How To Obtain an Accident Report in Texas

After a serious car accident in Fort Worth, Texas, a police officer may investigate your accident. A crash report summarizes the investigating officer’s findings and impressions. This information can give your injury attorney important leads when it comes to collecting the evidence you need to prove your injury case.

Your injury attorney will use the accident report to find witnesses and gather evidence. Your accident report could also help an accident reconstruction expert figure out how the crash happened and who caused it.

If you were in a car accident in Texas, obtaining an accident report may be key to your injury case. Call Anderson Injury Lawyers at (817) 294-1900 to schedule a free case evaluation with one of our experienced attorneys.

How Anderson Injury Lawyers Can Help You Recover Damages After a Car Accident in Fort Worth, TX

How Anderson Injury Lawyers Can Help You Recover Damages After a Car Accident in Fort Worth, TX

Anderson Injury Lawyers has represented accident victims against the parties who injured them in the Fort Worth, TX, area since 2007. Together, our Fort Worth car accident lawyers have several decades of experience and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for injured clients.

When you hire Anderson Injury Lawyers, we can take care of every aspect of your compensation claim while you focus on recovering from the accident. We provide:

  • Decades of experience successfully resolving thousands of injury cases
  • A legal team with two board-certified trial lawyers
  • Contingency fee representation, so you do not pay until we win or settle your case

A car accident can put your health and finances at risk. To discuss the compensation you can seek for your car accident injuries, contact Anderson Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.

When Do the Police File Accident Reports?

Under Texas law, you must immediately report any accident that causes:

  • Death
  • Injury
  • Disabling damage to a vehicle

You will report the accident by calling the local police department if the crash happened inside city limits. If it occurred outside of city limits, you can call either the local sheriff’s department or the Texas Highway Patrol. If you call 911, the dispatcher will route the call to the right agency.

The responding officers will take control of the accident scene. They will call an ambulance for anyone who has suffered an incapacitating injury. They will also try to keep everyone safe from traffic while investigating the crash.

Police officers must investigate and prepare a crash report for every crash that causes death, injury, or at least $1,000 in property damage. This low threshold means that most crashes will have an accident report.

In 2021, statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation show that Fort Worth had:

  • 119 fatal crashes
  • 5,227 injury crashes
  • 8,704 non-injury crashes

Since the police must file a police report for all fatal and injury crashes, you know that the police filed at least 5,346 accident reports for Fort Worth crashes in 2021. They must also file accident reports for crashes producing at least $1,000 in damage. Thus, a significant number of the 8,704 non-injury crashes also required an accident report.

How To Get a Texas Crash Report

Texas law limits who can get a copy of an accident report to:

  • People involved in the accident, including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, or passengers
  • Lawyers and insurers for anyone involved in the accident
  • Legal guardians of minors involved in accidents
  • Owners of vehicles or property damaged in the accident
  • Family members of deceased accident victims
  • Executors of deceased accident victims who may sue for wrongful death

The accident report will include identifying information about the drivers involved. It will list any witnesses and give a narrative explanation about how the officers believe the accident happened. Even though the report will not constitute admissible evidence, your lawyer will use this information to construct your case by gathering admissible evidence.

The process for how to obtain an accident report in Texas depends on the jurisdiction where your accident happened. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) provides a standard form for crash reports in the state.

TxDOT collects electronic copies of all completed reports regardless of jurisdiction. Local police and sheriff’s departments also keep copies of accident reports for crashes happening within their boundaries.

Crashes Investigated by the Texas Highway Patrol

If your crash was investigated by the Texas Highway Patrol, the only place you can get your accident report is TxDOT. You can request an online copy using the TxDOT online purchasing system.

Crashes Investigated by the Tarrant County Sheriff

You have a choice if your accident was investigated by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department. You can buy a copy of your accident report from the TxDOT online purchasing system. 

Alternatively, you can also request a copy of your accident report from the sheriff’s office by dropping off a request in person or sending it by mail, email, or fax.

Crashes Investigated by the Fort Worth Police Department

You also have options for getting reports for crashes investigated by the Fort Worth Police Department. The TxDOT online purchasing system works for accident reports from the local police. The Fort Worth Police Department also contracts with a provider to sell accident reports online.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Car Crash Attorneys in Fort Worth, Texas

An injury claim entails providing evidence to support your contentions about how the accident happened. Contact the award-winning team at Anderson Injury Lawyers to discuss how we can use your accident report to pursue compensation for your injuries. Your initial consultation with one of our experienced car crash attorneys in Fort Worth, Texas is free of charge.

We handle all types of car accident claims, including:

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