How to Report a Car-Bike/Ped Crash

You must report a car-bike/ped crash in order to file a No-Fault insurance claim in New York.

• You need an accident report to file a No-Fault insurance claim.
• Get the right report. See this chart.
• NYPD police accident report (PAR): File within five days of the crash.
• DMV accident report (MV104): File within 10 days.
• Report hit-and-runs within 24 hours.
• If an insurance adjuster shows up, you needn’t give more than your name and phone number, or your lawyer’s.
• Get the driver’s insurance or other information from the DMV

You must report a car-bike/ped crash to file a No-Fault insurance claim

If you’re a pedestrian or cyclist and are hit by a car in New York state, you need a crash report to file a claim for No-Fault medical benefits.

Always obtain a crash report, whether or not you intend to file an insurance claim. Even if you think you weren’t hurt, you might not realize for a few hours or days that you need medical care. (See At the Scene of the Crash.)

It is best to wait for the police to arrive at the scene — even if it takes 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour. Get the car’s license plate number RIGHT AWAY. Tell the driver to wait.

The officer who arrives at the scene must obtain contact information for the driver, witnesses, and you. (Patrol Guide §217-01, page 13) If you can, gather witness names and phone numbers yourself, or ask a bystander to do it for you, to ensure that this is not overlooked.

The NYPD must write a crash report if there has been an injury. If your injury is not obvious, you must say “I think I was injured.” Tell the officer you want a police report.

In an indisputably minor scrape, if you cannot wait because of family or other emergency, you should still exchange information with the driver and report the crash to the police and/or the DMV, to protect your right to make a medical claim later if needed.

The driver is required to remain on the scene and provide their driver’s license, registration and insurance information to you or the police; failure to do so is a misdemeanor. If they leave the scene of an injury altogether, it’s a hit-and-run violation—another misdemeanor. But if they flee a crash involving a serious injury or death, is a Class E or D felony, respectively. (NYS VAT Title 6 Article 22 § 600)

If you do not have an NYPD crash report or complete information on the driver, you can request it from the DMV provided you state one of their approved reasons required on the form. Do this immediately after your crash, or ask someone else to do it, and send it by certified mail, so you can meet the 30-day deadline for filing a Notice of Claim. For instructions, go here and for the form, go here.

Always get an accident report

The NYPD’s Police Accident Report (PAR) is written by a police officer, generally at the scene of a crash, or upon your request within five days at the precinct station.

The State Dept. of Motor Vehicles’ MV-104 form is self-reported—by drivers or by crash victims—and mailed to the state DMV within 10 days of the crash.

Each type of report is needed in certain circumstances. Some attorneys regard the PAR as more authoritative in court, so you should always try to get one. Both have value as statistical evidence, which policymakers are relying on more these days. For advocacy purposes, it is worthwhile to report the incident even if you don’t intend to file an insurance claim.

The NYPD use an Aided Report to document incidents in which a police officer helps someone who is injured or sick. It is appropriate only when the crash does not involve a motor vehicle, to document road and other hazards, and/or to make claims related to such hazards.

Be sure to ask for the Aided Report number on the scene, and the identification of the report writer. You can request a copy of the Aided Report by mail using the form linked here. NOTE: If you receive an Aided Report for a motor vehicle crash, you should immediately complain to the precinct that issued it, and re-report the crash.

Report hit-and-runs ASAP

Hit-and-run crashes should be reported within 24 hours or as soon as possible, to protect eligibility for MVAIC coverage (available to NYS residents). You can:

• Report the crash to the police.
• Report the crash to the State Department of Motor Vehicles. (Be aware that the DMV form should be used as a last resort, since MVAIC has more leeway to deny coverage than do No-Fault carriers.)

For a hit-and-run reported after 24 hours, you may have to provide a reason or affidavit to MVAIC that explains why you were unable to report the accident within 24 hours. For example, if you were admitted to the hospital for a few days. (See MVAIC.)

You must state that you think you are injured to get a police report filled out. Otherwise, the NYPD will not take your report, but will tell you to complete the state MV-104 form. This is standard by-the-book procedure.

