A police accident report is one of the most important pieces of documentation to secure after a car accident. Unfortunately, the process to actually acquire an accident report is not standardized across cities and can be confusing, especially if it’s your first time making a claim.
But that’s why we’re here today. If you’re in Acworth, Georgia, and need a police report after an accident, we at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm are here to share with you all you need about these documents, how to get them, and how to best use them for your case.
Importance of the Accident Report
An accident report is important because it is generally accepted to be an objective account of a car accident. Assuming the report is documented correctly, it should include all the information necessary to get a full picture of the event.
What this means is that by looking at a report, you should ideally be able to find out who is involved, what exactly happened, when and where the accident happened, and most importantly, why and how it happened the way it did.
As a result of this, a Georgia police report is often sought as the first piece of evidence in legal proceedings involving a car accident.
Legal Reasons for Obtaining a Report
The most common reason for needing a police report is documentation for either a claim or a court case. In either situation, the person seeking a report will usually either be pursuing compensation for damages in the accident or be the one defending against a claim.
Besides accident victims and involved parties themselves, lawyers and insurance adjusters also look to secure police accident reports in order to build a case. They do this for their clients or the insurance company respectively.
Legal professionals tend to spend hours on end studying the contents of a report in order to find information that can influence the outcome of a legal dispute in their favor. Likewise, adjusters will try to find information that benefits the company.
Insurance Claims and the Role of the Report
Insurance companies tend to rely on the information contained within a police report when assessing whether to make a payout as well as how much to pay out given that they do. This is not the only paper they consider, of course, but it usually forms the baseline for their assessments.
Eligibility to Access the Report
The Acworth Police Department implements regulations that prevent those who are not involved in a car accident from accessing the report. Generally, the individuals who are allowed to access a car accident police report include:
- Involved Parties: Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, witnesses, and vehicle owners (even if they were not present at the scene) are allowed to request a police report. In addition to this, any individual named on the report may acquire a copy.
- Legal Representatives: Lawyers representing involved parties are allowed to fire requests for accident reports.
- Insurance Companies: Insurance companies are allowed access to police reports as part of the service they provide. In fact, it is common for accident victims to be able to request a copy of a report from the insurance company if they fail to acquire one directly from the police.
- Law Enforcement Agencies: There are instances when an accident involves multiple law enforcement agencies. Though relatively uncommon, other departments with jurisdiction over the accident are allowed to get copies of the report.
- Other Authorized Parties: Other entities are often entitled to a copy of the police report. Typically, these groups include the court and other government organizations, though third parties with vested interests may be granted access, assuming they meet legal requirements.
Steps to Retrieve the Police Report
All accident reports are handled by the Acworth Police Department Records Division. You may contact them through the following channels:
- Phone: 770-974-1232
- In-Person: Acworth Police Department Records Division, 4440 Acworth Industrial Dr., Acworth, GA 30101.
- Website: https://acworthpolice.org/departments/records
- Email Address: [email protected]
You may also request an accident report through any of the channels listed.
- Online Requests: The Acworth PD Records Division accepts online requests for a police report through their online records portal. You may use this webpage to submit new requests as well as track the status of existing requests, or you can write an email and send it to the address above.
- In-Person Requests: While you can technically ask for your police report in person, you will still have to utilize the police department’s records request portal in order to actually file your request. To that end, visit the Records Division during office hours, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, excluding holidays.
- When requesting in person, it may be useful to have valid identification tying you to the accident.
- Phone requests: Upon calling the non-emergency line, you may ask for the Records Division Supervisor. You will have to provide details over the phone, so be sure to have identification ready as well as any clarifying details.
What Information to Provide
When requesting your police report, having all the necessary information on hand will ensure that the process goes smoothly. Be prepared to provide the following details:
- Location, Date, and Time of the Accident: The location, date, and time are used to identify the specific event and make it easier for the department to file the report
- Names of Involved Parties: The names of anyone involved in the accident serve to identify relevant parties in case law enforcement needs to contact them.
- Report Number: You will be given a number for reference at the scene of the accident. Keep this number and provide it when filing your request.
- Your Identification: Provide a valid government ID or other form of verifiable information as proof that you are eligible to access the police report.
Timelines for Report Availability
As with most documentation, the timeline for an accident report can be longer or shorter depending on the accident itself, the workload of the law enforcement staff in charge of it, and the standard operating procedures of Acworth PD.
That said, state law mandates that government entities respond to requests within “a reasonable amount of time” not exceeding three (3) business days from the date a request is received.
