Accident reports are a critical component of any car accident claim.
The report is the official record of your accident. Thus, insurance agents, lawyers, juries, and judges will all use it to help adjudicate your claim.
Because it is so important, it is crucial that you get a copy of your accident report before you file your claim.
Filing a claim for a collision without an accident report in hand is a recipe for disaster. Without the benefit of an accident report, your lawyer may as well prepare your case’s legal strategy blind.
To avoid any potential road bumps in your pursuit of a car accident claim, you need to know how to get a copy of your accident report.
If your accident happened in Lakewood, your report will come in the form of a Lakewood, CO police report.
Will My Crash Have a Lakewood Colorado Accident Report?
If your accident occurs within Lakewood city limits, chances are that your collision will have a Lakewood Colorado police department accident report. There are a couple reasons for this.
First, in almost all cases, drivers are required to report accidents to law enforcement.
Second, in most cases, police are required to file an accident report for any collision they respond to.
Thus, if the Lakewood police respond to your accident, you will most likely have a Lakewood Colorado accident report.
On one hand, all drivers in Colorado are legally obligated to report any car accident where either property damage or personal injury occurs.
Failure to report such an accident can result in a fine of up to $300, incarceration for up to 90 days, or both.
On the other hand, state law requires law enforcement officers responding to traffic accidents to file collision reports for any accident where personal injury occurs or where property damage exceeds $1,000.
For all intents and purposes, this includes just about any car accident. If the police respond to your accident and decide not to file a report, you can still request that they do so.
If you make such a request, they are legally obliged to make the report.
Obtaining Your Lakewood Colorado Police Report
There are three ways that you can obtain a copy of your Lakewood accident report:
- Fax,
- Email, or
- Mail.
Each of these methods works just as well as the others.
The first thing you need to do to get a copy of your Lakewood collision report is to complete a records request form.
Once you complete the form, send it in with a copy of your government-issued ID, and the report will get to you within 3-7 business days.
To submit your request, you can email it to LPDRecords@lakewoodco.org, mail it to 445 S. Allison Pkwy Lakewood CO, 80226, ATTN Records, or fax it to (303) 219-7377.
No matter the method by which you submit your request, you should always include a photocopy of your government-issued ID.
For help with filling out the form, you can call (303) 219-7377 for assistance. Telephone services are limited at this time.
Normally, there would be office hours, but as of July 2021, the records office is still closed to the public due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
For any request that you submit through email or fax, the Lakewood Police Department will contact you through email or fax to complete the payment.
The cost is $8.00 for the first 10 pages and $0.25 for every pager after 10. You can also indicate on your application that you would prefer to submit payment in person.
If you make such a request, the Lakewood Police Department will get in touch with you to schedule a time.
However, in-person services are still limited at this point, so there is no guarantee that they will accept your request. If they deny your in-person request, they will notify you with a phone call or email.
When You Are Ready to File Your Claim
Once you have your Colorado state police report from Lakewood, it’s time to get your claim started.
After all, you don’t want to let the statute of limitations pass you up while you plan your legal strategy. So call Tenge Law Firm today.
Our primary commitment is to provide Coloradans with the best legal representation possible. Whether your claim is large or small, we can help.
We’ve helped our clients recover more than $50 million in the last 7 years alone, so let us see what we can do for you.
You deserve specialized legal services because your case is just as unique and important as any other. Don’t just take our word for it.
Check out our client reviews and case results pages to see how we help our clients. Then all you have to do is give us a call for your free consultation: we’ll take care of you from there on.
Call us today for your free consultation!
