After a car accident, a report will usually be generated to explain details about the collision if the local police, Sheriff, or Highway Patrol are called to the scene. This document contains important information and evidence, especially for personal injury cases. Here is how to request an accident report and how to read and understand the information on it:
Use All Possible Information
The more information you have about the accident, the easier it will be to locate it in the Nevada system. Useful data includes case number, date and location of the accident, or the names of people involved. Having this information on hand will reduce the wait time for pulling up the report.
This information will, typically, be given to you in a short report of the accident or an information card supplied by the reporting officer. A report can easily be ordered based on this information. Make sure to keep it and give a copy to your Attorney.
How Much Does A Report Cost?
Under Nevada law, requesting a public record cannot cost more than the cost to produce the record. This usually means simply the cost of printing and mailing the report. You can generally expect the cost to be less than $15, with additional fees for photos or a large number of pages.
Understanding the Accident Report
Under most circumstances, the accident report must be completed within ten days and have the information of all parties involved in the crash. The report will contain multiple pages starting with a summary page followed by more details about the cars, drivers, people involved and witnesses to the accident.
The report will also list details about each vehicle involved in the crash. This information includes the make and model of the cars, the name of the driver and owner of the car, the company providing insurance for that car and contact information for the parties involved. There is also a section to indicate if someone was not driving, such as a pedestrian, bicyclist, or someone in a parked car.
If the accident involved damaged property that is not a vehicle, there is a section to provide some details about the damage. The amount of damages is catagorized as minor, moderate, or major, totaled, none or unknown along with a drawing to show where the damage is located. Portions of this section may also place blame on the driver(s) of the cars involved as well as any defects the car had, such as faulty brakes, that may have contributed to the accident.
There is also a section that asks for the details of the crash. If there is a personal injury case, this description will help determine what the true story of the accident is.
Make sure to tell the officer if you’re feeling pain as that information will be included in the report. This prevents people from adding or removing details from the crash later on in their personal accounts. However, sometimes in the confusion, the officer will miss details of the accident.
Cap and Kudler – Las Vegas Car Accident Experts
The legal team at Cap and Kudler can help you after a car accident. We will go through the accident report, as well as other pieces of evidence, and work towards a fair settlement that will cover your expenses after a costly crash. If you need help after a car accident, just call us at (702) 878-8778 or contact us online.
