How To Obtain an Accident Report in Georgia
Accident reports provide valuable information after a car accident in Tifton, Georgia. They give an official account of what happened, who was involved, and which insurance companies covered the vehicles.
An accident report can also help you obtain compensation if you need to file an injury claim. It can provide your attorney with witness statements, police officer opinions, photographs, and other evidence. Your lawyer can then use this evidence to explain how you got your injuries and who was responsible for the crash.
If you need help you can contact us at King Firm to get a free initial consultation by calling (229) 386-1376.
How The King Firm Can Help With Your Car Accident Claim Accident in Tifton, Georgia
The King Firm has been helping clients get fair injury compensation since 2014. Our firm’s lead attorney has over 16 years of legal experience, which includes defending insurance companies from injury lawsuits.
This experience means that we know how insurers view accident claims and the tactics they use to avoid paying out any money to people that desperately need it. The King Firm now uses this knowledge to help accident victims get the compensation they deserve.
Our Tifton accident attorneys have secured millions of dollars in injury compensation for its clients, including:
- $1.2 million jury verdict for a young girl injured in a car accident
- $1.05 million settlement for a man injured in an Alabama car crash
- $450,000 settlement for a car accident that injured a client’s back
If you choose us to represent you following a car accident in Tifton, GA, we’ll be able to provide help such as:
- Fully evaluating your damages and collecting evidence in support of your claim
- Negotiating a settlement agreement with the at-fault party
- Filing a lawsuit if they do not offer an adequate amount
Contact The King Firm for a free consultation to learn how injury compensation can financially support you while you recover.
Accident Report Requirements in the State of Georgia
Under Georgia law, drivers must report accidents to the police that cause:
- Death
- Injury
- At least $500 in property damage
When the police respond, they will investigate the accident and produce a crash report.
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Crash Data portal, in 2021, Georgia had:
- 1,909 fatal accidents
- 154,280 non-fatal injury accidents
- 231,255 property damage only (PDO) accidents
Each of these crashes that caused injury or death would have required a police report. A significant number of PDO crashes would also have required a police report under the $500 damage threshold set in the Georgia statute. From these numbers, you can infer that investigators filed hundreds of thousands of accident reports in Georgia in 2021.
Overview of How To Obtain an Accident Report in Georgia
Police agencies in Georgia must provide their accident reports to GDOT, which keeps a database of all reports. You can obtain your accident report from GDOT for a fee.
Who Can Get a Copy of an Accident Report?
Georgia law limits who can receive accident reports. To get an accident report, you must be:
- Someone with a personal, professional, or business connection with a person involved in the crash
- The owner of any property (including a vehicle) damaged in the accident
- An injured victim of the crash
- A witness to the accident
- An insurer for someone involved in the accident
- A lawyer for someone injured in the accident
- Someone accused of causing the crash
Georgia requires you to sign a statement verifying that you fall into one of these categories. If you lie, prosecutors could charge you with a crime.
How Can You Request an Accident Report?
Georgia gives you three options for requesting an accident report:
- File a request form with GDOT
- Buy a copy online at BuyCrash.com
- Request a copy from the Georgia State Patrol
However, you can only use the third option if the Georgia State Patrol investigates your crash. If any other police agency responded to your crash, you must use one of the first two options.
What Is in the Accident Report?
The accident report includes information about the crash and the parties involved, such as:
- Time, date, and location of the accident
- Names and addresses of each driver
- Descriptions of each vehicle involved
- Injuries suffered by vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and bicyclists
- Names and addresses of witnesses to the crash
- Any citations issued as a result of the crash
The report may also contain a diagram of the accident and an opinion about who caused the crash.
How Does an Injury Lawyer Use an Accident Report?
Accident reports are not admissible evidence in a personal injury lawsuit. Georgia law prohibits you from using a crash report to prove negligence.
However, your injury attorney can use a crash report to uncover admissible evidence, including:
- Eyewitness testimony
- Expert witness testimony from accident reconstructionists
- Testimony from the driver about what they did before and during the crash
It’s also important to note that Georgia’s restrictions only apply to using an accident report at trial. You can include a copy of the accident report in your insurance claim against the at-fault driver. The claims adjuster will then consider the report when investigating the claim.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Tifton Car Accident Lawyers
Insurers will use any tactic to deny or reduce accident claims. However, an accident report can give your lawyer evidence to push the insurer into a fair settlement. Contact The King Firm for a free consultation with an experienced Tifton car accident attorney to learn how your accident report can help your injury claim.