South Carolina Police Accident Report

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The hours and days following a car accident can be chaotic. It might be common knowledge to move your car to a safe place off the road (if possible), report the accident, and seek help for any injuries (even those that seem minor), but once these pressing issues are addressed, you may wonder what to do next.

Your thoughts might turn to your car insurance policy. It’s important to report the accident to them promptly, but you should speak with a lawyer before giving the insurance company a formal statement or making a claim.

Also, your insurance company will want a copy of the accident report. We recommend obtaining your copy so you can discuss it with your lawyer and anticipate any concerns the insurance adjuster may have.

Why Do You Need a Police Report for Car Accidents?

A car accident police report attempts to gather as much information as possible about an accident. In the short term, the officer may use this information to decide if they need to issue a ticket—for example, they might write a citation if there is evidence one driver was speeding or ignored a traffic light.

In some cases, they may also make an arrest if a driver is extremely reckless or intoxicated.

However, the officers who respond to the scene and the local criminal court are not the only parties who may use the police report. Your insurance adjuster will also study this report to determine what happened and who was at fault.

Likewise, the other driver’s insurance company will do the same thing. Knowing the contents of the police report will help you and your attorney determine the best way to handle your case and pursue damages.

Should You Use One of Those Websites That Offers to Find Your Report?

People or companies that offer to help with your report may not be on the same level. Sometimes called “fixers,” they might obtain your report unscrupulously or even tamper with it, causing problems with your insurance claim.

Or, they could charge you exorbitant fees beyond what the local law enforcement agency charges for a report.

The bottom line: If you need a car accident report, we recommend that you seek one through the law enforcement agency’s official channels or ask your attorney for help.

Sudden Need for a Police Report? Contact the CEO Lawyer

Sometimes, you may need your car accident report urgently. We’ve answered panicked phone calls from people who had an accident, thought everything was fine, and then discovered the other driver was suing them.

Or, maybe they opened a surprise bill for a significant portion of their medical care that wasn’t covered by health insurance. In other cases, they might have learned they would need expensive follow-up care or that their car insurance wouldn’t cover their vehicle damage.

If you find yourself in one of these situations or need your report right away for any reason, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. We’ll help you track down the report, discuss your situation, and explain your options.

How to Get Your South Carolina Car Accident Police Report

Finding the Right Police Agency

Most car accident reports are available from the local law enforcement agency that responded to your accident. If you don’t remember which agency responded, you can look at the paperwork provided by the officer.

Once you know the agency’s name, you can contact them to learn how to obtain your report. At the bottom of this article, you’ll find a list of many local law enforcement agencies and a link to more information on their guidelines for seeking a report.

For city and county-specific information, see:

Methods of Requesting Your Report

This depends on the specific agency. We’ve outlined the methods each agency requires on the corresponding page below.

Some agencies will accept report requests by mail, phone, or email, while a few may require you to request a report in person.

Additional Fees

Most law enforcement agencies charge a small fee for each copy of a police report you request. Fees can vary but are usually less than $10.

Some agencies will charge more if you want a paper copy versus a digital one. If you need multiple copies, it may be cheaper to request one and make copies at home or in a print shop.

What to Do While Waiting for Your Report

A police report usually becomes available within a week or two of the collision, sometimes sooner. Once you’ve placed your request and paid any applicable fees, the waiting time can vary by agency and delivery method—some police departments may offer emailed or faxed reports, while others might only send them by mail.

In most cases, you can expect to wait anywhere from a few days to 1-2 weeks.

Take Care of Yourself

People often ask us what they should do while they wait. First, take care of yourself and follow your doctor’s instructions regarding any injuries you’ve suffered.

Doing so can help you recover faster and reduce the risk of further complications.

Sometimes, an injury doesn’t heal as quickly as anticipated, even when the injured person follows medical advice. If you’re not feeling better in the timeline your healthcare provider mentioned, your symptoms worsen, or you develop new symptoms, don’t hesitate to check back with your doctor.

What if you felt fine after the accident but developed pain or other symptoms within a few days or weeks? This is a common experience following car collisions, which can be traumatic.

Many people don’t notice their pain due to the adrenaline rush, other distractions at the accident scene, or the fact that some injuries feel worse as the affected area becomes swollen. So, if you wake up the following day with a sore neck or aching back, we recommend seeing a healthcare provider as soon as you notice the symptoms.

