When is a Car Accident Report Filed in Virginia and Can a Missing Report Affect My Car Accident Claim?
If you’ve been involved in a car accident recently, you understand the importance of the car accident report that is usually filed by the police. But, when is a car accident report filed in Virginia? If there is no accident report, will that affect my car accident claim?
Car Accident Report Filed By Law Enforcement
In Virginia, law-enforcement officers are required to file a car accident report if:
- there is injury or death involved in the accident
- there appears to be property damage of $1,500.00 or more
In this video, Mike Ritchie discusses car accident reports in Virginia. Check it out here:
What Is a Non-Reportable Accident in Virginia?
A non-reportable accident is one that:
- results in minor property damage, that is cosmetic rather than structural
- did not cause physical injuries to the drivers or passengers
- occurs on private property, such as parking lots
When To Report A Car Accident In Virginia?
If you’ve been in an accident, it’s always recommended that you call the police and ask that they come to the scene of the accident.
But, if you’ve been in an accident and law enforcement didn’t come to the scene, you are responsible for reporting the accident as soon as you are able. It’s also important that you report the accident to your insurance company. BUT, BE AWARE, filing a police accident report is not the same as filing an insurance claim. You have to do both — report the accident to the police and call your insurance company.
Is a Car Accident Report Important to My Car Accident Claim?
While police accident reports are not necessarily required to have a successful car accident claim, they can provide important evidence about the extent of the impact as well as who caused the collision.
Understanding the extent of the impact or how hard someone was hit, often helps in understanding how and why injuries occurred from the accident. Also, determining who was at fault after a crash is often easier if there is a police accident report.
How Do I Get My Car Accident Report?
The first step in getting a car accident report is to identify which law enforcement agency came to the scene of your accident. If it’s a local agency, you’ll want to call that department and ask for the process to obtain an accident report. You may have to pay a nominal fee to have the accident report copied for you.
If the agency that came to the accident scene was the Virginia State Police, you’ll need to request the accident report from:
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 27412, Richmond, VA 23269-0001
Talk To An Experienced Virginia Car Accident Lawyer
Your team of lawyers at the Ritchie Law Firm has more than 150 years of combined experience helping our clients make the best decisions for their car accident cases. But, don’t take our word for it, check out our past Case Results here.
You can talk to us for FREE and there is NO FEE unless we win your case for you. Call us today! You have everything to gain and nothing to lose to talk to us about your accident and injuries.
When Your Health And Family Are On the Line
We Go Into BATTLE for you!
You can talk to us for FREE
Call today 800-277-6124, fill out the form below or
download our free ebook in the side panel.
800-277-6124
Ritchie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm devoted to helping individuals who have suffered serious and catastrophic injuries or lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligence. Ritchie Law Firm serves all of Virginia, while helping clients in cities and surrounding areas of Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Staunton, and Winchester also serves clients in West Virginia, including Martinsburg, WV.
