How to Get a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Crush Report Online

To get a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) crash report online, you can visit the Florida Crash Portal and request a copy of your report. If you have trouble obtaining your report or want assistance with other aspects of the legal process, our Florida car accident attorneys can step in.

Steps for Getting an Accident Report Online

FHP’s accident reports are made available through the Florida Crash Portal. This webpage provides important information and instructions for submitting your request:

• As a person involved in the crash, you are entitled to request a copy of the corresponding accident report as soon as it becomes available.
• You will have to pay a small fee to obtain this copy.
• Once you file your request, you have 48 hours in which to download the Zip file containing your report.

What to Expect From Your Crash Report

The report should include all of the basic facts of the accident, including:

• Everyone who was involved
• The names of witnesses
• The date and time of the accident
• The location of the accident and positioning of vehicles
• Whether or not anyone was injured

The officer should also include the results of their investigation into the crash. They will discuss who they believe to be responsible, what evidence supports that conclusion, and what specific factors (e.g., drunk driving, poor road maintenance) may have contributed to the collision.

When to Contact FHP About Your Accident Report

While you want to start collecting evidence, including your crash report, as soon as possible, the responding officer has up to 10 days to file their report. Your report may not be available before then, so it is a good idea to wait until at least 10 days have passed to try requesting your report.

In the meantime, there are other actions you can take to get your case moving:

• Get medical treatment if you have not already done so, and follow all of your doctor’s instructions
• Notify your insurance company about the crash
• Contact our law firm for more information on your right to damages and how to file a claim or lawsuit

Is the FHP the Only Agency That Has Information About Your Crash?

Not necessarily. According to the Florida Highway Patrol’s Policy Manual, it is part of their job to investigate crashes, but they do not patrol every single road in the state. Their main focus is on state highways. If your accident occurred on a city road, for example, another agency might be first on the scene.

If a city police department, county sheriff’s office, or other agency responded to your crash, they will file their own report detailing their own findings. To request a police report from an agency other than the FHP, you will have to:

• Identify all responding agencies. You might already know this information if officers identified themselves to you at the scene, or you might have forgotten it in the chaos and uncertainty following the accident. Either way, we can identify the responding officers.
• Follow the rules laid out by each agency. Every precinct has its own procedure for requesting reports.
• Wait for your request to be processed. The agency might need time to verify your identity or pull the report from whatever database (physical or digital) they stored it in.

Will Multiple Police Reports Help or Hurt Your Case?

In general, the more information you can collect regarding your accident, the better off you will be.

That said, if two different agencies came to two different conclusions regarding the accident’s cause, your lawyer may have to spend additional time investigating the crash, finding out what really happened, and identifying the reason why the two reports are so misaligned.

Officers can and do make mistakes. Do not automatically assume your crash report is accurate or that your case is hopeless if the officer claims you are responsible. Our firm can challenge reports that do not match other evidence and/or your recollection of the crash.

Do I Need a Police Report to File a Claim for Damages?

Police reports are often extremely helpful, and if one is available, you should take immediate steps to obtain it. However, these reports are not the only types of evidence available in most cases. We can also collect:

• Video footage
• Photos
• Physical evidence, like debris
• Witness statements
• Expert testimony

Our firm often uses materials like these to support a case, regardless of whether or not an accident report is also available.

Why Can’t I Find My FHP Crash Report?

Under state law, police are required to file reports for all accidents resulting in the “death of, personal injury to, or any indication of complaints of pain or discomfort by” anyone involved in the collision. This means you should be able to access at least one police report that describes your accident.

In some cases, however, you might have trouble obtaining your report because:

• It was misfiled
• The officer failed to file it in time or to include critical information, like the correct spelling of your name
• A technical glitch prevents successful delivery

Remember that you can always hire our car accident attorneys if you have trouble obtaining your report, do not want to deal with the insurance companies alone, or prefer to focus on healing rather than on legal matters.

Let Our Lawyers Collect All Necessary Evidence After a Crash

The team at Meldon Law is part of the same community as you. We have a vested interest in keeping our roads safe and in securing a just outcome for accident victims like you. Call today for a free consultation and find out how we can use your FHP crash report and other evidence to support your legal action.