Knowing what to do after a motor vehicle collision in Bowling Green, Kentucky is very important in establishing your case.
One of the first steps to take is to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency or policy department so they can complete a written collision report. Calling 911 will dispatch the appropriate agency on your behalf to investigate the collision.
If the accident collision occurred in the city limits of Bowling Green, the appropriate agency would be Bowling Green Police Department.
If this accident happened outside the city limits of Bowling Green, but in Warren County, then Warren County Sheriff’s Office would likely be the appropriate law enforcement agency.
If this accident occurred on a highway or parkway, such as the Interstate 65, then Kentucky State Police would likely be the agency to respond.
When Can I Request My Bowling Green Accident Report
Car accident reports from the Bowling Green City Police will usually be available within five days following the collision, and can be retrieved either online, via mail, or by stopping by your local law enforcement’s physical office.
Kentucky Law requires that the collision report be completed within ten days after investigation of the collision. Obtaining a report from Bowling Green City Police does require a signed consent from the client.
Pursuant to Kentucky Law (KRS 189.635), accident reports are only available to the people involved in the accident, insurance companies and attorneys representing the parties to the accident.
Obtaining An Accident Report With Buycrash
Getting a Bowling Green accident report is made easy with a service called Buycrash.
Once the police officer in Kentucky has recorded all the important information, they will often provide you with a Buycrash information card with a case-specific report number.
You can visit https://buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com/ and use the referenced report number to locate your collision report when it is made available.
The cost of the report is usually $10.00, and most credit cards are acceptable for purchase.
The following information will assist you in getting a Bowling Green Accident Report from Buycrash:
- Last name of party involved,
- Date of Accident,
- Drivers license number of involved party,
- Buycrash report number,
If the accident report is not available through Buycrash, the investigating officer who was at the scene of the collision should be able to tell you where to get your report.
How You Can File Your Own Kentucky Car Accident Report
In the event that the Kentucky State Police or another police agency does not investigate the accident, pursuant to KRS 189.635(4), one of the drivers should file a written accident report with the Kentucky State Police within ten days of any vehicle accident in Kentucky.
This often occurs when the Bowling Green accident takes place on private property or a parking lot.
This is especially important if the damage to the vehicle is over $500 or there is injury or death to any person. This is when the filing of the accident report is required.
The local police, law enforcement or Kentucky State Police in cases where they did not investigate should give you a civilian traffic collision report form which you can complete and submit to the state. It is your responsibility to obtain this form.
Once you complete the form you make two copies so you have one for your own records and one for you insurance company. The original would be mailed to:
Kentucky State Police Records
Attn: Crash
1266 Louisville Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
Do not send anything but the form. Keep any insurance cards photos in your possession. Do not expect to hear back from the state police concerning the report. This is a record that you may need and also is in compliance with the law.
This only applies to cases where the police did not investigate the accident. Any time the police responded to the accident they would be filing a report.
Our Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You
At our law firm, when we are hired by a client to represent them in a car, semi-truck or other type of accidents we immediately locate the police who investigated the accident to obtain that report.
This is vital in being able to notify the insurance company as part of the report where it is the fault of another driver so we can notify their insurance company for the at fault driver.
The accident report enables our lawyers to assist in establishing liability so you can collect damages. You may also obtain photographs especially in more serious car accidents by the police.
Call or contact us today to set up your free case evaluation on how Flora Templeton Stuart Injury Accident Lawyers can help you recover the money you deserve if you have been injured in an accident through no fault of your own.
We can travel to you if you cannot meet at our Bowling Green office.
We answer calls 24/7 and often travel to our injured clients who cannot come to us, even on the weekends.
Attorney Flora Templeton Stuart personally oversees all of her car accident injury cases and puts her 45 years experience to work for her clients.
