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Under certain circumstances, motorists in Oklahoma must file a report with state authorities within six months of an accident. If they have reached a settlement of accident claims, they must report that. However, drivers must immediately alert authorities after an accident involving injury or death.
If you have been involved in an auto accident in Oklahoma, get the legal representation you need to protect your interests. Reach out to Edwards & Patterson Law for a free consultation and to learn more about your rights and obligations after a motor vehicle crash.
Do I Need to File a Police Report after an Accident in Oklahoma?
Under Oklahoma Statute §47-10-108, drivers are required to file a written accident report to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety whenever they are involved in an accident that results in death, bodily injury, or apparent damage to property of more than $300. The Department of Public Safety’s website has an online form that drivers can fill out to fulfill their reporting requirement. Even when an accident report is not required, state law still requires drivers to stop at or immediately return to the scene of an accident to exchange contact and insurance information with all involved parties.
Do I Need to Call the Police If the Car Accident Was a Minor Accident?
You are not required by Oklahoma law to contact the police for a car accident, so long as all of the following are true:
- No one suffered injuries
- No property was damaged, or the total property damage is less than $300
- All motorists involved in the accident were validly licensed and insured
- No other actions occurred between the parties that required the assistance of a police officer
However, even when you are not required to call the police to report a car accident, it is typically good practice to do so to ensure that you have a police accident report if you or another party involved in the crash later discovers injuries or vehicle damage that leads to an insurance claim. Insurers more frequently deny car accident claims where claimants do not have a police accident report since the insurance company does not have a neutral, third-party source of information about the accident.
Can I File a Police Report Days after My Oklahoma Car Accident?
So long as a car accident does not involve injuries or fatalities, you can take a few days to file your accident report with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. You might want to take a couple of days to fill out the accident report form, especially if you need to gather details for the report or if you need time to remember details of the accident or to organize your description of what happened. But remember that an accident report must be filed within six months of the crash. You should also keep in mind that you will benefit from filing your report as soon as possible to ensure that your accident claim with the insurance company is not delayed or denied due to the lack of an accident report.
What Are Some Tips on How to Report the Accident to the Police?
When filing a report with Oklahoma authorities about an accident that wasn’t your fault, the following tips can help protect your interests and preserve your legal rights to pursue compensation:
- Cooperate fully with law enforcement who respond to the scene. While you should not exaggerate the severity of the crash, you should also tell officers if you believe that you or one of your passengers is injured or if your vehicle has sustained serious damage.
- State only facts and avoid giving opinions about how the accident may have occurred. Do not speculate or try to assign blame for the accident. If you cannot remember details, you can simply say that you don’t remember. Your statements to the police could be used against you in an insurance claim.
- Collect evidence from the accident scene. Talk to witnesses and take photos and videos of the crash scene.
- Get the police officer’s name, badge number, and contact details so that you can later request the police report.
- File an accident report with the Department of Public Safety If the police do not respond to the accident. Do so as soon as possible to avoid delaying the processing of any insurance claims you file.
How Do I Prove I Was Not At Fault for the Accident?
Insurance companies often rely heavily on police accident reports to determine fault for a car accident because police officers are trained in investigating auto accidents and are considered neutral parties who have no ulterior motive to rule in favor of one driver or another. However, the police officer’s determination of fault is not legally binding. Therefore, you may be able to prove to the insurance company (or to a jury, in the case of a lawsuit) that the other driver was at fault for the accident, based on various kinds of evidence from the accident, including:
- Accident scene photos and videos
- Surveillance or traffic camera or dashcam footage
- Eyewitness testimony
- Post-accident vehicle inspection reports
- Vehicle electronic data recorder logs
- Driver cell phone records
- Expert accident reconstruction and automotive engineering reports
An experienced lawyer knows how to gather evidence that can help support your claim and prove fault in an accident.
Contact an Oklahoma Car Accident Attorney Today
If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you deserve compensation, and you deserve to get it in a timely manner. Contact Edwards & Patterson Law today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation and to find out how an Oklahoma car accident attorney from our firm can help you demand the money you’re owed.
