If you were involved in a car accident in New Orleans, you might want to get a copy of your police report. Often, your lawyer can procure a copy for you and use it to help build your case. If you want to get a copy on your own, this article will tell you how to do it.
The New Orleans government website has a page for police reports, and it links to a common third-party service called BuyCrash if you want to get your report online. Alternatively, you can put in a records request online or contact the police department yourself to get a copy. You can even potentially get a copy of the police report in person, though going online is probably fastest.
For help with your car accident case, call our New Orleans personal injury lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm at (504) 688-7760 today.
Getting a Police Report for a Crash in New Orleans
The New Orleans Police Department is typically the department to respond to accidents within the city. These officers are required to write up a report for every crash they respond to, and you can later get a copy.
Online
Getting a copy online is simple enough using a third-party website called BuyCrash hosted by LexisNexis. Many police departments across the country use this website for hosting police reports, and the New Orleans government website specifically links to the BuyCrash website for accident reports.
This usually costs a small fee and allows you to get a digital copy you can save, send, and make copies of.
Alternatively, you can request police reports online from the NOLA government website, but this is usually for reports other than crash reports. You should still be able to get an accident report this way, especially if a crime like drunk driving was involved.
In Person
You can also go to the New Orleans Police Department in person to request a copy of the report from the records division. This might be slower, but if you cannot use a computer or pay for a copy online, this might be your best bet.
State Police Crash Reports
If you were injured outside of the city and the Louisiana State Police responded to your crash, you should get your report from them instead. These can be obtained online or from the specific troop office by giving them a crash report request with this form.
Do I Need to Get a Copy of My Police Report?
If you are going to work with our Lafayette, LA car accident lawyers, then you likely do not need to go out of your way to get a copy of your crash report on your own. Our lawyers can get the report for you as part of the research and evidence collection in your case, along with medical records and other documents or files we might need.
If you want to cover all your bases and get a copy of the report yourself, you certainly can. However, if you are trying to handle your case on your own, we would caution against doing so.
It is important to always work with a lawyer and have them handle negotiations with insurance companies and lawsuit filings, especially when your case involves injuries.
How to Use a Police Report in a Car Accident Case
Police reports cannot typically be used as direct evidence in an injury case, but you can use them for a few other purposes:
Limited Direct Evidence
Police reports would typically fall under the hearsay rule and be blocked from being admissible in court as evidence. Hearsay is any statement made outside of court and offered in court to prove the truth of what the statement says. However, routine records are exempt, with a specific rule allowing investigative records to be used.
However, statements inside the report – such as something the officer wrote down from a witness – might be hearsay within hearsay. If the officer came to the scene after the crash, most observations would be based on secondhand information and would be hearsay within hearsay, potentially making them unreliable.
Ultimately, it is better to use the report in other ways and let the facts speak for themselves directly, rather than just reading from the report.
Building Your Case
You can use the facts and statements in a report to build your case. This report will say who was involved, what cars were involved, what injuries resulted, and what witnesses came forward. We can then call them to court directly to testify about what happened and verify any facts in the report with outside evidence.
This is a particularly great use of the report if you had to go to the hospital and could not stay at the scene and collect evidence.
Impeaching Witnesses
If someone says something on the stand that contradicts what the police report says they said, we might be able to confront them with the report. Any prior statements we have on record, such as in a deposition, can be used to keep the witnesses’ stories straight and call misstatements to the jury’s attention.
Refreshing Recollection
If a witness on the stand forgets what happened, we can let them read from the report or other relevant notes to refresh their memory.
How Much Does a Police Report Cost?
Records and reports from the government directly cost $5. Reports from BuyCrash vary and are subject to change, but they are usually under around $15.
Reports from the state police cost around $11.50 online (plus credit card fees) and $16.50 by check or money order in person (or more for credit card payments).
Call Our New Orleans Car Accident Lawyers Today for Help
If you need help with your case, call our New Orleans car accident lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm at your earliest convenience by dialing (504) 688-7760.