- Initial Processing Time: Most police officers are expected to finish an average car accident report within one to three days of the incident. This is not always the case, but for the most part, you can expect the officer in charge to have completed their investigation and have the police report ready by then.
- Administrative Review: A review does not usually take too long, though there are times of the year when a police department may have a heavier workload than normal. These periods can be a source of delays for report processing, but one can expect that outside of delays, a report may be reviewed within a day from the officer submitting it.
- Report Availability: Georgia law explicitly states through O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(b)(1)(A) that agencies responsible for records have a limit of three days upon receipt of a request to produce the report. The exception to this is if the report is not available at the time the request is made, in which case only available documents related to the request have to be provided.
- Expedited Requests: Requests for expediting reports can be made with the Records Division, though this does not guarantee that it will speed up the process.
- Notification of Availability: As reports are processed through the online portal, you may acquire a soft copy or a physical copy. The department will notify you of availability, or you can use the portal to check on your request’s progress yourself.
Understanding the Report
Police report formatting tends to vary depending on location, but there are components that remain consistent across many of them. Generally speaking, a police report will contain details that paint a picture of the scene and allow readers to visualize how the event unfolded.
- Accident Narrative: This is the account of the accident based on the description provided by the responding officer. In it, the report will outline the events leading up to the accident, the occurrences during the accident, and, ideally, the events after the accident before the site was cleared out.
- Diagram of the Accident: This is a visualization of the accident. It is not necessarily a drawing and may be as simple as an overhead view of the positions of each vehicle involved in the crash.
- Contributing Factors: Weather and road conditions, as well as the state of the drivers and involved parties, are included in the report. This information serves several purposes, including corroboration of other documentation (such as repair receipts) and the assignment of faults.
- Codes and Abbreviations: Police accident reports often use codes and symbols in order to squeeze as much information as possible into as few pages as possible. As a result, they also tend to have a legend of codes and symbols to help readers understand what they are looking at.
Addressing Errors in the Police Report
Errors in a police report can significantly impact your legal and insurance proceedings. It’s essential to carefully review the report for any inaccuracies.
Identifying Common Mistakes
Common mistakes in police reports include:
- Incorrect personal information: This occurs when details are misspelled or are incorrect entirely. Incorrect personal information can make it hard to track down parties or might even get a claim rejected, depending on the error.
- Fault determination: A report with lacking detail or incorrect detail might lead to
- Event chronology: The sequence of events leading to the accident could be inaccurately described, which may alter the understanding of how the accident occurred.
- Witness statements: These may be misquoted or summarized inaccurately, leading to a skewed interpretation of their testimony.
- Damage description: The extent or location of the vehicle damage may be under-reported or over-reported, affecting insurance claims and repair costs.
Process for Correcting Errors
If you identify mistakes in your police report, you can take steps to correct them:
- Contact the Officer: Reach out to the officer who filed the report. Provide clear evidence of the mistake and request an amendment.
- Submit a Written Request: For more complex errors, such as disputed fault determinations or inaccurate event descriptions, you may need to submit a formal request in writing. Include any supporting documentation, such as photos, witness statements, or expert opinions, to back up your claim.
- Request a Supplement: In some cases, the officer may not amend the original report but may add a supplemental report that includes your corrections or additional information.
- Consult an Attorney: If the errors are substantial and impact your case or insurance claim, consult with a lawyer. They can assist in navigating the process and may provide a stronger legal argument for correcting the report.
- Document Your Efforts: Keep a detailed record of all your communications and submissions regarding the error. This documentation can be crucial if disputes arise later in legal proceedings or insurance negotiations.
Cost of Police Report Copies
The cost of police report copies in Georgia is relatively standardized across the state. O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(3)(C) specifies that agencies are allowed to charge “reasonable fees” for records they release.
The charges typically cover search and retrieval as well as necessary edits, redactions, and copying of reports, plus a labor charge based on the hourly wage of the employee.
In Acworth, GA, obtaining a copy of a police accident report typically costs around $0.10 per side of each page copied. The fee has to be paid prior to claiming the report.
You may pay the fee in person at the police department, often via cash, credit card, or money order. If you request the report online, you may be required to pay with a credit or debit card, and additional processing fees may apply.
Note that you SHOULD NOT pay via cash when mailing in payments. Use money orders instead.
One final note: The Acworth Police Department specifies that if more than five copies of a report are requested, the report will be mailed to you at no additional postage cost. The total cost will be ten cents per side of the page copied.
