If you have been involved in an accident in New Jersey, it is important to make a formal report to the police if you intend to file a car accident claim.
While it is not compulsory to report all accidents, New Jersey law requires you to inform the police if an accident causes death, losses of more than $500 in property damage or bodily injury.
Since the damages suffered from an accident may not be obvious, it is advisable to involve law enforcement after an accident, no matter how minor.
The importance of informing the police
A police report could come in handy when proving fault if there is a misunderstanding on who was responsible for the crash. While the buck stops with the insurance adjusters when determining where the fault lies for the accident, a police report could be helpful.
The police can also capture details of your injuries or other damages in their report, although you need to visit a doctor to document the extent of the injuries.
How should you go about making a police report?
Should the police show up at the accident scene, they will take formal statements about the accident and any witness accounts. If the police did not arrive at the scene or you did not report the accident, you can file an accident report using New Jersey’s self-reporting form, the SR-1, within ten days.
Failure to make a formal report on time could hurt your car accident claim when pursuing compensation, or you could even lose some driving privileges such as your license.
Protecting your claim after a wreck
Reporting an accident to the police and your insurer is among the initial stages of the claims process, and you need to get everything right. It is advisable to learn more about how the entire process works beforehand and know what to expect at every stage.