After being involved in a motor vehicle accident you might be dealing with reporting the accident to the police, car insurance companies and the DMV. As you may have suspected there are laws for which accidents need to be reported, who the accident needs to be reported to and when an accident needs to be reported.
Exchanging information at the accident scene
California Vehicle Code (CVC) § 20001 states that the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall exchange information (providing his or her name, current residence address, the names and current residence addresses of any occupant of the driver’s vehicle injured in the accident, the registration number of the vehicle he or she is driving, and the name and current residence address of the owner).
Reporting a car accident to a law enforcement agency
CVC § 20008, states that the driver of a vehicle involved in any accident resulting in injuries to or death of any person (driver, passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist, etc.) shall within 24 hours after the accident make or cause to be made a written report of the accident to the Department of the California Highway Patrol or, if the accident occurred within a city, to either the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the police department of the city in which the accident occurred.
If a law enforcement officer was called to the scene of your accident and injuries are reported, he or she will prepare a written report of the accident on behalf of the agency. In that situation, you need not make your own separate written report. Even if no injuries are reported, the officer will still generate an incident report.
Reporting a car accident to the DMV
CVC § 16000, states that a person involved in an accident must notify the DMV either personally or through an insurance agent, broker, or legal representative, on a form approved by the department (SR-1), within 10 days of the accident if (1) there was property damage of $1,000 or greater, (2) someone is injured, or (3) a person dies in the accident.
Risk of punishment for failure to exchange information and report an accident
Failure to exchange information and report an accident that caused injury to another may result in imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail and/or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). CVC § 20001.
Reporting a car accident to your automobile insurance provider
California law does not require a driver to report an accident to his or her insurance company. However, most auto insurance companies include a clause that requires them to report an accident in a timely manner. If the accident is not reported in compliance with the insurance policy then coverage may be denied to an at fault driver.
If you have been involved in a car accident and have questions, please contact a Carlsbad car accident attorney from our office to learn about your rights. Your initial consultation is free and if you retain our services no fee will be payable to our firm unless we obtain compensation for you.