Privacy Concerns With Accident Reports
When dealing with accident reports, privacy concerns are paramount. These reports often contain sensitive personal information, including names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and vehicle identification numbers (VINs).
While this information is necessary for legal and insurance purposes, it can also be misused if it falls into the wrong hands.
To protect your privacy, specific details may be redacted (blacked out) from the public version of the report. Law enforcement agencies typically redact the most sensitive information to prevent identity theft or other misuse.
However, if you are an involved party or have authorized access, you will likely receive a more complete version of the report.
It’s important to review the report for any information that may have been inadvertently included and request additional redaction if necessary. Additionally, be cautious when sharing the report with others.
Only provide copies to trusted parties, such as your attorney, insurance company, or law enforcement, to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
Utilizing the Report for Legal and Insurance Proceedings
Just because you are able to secure the police report doesn’t automatically guarantee an edge in legal and insurance proceedings. You need to understand what a report can and can’t do for you in order to maximize its use in a claim.
Legal Proceedings
As far as the legal system is concerned, a police report serves as an authoritative account – the first available authoritative account – of an accident. It is generally implied that the responding officer is a neutral party with an unbiased view of the event.
Police reports are not always admissible in court as direct evidence because of their hearsay nature. That is to say, someone outside the court made a statement – in this case, the report – and that statement is offered in court.
In order for a police report to count as evidence, the responding officer will have to make a court appearance for them to be subject to cross-examination.
Even when not admissible, a police accident report still serves as a useful device pre-trial when negotiating with other parties or as a reference for testimony. It’s a well-known fact that only a minority of cases ever reach trial, and this is sometimes attributed to documented facts and officers’ conclusions in a well-written report.
In addition to this, some lawyers may find use in a police report as a tool to corroborate or challenge any statements witnesses make. If a good lawyer gets his hands on a report, they can find points that may provide a basis for arguments surrounding liability and damage.
Insurance Claims
Police reports are also relied upon by legal professionals and insurance adjusters alike when an insurance claim is on the line. Both sides will want a clear picture of the accident and will try to build an image that aligns with their own interpretation of events.
Dealing With Unavailable Reports
When dealing with a situation where your Acworth car accident police report is unavailable, it’s important to understand the possible reasons and the steps you can take to address the issue.
Reasons for Unavailability
- Report Still Under Review: After an accident, the police report may be delayed if it is still under review. Officers typically need time to compile accurate information, interview witnesses, and finalize the documentation.
- Errors or Omissions: If there are any discrepancies or missing information in the initial report, it might be withheld until corrections are made. This ensures that the report reflects the facts of the accident correctly.
- Restricted Access: In some cases, the report may be restricted due to ongoing investigations or legal proceedings. This is more common in accidents involving criminal charges, fatalities, or significant public interest.
- Technical Issues: Occasionally, technical problems can delay the processing or release of reports, whether due to system outages or issues within the police department’s records management.
Alternative Actions to Take
- Contact the Police Department: Start by reaching out to the Acworth Police Department to inquire about the status of your report. They can provide specific reasons for the delay and an estimated timeline for when it will be available.
- Request Interim Documentation: If the report is delayed due to review or errors, ask the police department if they can provide interim documentation or a preliminary report. While not as detailed, this can still be helpful for initiating insurance claims or legal processes.
- Consult Your Insurance Company: Inform your insurance company about the delay and provide any documentation you have, such as the accident exchange form given at the scene. They may be able to proceed with your claim while awaiting the full report.
- Seek Legal Assistance: If your report is unavailable due to legal reasons or you encounter difficulties in obtaining it, consider consulting an experienced Acworth car accident lawyer. Legal professionals can assist in navigating restricted access situations and may expedite the release of the report through formal requests or court orders.
- Document Everything: Keep a detailed record of your efforts to obtain the report, including communication with the police department, any interim documentation received, and updates from your insurance company. This documentation can be useful if further action is needed.
Need Help With a Police Accident Report? Call the CEO Lawyer!
When you need to secure your police accident report or when you need help using it to benefit your claim, turn to our expert personal injury lawyers at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. You don’t have to face the legal system alone when you can have us on your side.
Incorrect information? Missing reports? The CEO Lawyer has you covered; we know how to approach these situations to mitigate the danger they pose to your case.
We at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm are one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. We pride ourselves on our understanding of the legal landscape everywhere we practice law, and we look forward to bringing our expertise to the forefront of your battle.
Don’t let the legal system weigh you down. Call us today at (470) 828-4288 for a free consultation and get started with your claim.
