What Steps Should You Take After a Traffic Collision?

Every day, more than two hundred traffic collisions are reported in the greater Denver area. Everyone who is on the road is at risk. If you are injured by a negligent driver in or near Denver, seek medical help at once, and then promptly contact a Denver traffic accident lawyer.

What other steps should you take if you’ve sustained an injury in a traffic collision? Why is it so important to file an accident report with the police? And what are your legal rights if you become the injured victim of another motorist’s negligence in this state? Can you recover compensation?

Keep reading for the answers to these questions, but if you have been injured by another driver’s negligence – or if that happens to you in the future – you should also arrange to discuss your rights and your legal options as quickly as possible with a Denver traffic accident attorney.

What Does the Law Require?

After an accident, Colorado law requires you to make an accident report, and failing to do so may prompt a misdemeanor charge. If you’re injured, calling the police is an essential first step toward recovering the compensation you’ll be entitled to and that you may need to cover your medical expenses.

If the police respond, a professional investigation will be conducted while the evidence is still fresh and while witnesses and drivers are still at the scene. A written police accident investigation report is prepared, and that report is an objective, third-party explanation of what occurred.

If the police respond to your 911 call and investigate the accident, your legal obligation to make an accident report is fulfilled. It’s best to report even a minor accident. Moreover, reporting the accident puts you in the best possible position to take legal action and recover compensation.

When Should You File an Accident Report Online or Through the Mail?

If the police do not respond to the accident scene after a 911 call and do not conduct an investigation, you’ll need to file an accident report online or by mail with the Colorado Department of Revenue within sixty days.

If you were injured or you suffered significant property damage, submit that report immediately. Mailing your accident report to the Department of Revenue is legally the same as sending it online, but you will have to print out the accident report form and complete it.

How Do the Police Investigate Accidents?

When the police respond to an accident and conduct an investigation, their final report will include the time and date of the crash, the names of the drivers and the eyewitnesses, and information about the visibility, vehicles, conditions, and other details about the collision.

Insurance companies and courts depend on these investigations because the officers are trained – and quickly become experienced – accident investigators. If their investigation suggests that the other motorist was liable, it may be possible for your lawyer to negotiate a quick settlement out-of-court.

A printed copy of the police accident investigation report may be requested online and will become available within ninety days of the accident. You’ll need to complete this request form and pay the required fee to the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles.

In order to acquire a copy of the police investigation report online, you will also need to have the date, time, and location where the accident happened. Be sure that you also have the investigating police officer’s name as well as the other motorist’s name.

When Will You Need an Attorney’s Help?

If you are injured in a traffic accident, a Denver traffic accident lawyer can review the details of your case – along with the police report – and advocate for the compensation you need. Colorado law gives injured traffic accident victims a three-year deadline to take legal action.

If that deadline has passed, you still might qualify to take legal action under one of the narrow exceptions to the deadline, so a Colorado accident lawyer might still help, but it is far better if your lawyer can speak to the witnesses immediately, while their memories are fresh, and review the evidence before it deteriorates or disappears.

Don’t wait three years after the accident – in fact, don’t even wait three weeks – to schedule a consultation with a Denver traffic accident attorney. Make the call immediately after a healthcare professional has examined and treated you for your injury or injuries.

How Much Will Justice Cost You?

If you have been injured in Colorado because another driver was negligent, it costs you nothing to receive personalized advice and start the legal process. Your first consultation with a Colorado personal injury attorney is provided without obligation or cost.

Personal injury attorneys in Colorado represent their clients on a contingent fee basis, so you pay no fee to an injury attorney unless and until that attorney recovers your compensation with a courtroom verdict or an out-of-court settlement.

In Colorado, if you’ve sustained an injury or injuries because another driver was negligent, and your accident lawyer can prove it, you will be compensated for your current and projected future medical costs, lost wages and projected future lost wages, and other related losses and damages.

Why Choose Fuller Law?

If you’ve sustained an injury or injuries because another driver was negligent, you need an advocate: someone who will address your legal concerns, someone who will hold the at-fault party or parties liable, and someone who will fight for justice and the compensation you need.

Since 2002, Fuller Law has been helping injured negligence victims in the greater Denver area and throughout the State of Colorado recover the resources they need to return their lives to normal as far as possible. Our team has recovered more than $40 million on behalf of our clients.

If you are injured in a car, bus, truck, or motorcycle accident, you may face what seem like overwhelming challenges, but Fuller Law can help you get your life back on track – and help you move positively and constructively into the future – after a traffic accident and a serious injury.

If you are injured by a negligent driver in or near Denver or anywhere in the state, after you have been examined and treated for your injury or injuries by a medical provider, call Fuller Law as quickly as possible at 303-597-4500, and put the law on your side.