Can you recover for a personal injury if the investigating officer or company representative never filled out an accident report? For example, if a police officer in Virginia believes that the damage to the cars involved in the wreck are minimal, he or she may not fill out a formal accident report. Sometimes we are contacted by clients who are wondering whether they can bring a personal injury claim because there was no formal accident report. What is the answer?
There is no requirement that an accident report have been filed to support a personal injury claim arising from a car wreck or from even an injury at a place of business. What is always required is that there must be sufficient evidence to support the fact that the other driver was careless and that you as a personal injury victim were not careless in the cause of the car wreck. Even if injured in a store or at a business, the key is whether evidence supports the case–not whether the business filled out a report. Accident reports are not a fundamental necessity for a personal injury lawyer to represent you.
The same rule goes for a non-vehicle personal injury. It is not mandatory that there has been an accident report filled out on other types of incidents as long as there is independent, corroborating evidence to support the fact that your injury was caused by the carelessness of a business or person.
Sometimes our clients are not aware whether there was ever an accident report filled out by a police officer–these reports are not given out at the accident scene. Formal accident reports can be obtained by writing to the police department or the state police requested same and by including the nominal fee. Virginia accident reports have a code sheet that is read in conjunction with the accident report and this should be reviewed along with the report for important information. Businesses often don’t tell an injured victim if they intend to fill out a written report, or will not provide it unless a lawsuit is filed.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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