If you or somebody you care about has been involved in a vehicle accident in Colorado, then you need to know that an accident report is likely going to be filled out. There is often significant confusion about accident reports. Here, we want to discuss what these accident reports contain and how you can obtain a copy of the report to help with your insurance claim.
Nearly every vehicle accident that occurs in Colorado must be reported to the police. In most situations, a police officer will come to the scene, gather evidence, and file a report. A report will certainly be filed if any party was injured or killed or if there was property damage in excess of $1,000.
If a police officer was not present at the scene of a crash, you can file an accident report online. You can find the filing area by clicking here. This online service allows a person to report accidents that were not investigated by law enforcement, but they must be filed within 60 days.
There are various types of information that will go into an accident report in Colorado. In general, every accident report will include the following:
An accident report is going to be a crucial piece of evidence used by insurance carriers or by a personal injury jury when working to determine a settlement or verdict amount. There are various ways that an accident report can be obtained. In Colorado, one of the easiest ways to obtain an accident report is by using an online request form that you can find by clicking here.
When you go to fill out this form, you need to be ready with your case number, your first and last name, the date of the crash, and the location of the crash. Online reports cost $5 each, and you can pay online using a debit or credit card.
Accident reports are crucial. Often, what we will find is that insurance carriers will not even accept a claim unless they have an accident report of some sort. An insurance carrier would prefer to have an accident report filled out by law enforcement officials. Insurance carriers do not like to pay out money in settlements, and they will use the absence of an accident report as a reason for delays or denials.
An accident report is one type of evidence that the insurance carriers will rely on when it comes to determining whether or not to pay a claim and how much they should pay. In addition to an accident report, insurance carriers also conduct their own investigation into the incident, and other types of evidence will likely be gathered. This can include video or photo surveillance of the incident, statements from any eyewitnesses at the scene, statements from other drivers and passengers involved, mobile device data, vehicle “black box” data, and more.
Call us today to speak with an experienced Denver motorcycle accident lawyer.
