After an accident, you may want to get a copy of your police report. This report can tell you how the police officer thought the crash happened and what kinds of facts the insurance companies will be looking at when deciding your case. It generally cannot be used as evidence in an actual lawsuit for a car crash, but having the report can still be helpful when building your case.
In Reading, police reports can be obtained online – and this seems to be the preferred method for the Reading Police Department. It is conceivable that you can also retrieve a report in person or via mail, as Pennsylvania law requires police departments to make reports available for $15. In any case, our lawyers can also retrieve a copy of the police report when we handle your case.
Call our Reading car accident lawyers for help with your case today at Leeson & Leeson at (610) 890-6332.
How to Get a Police Report for a Car Accident from the Reading Police Department
If you were involved in an accident and the Reading Police Department was the office that responded to the accident, you should be able to get a report online. However, there may be other options, too. If another office responded to your crash, they might have the report instead of the Reading Police, and you might have to track it down by going through a different police department or the Pennsylvania State Police, though many police departments in Pennsylvania all use the same online system for looking up reports.
Online Through CrashDocs
CrashDocs.org is a commonly used accident report system that many police departments in Pennsylvania, including the Reading Police, use to host and give out copies of reports for car accidents. The Reading Police website specifically directs people to use CrashDocs at this link, which takes you to the report lookup page.
To access your report from the Reading Police or a different department, you merely need the report number, your last name, and the date of the crash. If you are looking for a report from a different police department, you will have to find it on this list first. Then, you can find the report, pay for a copy, and print/email it.
In Person
Although there are no instructions on the Reading Police Department’s website, 75 PA.C.S. § 3751 requires police departments to furnish reports upon request of people involved in the crash, their insurance companies, or their attorneys. Police departments outside of Philly are allowed to charge up to $15 for this copy, though reports might be cheaper through CrashDocs.
By Mail
Again, the website for the Reading PD has no instructions for retrieving a report by mail, but it may be possible.
By Phone
Lastly, there are no instructions for retrieving a report by phone, either, though it is likely that you can call the police department and ask them if you can pick up the report in person or if they can mail it to you.
How Do I Know if the Police Made a Report for My Car Accident in Reading?
As mentioned, § 3751 requires police reports to be available at police departments. The department that investigated the report is also required, under the same law, to draw up a report, meaning that every crash you report to the police should have a record and report made for it.
When a police officer responds to a crash, they are required to write up the report and make it available. This means that there likely is a report out there for your crash – if you reported it. If you are having trouble finding it, you might not be looking in the right place.
If you contact the police department that responded to your crash, they can likely look up the report or you can look it up online. If you are missing the report number and can’t look it up online or the police department cannot find the report for your crash, it may be possible that a different police department or the Pennsylvania State Police were actually the ones to respond to your crash.
If you did not actually report the accident to the police, you might be in violation of the law and should consider reporting it right away. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3742 requires the driver of any accident in which there was an injury or death to report the accident to the police and to complete other actions required under § 3744.
If you are having trouble finding out whether a report was properly made or whether you are just looking in the wrong place, our lawyers can look into the issue for you and retrieve a copy of the report for your crash as part of our work on your case. There is typically no need for injury victims working with a lawyer to get copies of their crash reports on their own.
Can I Use a Crash Report as Evidence in a Reading, PA Car Accident Lawsuit
Typically, lawsuits can be filed for serious injury cases, allowing victims to claim pain and suffering damages. A lot of evidence will be introduced in your case, including your own testimony, photos of the scene of the crash, any video you have of the accident, and other evidence and witness testimony. The police report might seem like good, solid evidence from an official source, but police reports usually cannot be used as evidence.
First and foremost, they are hearsay and cannot be used without a legal exception. Second, they are not usually reliable because they are written based on secondhand info, not something the officer personally observed. If there was any outstanding question of whether you can use the report, though, § 3751(b)(4) blocks crash reports from being entered as evidence in a car accident lawsuit.
This may still allow you to use it for some other purposes – like building your case – so they are still important to have anyway.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in Reading, PA Today
For a free case review, call the Reading car accident attorneys at Leeson & Leeson at (610) 890-6332.
