Obtain a copy of the police report for your Illinois motorcycle crashThe police responded to your call. An officer came to the scene after you or another person reported the motorcycle crash.

First, the police officer determined who was hurt and secured the accident scene from a secondary crash. Once the immediate safety concerns were addressed, the officer began to investigate what happened. Later, after the accident scene was cleared the officer took the information learned in the investigation and wrote an accident report.

You Have a Right to See That Report

As a person injured in the motorcycle accident, the officer’s report is an important resource for you, and you have the right to request a copy of that report. In order to get the report, you will have to identify which police force responded to your accident. You may have received the officer’s name and police force, preliminary accident report, or business card at the scene of the accident. If not, then you should contact the town or city police force that covers the location of your accident, or the state police if the crash occurred on a state road.

If a local police force such as the Chicago Police Department, investigated your accident, then you will be able to get a copy of your accident report online or by making a request directly to the local police department.

If, however, the Illinois State Police investigated your motorcycle crash, you should request a copy of your report by:

  • Completing the online request form with payment.
  • Submitting a written request with as much information about your accident as possible, including the agency crash report number, the IDOT number, the date of the crash, and your name. You should also include the appropriate payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request. The package may then be mailed to the Illinois State Police Patrol Records Section, 801 South 7th Street, Suite 700-A, Springfield, Illinois 62703.

Police reports are not always correct, nor are they definitive when it comes to proving fault in a motorcycle accident case. However, it is important to know what is in the report and to talk to an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer about how the report could impact your recovery. If you would like to schedule a free consultation with an attorney, please do so today by calling 1-800-800-5678.

 

Jason F. Abraham
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Helping car accident and personal injury victims throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa since 1993.