In any hit-and-run crash, the NYPD should create a “Criminal Complaint” to start the process of trying to identify the motorist who left the crash scene. You may want to follow up with the investigators to see what progress they are making (and remind them that someone cares about the results of the investigation).

The Police Accident Report (MV-104AN)

The NYPD must complete a Police Accident Report in any crash causing a personal injury, property damage of more than $1,000, or a fatality.

If your injury is not apparent (blood, unconsciousness, etc.), you must say you were injured or the police will not write the report. Sometimes officerswill encourage crash victims to walk away. You may have to insist that the officer write the PAR.

The NYPD form is called the MV-104AN—not to be confused with the state MV-104. We refer to the NYPD form as the PAR.

At the scene, the officer is supposed to give you an accident report number and tell you how to obtain a copy of the report. Instructions are also below.

If you say that you were not injured, but want to report the crash, the police will tell you to complete the state MV-104 report. This is normal procedure.

Giving a statement to the police

Any conclusions about who caused the crash on the PAR do not affect your eligibility for No-Fault claim.

Still, you should BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU SAY to the police officer. Any admission of guilt (such as “it was my fault,” or “I wasn’t paying attention” or “I could have avoided…”) can be used against you in any future civil claim or action. Such remarks are admissible as evidence in court, where they’re known as “statements against interest.”

Also, you must cooperate with the police. If you fail to do so, or refuse to provide your description of what happened when asked, this could also be used against you. (If you’re injured or in the hospital, in pain, or can’t think straight because you were just given a morphine drip or rectal exam, say so and ask them to return.)

While in pain or in shock, you may feel guilty for what has happened to you, or worried about other people on the scene, including the driver or passengers. But you are not likely to know all the contributing factors, even if you are an expert in accident reconstruction. So keep your statement simple and factual. What color was the light when you entered the intersection?

LESS IS MORE. Stick to the facts of how the crash occurred, without assigning blame to yourself. DO NOT speculate as to the extent of your possible injuries. Keep your statement brief; the officer will write down only a fraction of what you say. But if you say it was your fault, you can be sure he or she will report that.

If the officer at the scene asks the driver what happened, but not you, ask to have your version included on the report. If they won’t take your story, don’t argue. You can go to the precinct house later to request that the report be amended.

Filing a PAR at the station

If an officer isn’t dispatched to your crash scene, or refuses to write a report, and you have an injury to declare, go to the precinct in which the crash happened and ask to file a police report at the precinct station. You must do this within five days.

Obtaining the PAR

Get your accident report number from the officer at the scene. You will need it for filling out hospital medical forms and for obtaining a copy of the PAR. As soon as possible, get a copy of the crash report and read it to make sure it is accurate.

To obtain a copy of the report, go to the police station in the precinct where the crash happened. You must provide picture ID and pay a $10 fee and submit this form. (Money order or certified check; no personal checks or cash.) You can also request a report online.

The NYPD sends its accident reports to the state DMV monthly (e.g., a Jan. 17 crash report is sent to DMV around March 1). You can request a copy from the state here — after 120 days. So it’s best to get the report right away from the police precinct.

Amending the PAR

Any “involved party” may request to have a PAR amended. However, whether to do so or not is entirely up to the reporting officer (Patrol Guide §217-13). Go to the precinct house, speak to the officer of record, and give them your best reasons for changing the report.

If the officer refuses to amend your crash report, you should file the MV-104 as noted below.

If you were injured and can’t deal with a visit to the police precinct, amending the report may not be worth the bother. You might be better off consulting an attorney.

Standard operating procedure

Police procedures for handling a crash scene are explained in a 2000-page book called the NYPD Patrol Guide.

The Patrol Guide mandates 15 steps for responding to vehicle crashes, including looking for signs of insurance fraud. For example, if the driver is eager to take the blame, or if all passengers in a low-impact crash claim injury, officers must report these signs on the PAR and to the NYPD Intelligence Division.

