CSP Reports: What You Need To Know
Whether it’s a minor fender bender or a serious crash where someone has been injured, car accidents can be harrowing ordeals for everyone involved. When a collision occurs, most people aren’t thinking about the aftermath. They’re much more concerned about their own well-being and ensuring that all parties are physically intact.
Fortunately, if a driver calls 911 or contacts the Colorado State Patrol, there will usually be an officer available to conduct a thorough investigation and create a report. These reports can prove invaluable to both parties once the initial shock of the crash wears off and the legal repercussions begin to set in.
What Happens After a Car Accident in Colorado?
After an accident, the first thing you should do after moving your vehicle out of traffic is call 911. This will ensure that both an emergency medical team and the police arrive on the scene as quickly as possible.
While EMTs will administer proper medical care and transport injured parties to the hospital if needed, a police officer will investigate the accident by doing the following:
- Recording critical details like date, time, exact location, and road conditions
- Interviewing drivers and witnesses involved in the crash
- Taking pictures of the scene
- Noting whether anyone was issued a traffic citation
- Noting any conjectures about who is at fault
This information will go into an official crash report. If police are not able to come to the scene due to inclement weather, both drivers should use CSP’s online crash reporting system to report the accident, including as many details as possible.
How To Get a CSP Report
After the report has been filed, it’s vital that you obtain a copy of it as soon as possible. If the crash occurred in Colorado, you can obtain a copy of the accident report by making an open records request.
To do so, you’ll need to have the following information:
- Driver name
- Crash date
- Case report number
- Crash location
If you are missing the case report number, contact the Colorado State Patrol Office in the location where the crash originally occurred to find out how to obtain that information. Then, call the Colorado State Patrol Central Records Unit (CRU) for information on how much your records request will cost.
After that, you’ll head to the Records Request Portal to make your official request and pay your fee. You can pay the request fee by check or money order, or you can simply pay online via credit card.
Because of the formal review and approval process that your request must go through, it may take up to 10 working days to receive your crash report. The report will be mailed to the address you provided when you made the initial request.
Why Get a CSP Report?
Remember that crash reports are written by a third party who was not involved in the crash. It’s important to know whether the officer’s report contains any factual errors so that these can be corrected or accounted for when building your case.
The report is also an important tool in any attorney’s independent investigation and can assist them in piecing together the events from the day of the accident. It contains important information about location and roadway conditions to paint a full picture of the incident.
Finally, the officer’s report also contains interviews with eyewitnesses and the other driver. These can be useful for proving your case in court and may contain key information that could help you win your personal injury claim.
Colorado State Patrol Reports: An Invaluable Tool
Although requesting a report may seem unnecessary, the information contained therein has the power to make or break your case. In your pursuit of justice, these details can be the very thing that helps you recover your damages and get the compensation you need to put your life back together after an accident.
Contact Our Lakewood Car Accident Law Firm For Help Today
If you’ve been injured in Lakewood, CO, and need legal help, contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Matos Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.
Matos Personal Injury Lawyers – Lakewood Office
550 S Wadsworth Blvd, Suite 300, Lakewood, CO 80226
(720) 912-7274
Hours: Open 24 hours daily