Be proactive in building your car accident case and obtain the corresponding police report written by the Bergenfield Police Department as soon as possible after a crash.
The Bergenfield Police Department accepts requests for police reports over the phone, by email, and in person. If you cannot obtain the report because of a serious injury, our attorneys can retrieve it on your behalf. To get a copy of a report, you must provide identifying information about the car accident and yourself to confirm your involvement. From the police report, our lawyers can learn a lot, including the negligent driver’s identity, potential contributing causes, eyewitness information, and even police officers’ opinions.
For the free case evaluation that you need, call the Bergenfield personal injury lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (551) 525-6465.
How Can Car Accident Victims Request Police Reports in Bergenfield?
You have a few options for requesting the police report for a motor vehicle accident in Bergenfield, and our attorneys can help you with all of them.
By Phone
You may call the Bergenfield Police Department to request a copy of your police report for a recent car crash at (201) 387-4000. This is a convenient retrieval method for victims, who don’t have to leave their homes or the hospital while physically recovering to get accident report copies.
By Email
You may also obtain a copy of a crash report by sending an email request to records@bergenfeildnjpd.gov. This is another preferred retrieval method for car accident victims because of the convenience of online requests.
In Person
Car accident victims may also visit the Bergenfield Police Department’s Records Bureau for copies of crash reports during operating hours. To make sure the Records Bureau is open when you attempt to retrieve your report in person, call ahead and ask if the documents are ready and the Records Bureau is open to the public.
With Our Lawyers’ Help
Rather than obtaining a copy of the police report yourself, you can rely on our Bergenfield car accident lawyers to do so while handling your case. Victims’ attorneys may retrieve crash reports on behalf of involved parties who might be too injured to do so themselves.
In addition to helping you obtain the police report, we can review it alongside you so you fully understand its contents and how it might help your case.
What Information Do You Need to Provide to Get a Car Accident Police Report?
When requesting police reports, requesters must provide certain information about the accident and their connection to it to confirm they are one of the involved parties and can access the report.
Accident Information
For example, you most likely need to provide the date, time, and location of the accident, as well as the accident report number, if you know it. Before seeking a report, confirm that the officers who responded to your accident were from the Bergenfield Police Department, and not another nearby jurisdiction.
Involved Party Information
You must also provide information about yourself to confirm you were an involved party in the accident, such as your name, address, and driver’s license number.
What Can You Learn from the Police Report for a Car Accident in Bergenfield?
The police report can tell us a lot about an accident, who was involved, and why it happened, so obtaining and reviewing it is essential in preparing your car accident case.
Negligent Driver’s Information
From the police report, victims can learn the negligent driver’s information. If you are too injured to get the other driver’s name and insurance information at the scene, you can most likely rely on the police report to learn this information.
If the negligent driver fled the scene, the police report might contain information about the vehicle’s color, make, and model, which may help our lawyers track down the at-fault driver.
Potential Contributing Causes
The police report can also help us consider all possible contributing causes to an accident. This is important not only to ensure we hold the appropriate party or parties accountable, but also to anticipate a defendant’s attempt to evade full liability under New Jersey’s modified comparative fault rule, which lowers the damages a defendant pays in proportion to a victim’s involvement.
General Accident Information
The police report will also contain general information about the crash, such as the date, location, and time it occurred, as well as all of the vehicles involved. Although victims may know much of this information already, our attorneys can get the police report so that victims can focus on physically recovering rather than re-living a recent traumatic event.
The report should also note the weather and road conditions at the time of the accident and whether either could have played a part in causing the crash, as well as if the victim needed medical attention for their injuries.
Eyewitnesses’ Information
Part of processing accident scenes for police officers is speaking to eyewitnesses who remain nearby. When reviewing the accident report, we can look for eyewitnesses’ names and phone numbers and contact them as soon as possible to interview them ourselves and secure their statements.
Even if you didn’t see any witnesses near the scene after the accident, police officers might have spoken to them, so it’s worth obtaining and checking the police report.
Officers’ Opinions
Officers’ conclusions and opinions within police reports are not admissible evidence in New Jersey lawsuits, but they can still help our attorneys as we build cases. Depending on what the police report contains, we may decide to have the reporting officer testify about important details they witnessed firsthand after arriving at the scene, such as visible injuries to your person.
Reach Out for Help with Your Car Accident Case in Bergenfield
Call our Bergenfield car accident lawyers at (551) 525-6465, and get a free case review from Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. today.