How To Obtain an Accident Report in San Diego, CA

When the police respond to a car accident that causes injury or death in San Diego, CA, the investigating officer will produce an accident report. This report contains important details for your injury claim.

In addition to containing the contact and insurance information for the drivers involved, an accident report can lead you to other evidence. For example, it can tell you whether any of the other drivers got a traffic ticket for the accident.

Read on to learn how to obtain an accident report in San Diego, CA, and how your injury lawyer can use the accident report to help your case.

Call us at (619) 777-5555 or contact our law firm online to schedule a free consultation with an attorney.

How Mission Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your San Diego Car Accident Claim

How Mission Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your San Diego Car Accident Claim

Mission Personal Injury Lawyers was founded in 2010. The firm wins or settles 99% of its cases, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in injury compensation for its clients. The firm’s San Diego car accident attorneys have over 43 years of combined experience.

The lawyers at Mission Personal Injury Lawyers have earned awards and recognition, including:

  • Designated San Diego Super Lawyers by SuperLawyers.com
  • Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell — the highest rating
  • Rated 10.0 Superb by Avvo — its highest rating

The firm’s attorneys can help with your case in many ways, such as:

  • Collecting evidence and determining the extent of your damages via an internal investigation into your case
  • Keeping you up-to-date on your legal rights and options as your case unfolds
  • Negotiating a settlement agreement on your behalf and filing a lawsuit if the other side won’t negotiate fairly

Car accident injuries in San Diego, California, can cause significant economic losses and diminish your quality of life. Contact Mission Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can seek for your car crash.

How Common Are Accident Reports in San Diego?

Accident reports are very common in California. California law provides for two types of accident reports:

Driver Reports

California law requires drivers to report all accidents that cause injury, death, or property damage over $1,000 to the DMV. Because most car repairs cost several hundred dollars, this means drivers must report most accidents.

A driver accident report requires the driver to provide their name, contact information, vehicle information, insurance information, and a description of the death, injury, and property damage that occurred. The driver report does not require the driver to describe how the accident happened.

Police Reports

When the police respond to an accident, the investigating officer will produce an accident report. The police accident report has more details than the driver accident report, including:

  • Name and contact information for accident witnesses
  • Narrative of what happened in the accident
  • Traffic citations issued
  • Diagram of the accident

Each driver must file a driver report even if the police also produced a report. Between the driver reports and the police report, you could have several accident reports for every accident in California that causes injury, death, or $1,000 in property damage.

Overview of How To Obtain an Accident Report in San Diego, CA

Unlike many states, California does not have a central repository for accident reports. Instead, you must get your accident report from the agency that investigated your car crash.

How To Get an Accident Report from the California Highway Patrol

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) only accepts accident report requests in person or by mail. To get an accident report, you must prove that you were involved in the accident as a:

  • Driver
  • Passenger
  • Pedestrian
  • Bicyclist
  • Vehicle Owner
  • Parent of a minor involved in the accident
  • Attorney for someone involved in the accident

You can download the accident report request form from the CHP website. You can mail the form or visit the CHP area office that investigated your accident.

How To Get an Accident Report from the San Diego Police Department

If the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) investigated your accident, you can get a copy of your accident report from the SDPD. You have four options for getting your accident report:

  1. Online
  2. In person
  3. Via mail
  4. By phone

You can access SDPD accident reports online as long as your accident did not involve an arrest, a fatality, or a juvenile. Due to privacy concerns, you can only get these SDPD accident reports in person.

To request your accident report online, you will access the crash portal and provide the following information:

  • Accident report number
  • Driver’s name along with accident date or location

If your accident report is available, you will be able to pay a fee and download a copy of your accident report.

Using Your Accident Report in Your Injury Case

Your lawyer likely won’t be able to use your accident report as evidence in your case, as an accident report constitutes inadmissible hearsay. But the accident report can lead to witnesses. It can also help your lawyer or an expert witness reconstruct the accident.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our San Diego, CA Car Crash Attorneys

A car accident report can help you prove what happened after a collision. It can also lead to other evidence to corroborate your version of events. 

Contact Mission Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss how a San Diego, CA Car Crash Attorney can use a car accident report to get compensation for you.

Other Common San Diego Car Accident Claims We Handle

Our law firm handles all types of car accident cases involving:

San Diego Car Accident Resources