Be sure to tell them about your accident so they can run the appropriate tests to make a diagnosis.

Keep a journal of your symptoms and feelings after the accident. Many people find this helpful when a doctor asks how long their symptoms have bothered them or when a particular issue started.

Reviewing your journal before an appointment can also remind you if there are any questions or concerns you want to discuss with the doctor.

Follow Up on Tasks Related to the Accident

When you arrive home after an accident, you may be exhausted, stressed, in pain, or all three. It’s a good idea to get some rest before you try to deal with the many challenges that follow a car accident, but over the next few days, you will need to deal with some tasks:

Report your accident to your car insurance company. You should let them know what happened but should not give them a detailed statement until you talk to a lawyer. Frequently, an injured person chats with a seemingly helpful insurance adjuster, who ends up misinterpreting something they said to indicate the injured party was at fault. If an insurance rep calls, you can let them go to voice mail or tell them you’ll call back at a better time.
Review the other driver’s insurance information. Hopefully, you exchanged insurance and contact information with the other party. Still, if you were unable to do so because of severe injuries, your lawyer can help you track it down later.
Make sure you have photos of any damage to your car and your injuries. You should also take pictures at the accident scene, covering damage to both vehicles, debris on the ground, and the nearby area. However, we understand that sometimes it isn’t possible to get out of your car and take pictures when injured. If you have difficulty moving around due to injuries, ask a friend or relative to photograph your vehicle and visible injuries so you have some record of what happened.
Please save any invoices or receipts for out-of-pocket costs. These might include hospital copays, mobility aids not covered by insurance, physical therapy copays, any equipment your physical therapist recommends for use at home, travel costs if you have to see a specialist out of town, etc.
Schedule an appointment to talk with an experienced car accident lawyer. Often, people don’t think they need a lawyer for a variety of reasons, but the reality is that you can’t rely on an insurance company—yours or the other driver’s—to act in your best interest. An insurance company is a business, and an insurance adjuster’s job is to reduce the company’s costs. Your lawyer, on the other hand, has one goal—to obtain the best settlement possible for you.

Consult With Professionals

As discussed in the previous section, an attorney can assist you with many aspects of your car accident. First, we’ll review your report and ask you questions to clarify anything that is unclear.

We’ll also ensure everything on the report is correct.

Next, we’ll go over your damages, which include both economic and non-economic losses. Our aim is to ensure that any settlement you receive covers all your losses, so we’ll inquire about:

Medical bills. It’s always helpful if you have your current bills handy, but if not, you can send them to our team later. If you’re still in treatment, we’ll arrange to get copies of your future medical bills and discuss when your treatment might be complete. We don’t want to settle your case until we can account for all medical expenses. However, if your injuries are very complex and you will need long-term care, we can estimate future costs.
Related costs. These might apply if you need to hire help around the house while recovering, have to rent a car while yours is in the shop, etc.
Income loss. If you had to miss work for a few days, weeks, or even months due to your injuries, you have a right to seek restitution for your lost income. This is true even if PTO covered your time off because you still lost those paid days. Likewise, if your injuries result in a permanent disability that prevents you from working or forces you to transition to a lower-paying job, you can also seek compensation for lost earning potential.
Property damage. We’ll ensure the insurance company doesn’t lowball the costs of repairing or replacing your vehicle.
Pain and suffering. This category covers many “non-economic” damages, meaning that you don’t write a check to pay for them, but you suffer a loss anyway. Pain and suffering damages include both physical and mental pain or distress. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed after your car accident, these symptoms are not unusual, and we encourage you to talk with a mental health professional. Depending on the situation and how the accident affected you, we might also pursue compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, etc.
Wrongful death. If a loved one passes in a car accident, struggling to deal with bills, paperwork, and other challenges can make the grieving process even more difficult than it already is. Sometimes, people come to us because they can’t afford the funeral costs, final medical bills, or other expenses associated with the death. Others don’t know how to continue paying the mortgage or support their children without their spouse’s income. While nothing can make up for your loss, we will work to achieve a settlement that covers final expenses, loss of financial support, loss of consortium and care, and other damages.

Was the Accident Your Fault?

It may seem like it after you talk to an insurance adjuster. Or, it could seem that way at the scene if you’re not sure what happened and the other driver says you were at fault.

These are just a few reasons people sometimes incorrectly believe they are at fault in a car accident.

