What happens if you cause a minoraccident but don’t file an accident or police report at the time?
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What happens if you cause a minoraccident but don’t file an accident or police report at the time?
I rear-ended this guy; he had a minor bumper issue and I had a minor bumper issue. We traded information at the scene and said ill get him a new number. All he got was my name, number and address; no insurance was traded and no police was called we just said we would contact each other. So I left went home. Now he called me left a voice mail and said he’s going to call the police and file a report about a accident happening about a week ago. Can I actually get in trouble? What should I do? Can I say I never was in an accident? We never called the police so I’m thinking therefore no police report no accident. Can he win in court? I can easily deny that i was in an accident. He doesn’t have my insurance info and it happened a week ago.
Asked on December 16, 2011 under Accident Law, Colorado
Answers:
Paula McGill / Paula J. McGill, Attorney at Law
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It wasn't a hit a run because both of you stopped and exchanged information.
At the minimum, you should have contacted your insurance company at the time of the accident. A week may not be too long from the accident to do it. If you are sued, the insurance company will defend you if it decides you contacted them within a reasonable time after the accident.
Lying under oath is perjury. I do not recommend that you lie about the accident. At the same time, at this point, do not talk to the driver about the accident until you talk to your insurance company.
If he doesn't have your insurance information, he'll just sue you. According to what you described, it is a minor accident, don't compound the problem. Again, let your insurance company handle it.
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