If you are involved in a car accident in Philadelphia or the greater Pennsylvania area, you might wonder, “Do I have to file a car accident report?” Whether you are required by law to report the accident to law enforcement depends on the damage the car crash caused. However, there may be additional reasons for you to file a report, even when the law does not explicitly require you to report it.
When You Must Report a Car Accident in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident to immediately report the accident to law enforcement if it caused any of the following:
- Injury to a person
- Death of a person
- Damage to a vehicle to the extent that it could not be driven normally without further damage or hazard to it, other vehicles, traffic, or the road, requiring it to be towed from the accident scene
How to File a Crash Report
If a police officer responds to the accident scene and investigates it, the driver’s legal obligation is met. If a police officer did not investigate the accident, the driver must prepare and file a written report of the accident to the appropriate police department, as required by law. You can complete your accident report at the police station, or you can fill it out online with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
You can go to the Pennsylvania State Police online crash report system or submit the Application to Obtain Copy of Police Crash Report (SP-7-0015) to the appropriate police department to obtain a copy of a filed crash report. It usually takes at least 15 days after an auto accident before the report can be provided.
What Happens If You Fail to Report an Accident?
If you are involved in an accident in Pennsylvania, you are required to notify the police immediately if any of the conditions discussed above apply. You are also required to stop immediately at the scene, exchange information, and render reasonable assistance. Failing to meet these legal obligations could constitute hit and run and subject you to potential penalties, depending on the circumstances.
Property-damage-only accidents are classified as a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail. However, car crashes that cause injury to another are considered third-degree felonies, which are punishable by a minimum of 90 days in jail and a maximum of seven years of incarceration. Auto accidents that result in fatalities are second-degree felonies, punishable by up to ten years’ incarceration.
Additionally, failing to report an accident could have implications for your civil claim. It could make it look like you were trying to hide something by not reporting the accident, such as drug use or not having a driver’s license. It could also allow the other driver to claim that the accident never happened or happened under different circumstances than what you claim when you make a report to the insurance company.
What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident
If you are involved in a car accident in Pennsylvania, try to stay calm. Getting in a car accident can be a terrifying experience, but keeping your wits about you can help protect your health and safety. Immediately pull your vehicle into the nearest safe place. Check yourself and your passengers for any injuries. Then, check the occupants in the other vehicle.
Next, take these steps to protect your legal rights:
Report the Accident
Reporting the accident is not the same as admitting liability. It is simply asking the police for assistance and is usually required by law.
Call 911 to report the accident and to have emergency medical service providers come to the accident scene, assess your injuries, and transport you to the emergency room, if necessary. Wait for the police to get to the scene and begin completing an official report of the accident.
When speaking to police, don’t admit fault or even mention fault. Stick to the facts and avoid speculating about how the accident happened. This is what the investigation is for.
Seek Medical Treatment Immediately
Do not delay in seeking medical treatment. Not all injuries present with obvious symptoms, including traumatic brain injuries or internal organ damage. Seeking prompt medical treatment can ensure that your injuries are properly diagnosed and connected to the accident.
Keep all of your medical records, as they can contain critical information that can be used as evidence of the type and severity of your injuries.
A delay in medical treatment could be used against you to argue that your injuries were not as serious as you claim or that the injuries were the result of some other cause.
Gather Information at the Accident Scene
Before leaving the scene, gather critical information, such as the other driver’s:
- Name
- Phone number
- Address
- Driver’s license number
- Insurance information
- Vehicle make, model, and description
- License plate number
Ask any witnesses for their names and contact information. Your car accident attorney can follow up with them later to obtain witness statements to support your case.
Document the Scene
It is likely that law enforcement will have the scene of the accident quickly cleaned up so that it does not pose a hazard to other motorists. By the time you contact a lawyer, it may be too late to preserve evidence of the car crash. Do your best to take photos and videos of the following while it is fresh:
- Multiple angles of the crash scene
- Nearby traffic lights and signals
- Skid marks on the roadway or the absence of skid marks, which could indicate distracted driving
- Damage to each involved vehicle
- Any other property damage
- Debris on the roadway
- Your injuries
Keep All Information Related to Your Accident
As your personal injury claim advances, you may begin accumulating a lot of documentation and other information you need for your case. Keep all of the following in an organized folder that you can share with your personal injury attorney:
- Communications from the insurance company
- Medical records
- Wage loss statements
- Photos or videos of the accident, including your dashcam footage
- The accident report
- Witness statements
- Any statement you wrote out after the accident while your memory was fresh
- Pain journal entries that detail your daily symptoms, pain and suffering, and struggles
Be Careful When Dealing with Insurance Companies
Despite their heartwarming commercials, insurance companies are not your friends when it comes to receiving fair compensation following a car accident. They train their adjusters to delay, minimize, and decline as many claims as possible to save them more money.
