Regardless of whether you’re involved in a minor crash or a major accident, it’s important for you to contact local law enforcement so that an officer can properly file an accident report for you. The official Massachusetts accident report is an important document that will include many details concerning your accident.
This document can prove very valuable to you, should you wish to claim insurance benefits or seek compensation for injuries or property damages sustained in an accident. It contains all of the pertinent details regarding your accident, including a narrative of the events, contact information for both drivers, and any injuries and property damages suffered.
This page is made up of three main sections, all of which detail the information of those involved in the accident. The first section details the injuries that those involved in the accident suffered, noting how severe they were and how many people were injured in the crash.
The second section includes a description of the ways each driver contributed to the accident, whether by their own negligence or someone else’s. The driver contributing code is used in this section to quickly and efficiently describe how each driver was involved.
The third section of this page includes the contact and insurance information for all passengers, drivers, and pedestrians involved in the accident. This section also makes a note of each person’s injury status.
The second page of the crash report is also made up of three sections. The top section will include a diagram of the crash, where the investigating officer will draw out the events of the crash.
The middle section is similar, but instead of providing a visual account, it includes a written account of the details of the accident. This is where the officer will note all of the pertinent details of the crash.
The bottom section of the crash report will note whether any hazardous materials were released in the crash and what kind they may have been.
Although it is always best to call a law enforcement officer to the scene of the crash, whatever the severity, if an officer was not initially called to the scene, you are required under federal law to report the crash yourself if anyone was injured, if anyone was killed, or if anyone sustained $1,000 or more in property damages. Most insurance adjusters and attorneys prefer reports filed by officers, as they tend to provide clearer and less biased accounts.
If you fail to report a crash that results in injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damages, you may be subject to legal penalties, financial penalties, or even time in jail.
There are a few pieces of information you will need in order for use to properly recover a copy of your official crash report: