Whenever you are in a car accident caused by someone else, you should get a police report. This preserves the evidence, documents the incident, and documents insurance information. It is not uncommon for people to change their story, have expired insurance, or just try to leave the scene of an accident because they are in a hurry. In Arizona, the officer typically issues a citation to the driver that the officer determines to be at fault, but if you are the driver that was not at fault, be sure to contact the police and get them to create a police report.
When you are hit by another driver that you believe to be at fault you should call the police. You may also call 9-1-1 and obtain medical attention if you need it. The police can sometimes be slow to respond, so you may want to take a picture of the vehicle that hit you and their license plate. The officer should provide you with accident exchange information. If they do not provide you with this information including the other driver’s insurance carrier and policy number, you should ask for it. You may even want to take a picture of the other driver’s insurance card if you can. The officer will then gather information about the facts and circumstances of the collision including weather condition, witnesses, insurance information, etc. If you are able to, get the names of any witnesses, phone numbers, and contact information, and ask that they wait until the officer arrives at the scene. If you are in a parking lot or on private property, the police may not respond or may decline to investigate and write a report. In this case, you should contact security for the owner of the mall, shopping center, building, or property that you are at and ask them to write a report and then obtain a copy of that report. If you are on private property and the other driver admits liability, you may also want to call your insurance carrier, report the loss, and have the other driver confirm liability with your insurance carrier. After the collision, you should also seek medical care and call a car accident lawyer!
Act reasonably and gather as much information as you can. Call a car accident lawyer as soon as you can after any collision. Be careful and safe!
(This is not legal advice. If you are involved in a car accident, you should talk to a lawyer.)