Keep this information in mind when you are dealing with insurers. They are not looking out for your best interests. Instead, they are looking to save as much money as possible.
Some tips when dealing with insurance companies include:
- Don’t share information that you have not been asked.
- Do not sign any medical release form without consulting a knowledgeable attorney.
- Do not agree to provide a recorded statement.
- Do not agree to a settlement without carefully considering your current and future needs.
- Do not sign anything without a comprehensive legal consultation.
Don’t Try to Represent Yourself
When you are dealing with painful injuries, uncertainty about your future, and confusion about the legal process, it is not the time to try to take on a complex matter of law alone. Insurance companies know how overwhelming it is to deal with the aftermath of serious injuries and often try to take advantage of claimants by bullying them into forfeiting their claim or accepting any settlement offer they make.
A lawyer can handle communications with the insurance company, file your legal paperwork, and take timely legal action on your behalf. This allows you to focus on your recovery while your lawyer safeguards your rights.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer
A personal injury attorney can help you understand your legal rights and work to protect them through every phase of the personal injury process.
How Reporting Helps Protect Your Injury Claim
Reporting the accident can help protect your injury claim in many ways, including:
- Reporting the accident gets your version of events on the record.
- Reporting the accident gets a law enforcement officer to respond to the scene to conduct a preliminary investigation and possibly cite the other driver for a traffic violation.
- The responding officer can document the other driver’s statement, which may be found to differ from the facts after an investigation.
- Witnesses may provide objective statements about what they observed.
- Reporting the accident confirms that a crash occurred, preventing the insurance company from denying it happened.
Protect your rights and report the accident.
Information Included in Car Accident Reports
Car accident reports can contain valuable information about the crash that could help with your claim, such as:
- The date, time, and location of the accident
- The direction each driver involved in the accident was traveling
- Road and weather conditions
- Statements from each driver involved, as well as witnesses
- Whether the other driver was cited for violating a traffic law
- A diagram of the accident scene
- Any preliminary opinions regarding fault
Insurance Reporting Requirements
The statute of limitations is separate from any requirements you have to report the accident to your insurance company. Most insurance policies contain clauses that require their insured to report accidents to the insurance company, even if they were not at fault for the crash. You may also need to report the accident to your insurance company to take advantage of any no-fault benefits you have, receive your PIP or MedPay benefits, or file an uninsured motorist claim. You are subject to the time limits and reporting requirements outlined in your auto accident policy.
To pursue a claim for compensation against a negligent driver, you report the accident to their insurance company. You are not under any obligation to provide a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurance company, so you can politely decline if it makes this request, or you can refer the insurance adjuster to your car accident lawyer.
Reporting on Behalf of Injured or Deceased Drivers
In instances in which the driver is injured or killed in the accident, the reporting requirements transfer to another responsible person. If there is another occupant in the vehicle where the driver is disabled, that occupant must make the report to law enforcement if they are capable.
Written accident reports are not required from any person who is physically incapable of making such a report while they are incapacitated. If the driver is physically incapacitated, the owner of the vehicle, if different than the incapacitated driver, can make a written report within five days of the accident.
Are Accident Reports Public Records in PA?
Police accident reports, or vehicle crash reports, are generally considered public records in Pennsylvania under the state’s Right-to-Know Law. They are available to involved parties, insurers, and attorneys. You can access your report from the Pennsylvania State Police online crash report system or submit the Application to Obtain Copy of Police Crash Report (SP-7-0015) to the appropriate police department. You will need the incident number, accident date, or the name of one of the drivers involved to obtain the report. These reports are generally not available for release until 15 days after the accident.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer for Help with Your Car Accident Case
Obtaining an accident report is only the first step that you must take after a car accident. Seeking prompt medical attention and legal advice are next on the list. Learn more about how an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer can help when you contact Cousin Benny Personal Injury for legal assistance.