Low-impact car crashes, however, can have serious medical consequences, especially for struck cyclists and pedestrians, as state, federal, and medical authorities all warn. Yet the Patrol Guide doesn’t mention this fact. So if an officer urges you to brush off your crash or to settle with the driver on the spot, protect yourself. Tell the officer you think you were injured, ask for a police report number, and seek immediate medical care.

The NYPD Highway Patrol Accident Investigation Unit is deployed in cases involving a serious injury or death. These officers document and measure the scene and take formal witness statements, although the statements may or may not be reliable.

If the PAR says you caused the crash

You are entitled to file a No-Fault medical claim regardless of any conclusions about fault drawn on the accident report.

In a liability suit or claim (for property damage or pain and suffering), the insurance company may cite such conclusions as reasons why they will not pay for those damages. However, the police officer’s conclusions that are not based on his or her first-hand knowledge ARE NOT ADMISSIBLE as evidence in court. Generally, only the police officer’s first-hand observations, and admissions against interest of a party, are admissible at trial.

New York State is a “pure comparative fault” state. In insurance terms, this means that if you are found 1% at fault, then you still may be entitled to recover damages, although the total award would be reduced by the percentage of fault apportioned to you.

For this latter reason, you should carefully read your PAR. If it contains errors of fact, you can request it be amended.

The state MV-104 accident report

You have 10 days to file a crash report with the state DMV.

Download the form here (MV-104) and mail it to the DMV address listed on the form. Send it registered mail so you have proof of submission.

Do this if the NYPD do not (or will not) write a PAR for you within the five-day deadline. For instance, if you do not declare an injury, the police are not mandated to write the report.

The crash report protects your right to file a No-Fault claim if it later turns out that you sustained an injury or need medical attention. It also puts the crash on the driver’s record and on policymakers’ radar screen.

About two-thirds of NYC crashes published by the state are based on NYPD accident reports, and a third comes from reports to the DMV. So clearly, the MV-104 helps to fill a substantial gap in crash reporting.

The State and City Departments of Transportation track these statistics to try to prevent future occurrences. Your report might help to save someone else down the road.

*Some attorneys believe the PAR has more authority in court than the self-submitted MV-104, and urge victims to wait for the police for that reason.

Coda: The insurance adjuster
and “independent medical examiner”

If an insurance company adjuster shows up at the crash scene or later calls and asks for a statement, you should not give any statement without first consulting an attorney who is experienced in the field of personal injury law. You can simply give the adjuster your name and a phone number, and the time of day you wish to be contacted. Or can say you prefer that they talk to your lawyer.

If you phone the insurance company for information and speak to an agent, keep in mind that your friendly conversation is being recorded. Any statements that you make, even if incorrect, can be used against you in court.

The Nolo Press guide advises crash victims to set limits on their contact with the driver’s insurer. Once the immediate crisis has passed, the insurer may try to limit or contest your ability to obtain ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, or compensation. They do this through the “independent medical examiner” (IME).

Sometime later—often about a month after the crash—the insurer may request that you visit an IME. This individual is not independent; he is paid by the insurance company. His job is to find reasons to say that you are healed and don’t need further treatment. You are required to visit the IME, but the insurer should make this visit reasonably convenient for you.

The IME’s evaluation is typically cursory and results in the doctor issuing a report that says you are fine and don’t need any further treatment. Based upon that report, the No-Fault insurance company will send you a “denial letter,” effectively terminating all No-Fault benefits from that date forward for that particular specialty (i.e., orthopedic, chiropractic, etc.).

You are entitled to a copy of the evaluator’s report upon which the No-Fault carrier based its denial of benefits, although you may have to request a copy. If you, and more importantly, your doctor, disagrees with the report’s findings, and/or believes that the evaluator failed to review certain records and/or diagnostic tests, you can request that the No-Fault provider reconsider its denial. You would have to submit a written request for reconsideration, spelling out the deficiencies in the report and ideally including references and/or the actual records or reports that the evaluator failed to consider.

If this appeal fails, you can file for arbitration, and have an arbitrator decide whether the denial is proper. WARNING: Having an arbitrator make any determination on your continuing need for treatment could have a devastating impact on any underlying claim for damages that may still be pending. So do this only after consulting with an attorney who practices personal injury law.

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