complex cases.
Your method for requesting a police report will also influence how long it takes to get the report. If you buy a police report online through BuyCrash, you can immediately download the report once you find it.
Processing times for police report requests may vary from one agency to another if you submit a request through mail or in person. The GDOT request form also states that processing times can take longer when request forms contain errors. Make sure your information is accurate when requesting a police report to speed up its delivery.
Do All Georgia Car Accidents Have a Police Accident Report?
Not all Georgia car wrecks have police reports. The law doesn’t require drivers to report every single collision.
However, if you’re filing a car accident claim, the wreck likely caused enough damage that someone should have reported it to the police. Typically, a law enforcement agency will generate a police report in any instance when the police have responded at the accident scene.
Should I Always File a Police Report?
Georgia law requires drivers to report crashes to the police when they cause:
- Injury,
- Death, or
- At least $500 in property damage
It’s not always immediately clear when a collision has caused injury. A concussion or other such injury might not cause noticeable symptoms right away. In addition, you may not be able to determine the extent of the property damage in a collision’s immediate aftermath.
Err on the side of caution and call 911 to report any motor vehicle accident you’re involved in. Doing so may be a legal requirement. Reporting your accident to the police might also improve your chances of receiving compensation.
Can a Police Accident Report Help with My Car Accident Claim?
A police report could strengthen your car accident claim in several ways. Examples include:
- Proving negligence – The police report may support your argument that a negligent driver caused your wreck.
- Providing evidence – A police report may include photos of the accident scene. If a police report includes such materials, it may be a valuable source of evidence.
- Showing the negligent driver broke the law – A police report may state whether it appears the driver who caused your wreck broke any laws.
Proving negligence may not be necessary if a law enforcement agency states a driver broke a traffic law when your collision occurred. The legal doctrine of negligence per se dictates that a party may automatically be negligent in the eyes of the law when they violate a safety statute. If your crash happened because a driver broke a safety law, you may not need to gather additional evidence of negligence.
You should discuss your circumstances with a Georgia car accident lawyer in greater detail. They could explain how a police report may be useful in your specific case.
Contact a Georgia Car Accident Lawyer
At Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., a police report is just one of many factors our Georgia car accident lawyers may use when working to maximize the compensation for your claim. Our goal is to tailor our approach to your case to offer the effective representation you deserve. Get started today by contacting us online or calling us for a free case review.