We recommend that you do not admit to fault at the scene, even if you believe you caused the accident. Although you should be truthful when answering the responding officer’s questions, you don’t have to give an opinion on whose fault it was.

Additionally, you should answer each question as briefly as possible—don’t volunteer any further information.

If you think you’re at fault, talk to a lawyer immediately; in some cases, we learn that the client did nothing wrong. Car accidents can be confusing, and one person probably won’t have the whole picture of what happened.

As mentioned earlier, it’s also very common to see a situation where both drivers made mistakes that contributed to the crash. For this reason, you may be partly right. Maybe you were going a little too fast, or you made a split-second error—but the other driver did, too. What happens in these cases?

South Carolina law says that an injured party who shares fault can still seek restitution for their damages from the other party, so long as they are less than 50 percent responsible. Any percentage of fault they have will be deducted from their final settlement.

So, if you are 15 percent at fault, you could recover 85 percent of your damages, etc.

Unfortunately, the percentage of fault is primarily decided by one or both insurance companies. These negotiations frequently leave the injured party at a disadvantage.

In some cases, they might be assigned a higher degree of fault than they had, resulting in a much lower recovery. The best way to ensure your interests are adequately represented is to engage the services of an experienced South Carolina car accident attorney.

Does a Police Report Say Who Is at Fault?

Determining fault in a car accident is much more complicated than many people realize, but the police report is not the final word on fault. However, it contains information that an insurance adjuster will study carefully when deciding fault.

For instance, they will pay careful attention to any “contributing factors” the responding officer noted. These might include:

Speeding
Disregarding traffic signals, stop signs, or other road signs
Distracted driving (using a phone, eating, drinking, adjusting the radio or other controls)
Drowsy driving
Following too closely
Aggressive driving or “road rage”
Illegal turns
Driving under the influence
Driving on the wrong side of the road

These factors may be used to argue fault if your car accident case goes to trial, but this is an uncommon way to resolve a car accident claim. Most of the time, adjusters from both insurance companies negotiate with each other or with the drivers’ attorneys and eventually settle the case out of court.

However, it’s essential to understand that while you are not required to hire an attorney, it’s in your best interest to do so.

Your insurance adjuster will defend you to some extent because they don’t want to pay the other party’s claim. However, they may not fight to ensure that all your damages are covered in full, or they could agree to assign you a small percentage of fault, which reduces your settlement.

In contrast, your lawyer is on your side, not the insurance company’s, and will work to obtain the best settlement possible for you.

Can I Make a Claim for a Car Accident With No Police Report?

You can try, but doing so often leads to more challenges. If your accident was very minor and the claim small, you might get lucky and receive a quick approval, but in most cases, the insurance company will require more information.

Before they can do anything, the insurance adjuster usually needs proof of an accident and evidence of fault. Chances are, they will either reject your claim or find the report themselves and use it to make a decision.

If not, they may start interviewing witnesses or seeking evidence in other ways.

Sometimes, people have difficulty acquiring a report for various reasons. If you’re in pain and taking strong medications, it may be hard to concentrate on finding the right law enforcement agency.

Or, you might have misplaced the paperwork the officer gave you. Another problem could be finances—after all the expensive out-of-pocket costs, you could have difficulty scraping up the fees to get a copy of your report.

If you’re facing these sorts of challenges, please call the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. We’ll help you locate your report and provide a free consultation so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.

Another reason people sometimes want to avoid the police report is because they think it might make them look bad to the insurance company. Again, you should not assume you’re at fault or that the police report will indicate you are.

Even if something in the report suggests you do have some fault, it’s better to know that and address it. While police reports provide integral evidence in a car accident case, they are not unassailable; if we find evidence that something in the report is incorrect, we can challenge it in court.

In South Carolina, you are only legally required to file a police report for an accident if a death or injury occurs. Sometimes, this causes problems when a person tries to file a claim.

You might also run into difficulties if you don’t immediately realize you’re injured but later need medical care. For this reason, we encourage you to report any accident, even if it seems minor.

How to Get Help With Your Car Accident Claim

If you have questions or concerns about your car accident report or claim, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm at (864) 664-3865 for a free consultation. There is no obligation, and if we take your case, you won’t owe us anything until we win or settle it. Our team of experienced South Carolina car accident lawyers is here to help every step of the way.