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Police report lost, not sure how to proceed

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belminf

Junior Member
Reside in NY state (also where the accident took place):

Okay maybe someone here could point me in the right direction:

In december, I was a pedestrian on the cross walk and some one making a left turn hit me (I had the light to cross. I believe the law is that he has to stop for pedestrians but didn't). So anyway, I went to the hospital, had a consultation with lawyers and went to some doctor for checkup with intentions to start therapy.

Now, I needed the police report. At the scene I got the badge number. I went to the police station and they said they could not find the police report with the information given (badge number, location of accident, date and time of accident). Went there every day till the lawyer which I had the consultation said that it's worthless to go back since the statue of limitation was done. No police report, no lawsuit.

Fine, so I moved on. Never got a bill from the hospital, never got a bill from the doctor and I felt okay--till lately. The last month or so my back has been feeling awkward. Stiff. Maybe this is just because I'm getting older but I am not a doctor. I would like to check it out but I have no health insurance.

Then today: I received a bill from some sort of medical association. I am assuming this is the Hospital but I am not sure since the name since vague (I will have to research).

Now my question: What are my options? Who can I go after and what should I do? Do I even have any options available. It has been about 10 months since the accident. I thought the NYPD should be at fault for "losing" the police report. I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist but: the gentlemen in the car that hit me did seem to be doing well for himself.

Any help or point the the right direction would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!
 


jjcmontana

Junior Member
what little I can offer

I'm not in NY, and have never been in either you, or the driver's situation, but given the details, this is the little help I could offer:

Try: www.searchpolicereports.org

Another option, especially if you have the driver's name is that all tickets are public domain. Essentially meaning, anyone can view them. If there was a police report, then likely, the other driver was also issued a citation, and either paid it, or appeared in court (or else there's a warrant). I would research to see if you can locate the ticket. Then I would take that ticket back to the police station, showing evidence that there WAS an incident, and the officer who gave the ticket can be questioned about the ticket and subsequent police report. I would specifically ask for a number to reach the officer at, or leave a message, and KEEP A LOG OF EVERYTHING. The statute of limitations is RARELY less than a year for an injury accident, as some injuries do not present themselves until much later, as the problem may take months of "festering" to surface into noticible pains or sypmtoms.

If you have the other driver's insurance information, you can immediately file a claim with them, so as to have proof you are making an effort to proceed with collecting damages. You will be given a claim number that you can share with the medical billing companies, however it's nearly impossible to get a lien on that claim for your bills, even with the help of an attorney.

The very first thing you should do, is deal with ANY medical bills that arrive. First, authenticate them. Call the number on the bill and ask what doctor or facility they are billing for. A simple verification of your identity and they should be able to give you all the details. A good idea at this time, would also be to ask for copies of original bills or medical records, or if they can direct you where you would find them, as these will be needed to pursue a claim. Then explain your situation to them. Yes, this is a big corporate world, but occasionally we all get lucky and find a person with a compasionate side on the other end of the phone. DO NOT tell them you can't pay, or you won't. Simply ask if you can send in small monthly payments, even $10 a month while this gets figured out. Don't worry, as this will be reimbursed through your claim. The bills must be paid one way or another. They just want money, they aren't concerned with who it's from. Explain to them that you are not in a financially secure point in your life to offer much more, and you are working hard at not just resolving your case, but getting them paid as well. Most places will work with you, but make sure to take down the name and representative ID# (if they have one) of who you spoke with, and put this into your log that I previously mentioned (include date and time). Being prepared is winning half the battle, the actual documentation of you efforts might not get you anywhere, but being organized will help you keep from stressing out too much.

I wish you the best of luck!

Jason Collins
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
You must not have understood something your lawyer said. The SOL for personal injury in NY is 3 years - you are not even APPROACHING the statute of limitations.
I think what your lawyer was saying is that you no longer have any recourse against the PD directly. You can still sue the driver of the other car...
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Do you have a car and/or car insurance? PIP coverage is mandatory in NY so even though you were a pedestrian, if you had insurance, your medical bills for anything related to the accident will be covered.

For future reference, the badge number is not what you need. The CASE NUMBER is what you need.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
You must not have understood something your lawyer said. The SOL for personal injury in NY is 3 years - you are not even APPROACHING the statute of limitations.
I think what your lawyer was saying is that you no longer have any recourse against the PD directly. You can still sue the driver of the other car...
You are entirely correct but I wanted to clarify something as something in the OPs post doesn't add up.

There is never (well, really, really rarely) going to be a cause of action against the PD when it comes to taking an accident report. The case is against the driver, and, as noted, there is a 3 year SOL to file. Car vs. pedestrian cases are usually snatched up by the ambulance chasers as they are "quick money" (hard to dispute liability when you get run over in a crosswalk), thus the insurance companies like to cut their losses and settle. The fact that you can't find a lawyer to take this case is therefore very odd - they ought to be flocking above you like vultures at this point. The mere lack of a police report is immaterial - the officer was not an eyewitness to the accident and thus the report is useless hearsay (for lawsuit purposes - the insurance company might care about it but that's their choice, there's no law that says you need an accident report to get paid for your injuries).
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
You are entirely correct but I wanted to clarify something as something in the OPs post doesn't add up.

There is never (well, really, really rarely) going to be a cause of action against the PD when it comes to taking an accident report.
Very good point - I should have been clear that I didn't feel there was any recourse against the PD in any case...but that was the only "time limit" that I could imagine the OP was past.....
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
Very good point - I should have been clear that I didn't feel there was any recourse against the PD in any case...but that was the only "time limit" that I could imagine the OP was past.....
I guess that would be the only logical possibility, but if the lawyer actually planned on suing the PD over the report, it's probably best that the OP dropped him anyway.

My Spider Sense is still tingling over this one though.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
I think the problem is that OP doesn't know who the driver was...can't sue someone you can't identify!
 

belminf

Junior Member
I think the problem is that OP doesn't know who the driver was...can't sue someone you can't identify!
This is exactly what I meant (I guess I am the OP). If I have no report, who do I sue? I don't know who the driver was. I was in the ambulance.
 

alnorth

Member
In that case, you sue no one, the police probably have no liability. That unknown driver, and ONLY that driver was at fault. If they cant find the report, I have to believe that driver was given a ticket or citation for SOMETHING for running you down, can you look up who was ticketed (maybe at the PD or a traffic court) for hitting you at that location and on that day?

If you cant find him, do you have Uninsured Motorists coverage? If you dont, (or you dont drive at all, so dont have UM) then you are probably screwed.
 
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jballidis

Junior Member
Police Report

Do not give up on finding a police report. Also you may want your attorney to do the leg work. That is why you are paying him. You can usually identify the police report by contacting the officer. he can uysually track down the report he filed. Some also keep their notes on accidents they investigate. Call the department and ask to speak with the officer during duty per the badge number and see if he recalls the accident or the report. Try to refresh his memory by identifying your accident and how it occiurred etc. Just one more avenue for you to try, along with your PIP rights and uninsured motorist rights.
 

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