Do I need to fill out any forms after a Harris County car crash?

If your accident involved any injuries, deaths, or property damage of $1,000 or more, then the police should investigate your crash and write a police report. You’re not required to complete any forms if the police investigate your accident.

Driver’s Crash Reports

When a police officer doesn’t investigate your accident, you should complete a Driver’s Crash Report, which is also known as Form CR-2. A driver involved in the accident typically completes this form. If the driver is unable to complete the form, then someone else should complete the form and explain why the driver is unable to do it.

The form asks for information about the crash, including:

• The crash location
• The date and time of the crash
• A description of your vehicle and any other vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian involved in the accident. This includes insurance information and an estimate of any vehicular damage
• A description of any property damage, other than vehicle damage, resulting from the crash
• A description of any injuries resulting from the crash. You will be asked to provide information about other people’s injuries to the extent that you know about these injuries
• Your statement about what happened. You should keep this to facts that you know for sure

Finally, you’ll be asked to sign and date the form.

After you complete your crash report, it’s important to keep a copy for your own files. The Texas Department of Transportation won’t retain your report.

Why You Should Complete a Driver’s Crash Report

Sometimes accident injuries aren’t immediately apparent. The police may not come to the scene, but later you may realize that you’re injured and you may need to file a lawsuit. The information that you record in your Driver’s Crash Report may be very valuable to you as you seek damages for the injuries that you’ve suffered.

For more tips on what to do after a Harris County car crash, please contact the experienced attorneys at the law firm of Steven M. Lee, PC for a free, no-obligation consultation.