Getting a police report can really help you with your car accident claim. Insurance companies will often want a copy of the report to prove that the crash happened, and car accident lawyers can use the information in the report to make sure we talk to all of the witnesses and other drivers listed in the report.
To get a police report for your Allentown car accident, contact the Allentown Police Department directly or find a report on Crashdocs.org – an affiliate of CarFax. Our attorneys can also help you obtain a report as part of our research into your case, allowing us to use it to our advantage when representing you in a car accident case.
For a free case evaluation, contact our Allentown personal injury attorneys at Leeson & Leeson at (610) 890-6332.
Getting a Police Report in Person for an Allentown, PA Car Crash
If your accident happened in Allentown, it is likely that the Allentown PD was the one to respond. Some cases are handled by other officers, such as Pennsylvania State Police, in which case the report would be available through that police department or barracks instead. However, when the Allentown Police handle your crash, that report can easily be obtained in person.
The Allentown Police Department website gives instructions in English and Spanish for obtaining a report in person. All you have to do is go to the “Traffic door” (the Traffic Office’s office) on the College Street side of the police building downtown at 425 Hamilton Street and request a report for your crash.
When you go, you will need photo ID and a check, money order, or cash for $15.
Allentown Police handle most traffic accidents within the City of Allentown. If your crash happened outside of the city, it is possible it could have been handled by another police department like the Whitehall, South Whitehall, or Emmaus Police, or another nearby department. If the Allentown Police do not have your report, check with these departments instead. If you are having trouble locating the department that handled your case, our Allentown car accident attorneys can do it for you.
Getting a Police Report by Mail in Allentown, PA
If you do not want to go in person, you may also get a report by mail. For this, the same website has instructions: all you do is mail the information needed to look up your report – your name, contact info, crash date, location, and incident number (if you have it) – along with a check or money order for $15, and a return envelope. Make sure the return envelope you include for them to return the report is already addressed back to you and has stamps on it.
This accident report request gets mailed to the Allentown Police Department, ATTN: Traffic Office at 425 Hamilton St., Allentown PA 18101.
Getting a Police Report Online for a Crash in Allentown, PA
The Allentown Police Department also links to Crashdocs.org. CrashDocs is a CarFax company that publishes reports online for a small fee to the person retrieving the report. Usually, you need the report number, your last name, and the date of the crash to get a copy.
Sometimes the reports you get online are redacted, meaning that important personal information might be blacked out so that you cannot read it. This can obviously make the report less useful, so it might be best to get a copy directly from the police.
Do I Need a Copy of the Police Report in My Allentown Car Accident Case?
When you are involved in a crash, you will often file an insurance claim with your own insurance company if you have “limited tort” insurance or any kind of first-party or comprehensive benefits. From there, you may also be entitled to file a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance or even a lawsuit. Lawsuits for “serious injuries” can also include compensation for your pain and suffering – something you cannot otherwise claim unless you have a “full tort” insurance policy. When filing these claims, a police report can be helpful, but it is not necessarily something you need to go collect.
Insurance companies can usually pull police reports on their own. Our lawyers can also typically get a report for you as part of our research into your case. This ultimately means that you don’t usually need to be the one to get your report. If, however, you want a copy for your records or you want to get a report ahead of time before a free consultation with our lawyers, you are more than welcome to follow one of the processes above.
What Can I Do with the Police Crash Report in My Allentown Car Accident Case?
Having a police report can be extremely helpful when building a personal injury claim for a car crash. Our lawyers can make sure that the evidence in the report matches your story, potentially helping us locate witnesses and police officers who can provide corroborating testimony that backs up your claim. We can also use diagrams in the report and any potential photos or descriptions of the crash scene to help us flesh out your case without having to rely solely on your memory of what happened.
However, the report might not be as helpful when it comes to actually providing evidence to the court in a potential lawsuit. Insurance companies are often willing to sue the facts in the report, but there are Rules of Evidence and Pennsylvania law to consider when trying to admit the report in a court case. While police reports are usually considered hearsay, there might be some exceptions that allow them to be used in court in some ways to challenge a witness’ statements with prior inconsistent statements in the report or to refresh a witness’ recollection on the stand. In any case, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(4) specifically bars police reports from being admissible as evidence in car accident cases in Pennsylvania.
Call Our Allentown Car Accident Attorneys Today
Contact Leeson & Leeson at (610) 890-6332 for a free case analysis with our Allentown car accident attorneys.