California law does not require that you always call the police for a simple fender bender, but you may want to do so for your own safety. If the police don’t come and document what happened, the other driver may try to blame you for the collision.
So, if you’re wondering whether you should call the police for a fender bender in California, the answer is probably yes. A california car accident attorney If the accident happened because of the other driver’s negligence, you can help hold the other driver accountable.
When You Have to Call the Police After a Car Accident in California
You do not have a choice whether or not to call the police in California after a car accident if one of these factors was involved:
- One of the drivers fled the scene of the accident; In other words, it was a hit-and-run accident.
- You have reason to suspect that one of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- One of the drivers does not have a valid driving license.
- Someone was injured or killed in the accident. This rule includes pedestrians and cyclists.
If any of these items were present in your vehicle accident, California requires that you call the police to come to the scene, investigate, and file a report.
Reasons You May Want to Call the Police After a Collision
When there is no police report from any of the officers on the scene, it can often be a case of one person’s word against another. A person wanting to get out of needing to pay for property damage and personal injuries may make false allegations against you.
Here are some of the points that would be included in a typical police report that may be useful to you in proving your case for compensation against the negligent driver and defending yourself against unfair accusation by the other driver:
- Reasonable. Police reports will often specify who the officer thought caused the accident and what the motivating factor was. For example, the report may say that driver number one caused the accident by running a red light.
- Citation. The officer may issue a ticket to the relevant driver for the fault. An example of a citation that could directly affect your accident claim is if the officer cited another driver for speeding. The citation shall also give the estimated speed traveled by the driver at the time of offence.
- Damage to vehicles. The police report will have a diagram of each vehicle. The officer shall mark on the drawings the location of any damage caused during the collision. If the other driver is later involved in another accident and tries to make you pay for that property damage, the police report will help you defend against that fraudulent claim.
- getting hurt. The officer will ask each party involved in the accident whether they have suffered any injuries. The officer will note any complaints of pain or other injuries and note any visible wounds.
The police report will contain much more detail than these few topics. Depending on the facts of your case, information on weather conditions, road conditions and time of day may prove useful in your situation. A California personal injury attorney can answer your questions about obtaining a police report and help you pursue your injury claim against the at-fault driver. visit our office today to help you with your case.