HOW BLASZKOW LEGAL STOPPED THE PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE FROM WITHHOLDING COMPLETE CRASH REPORTS
Prince George's County Police Refuse to Provide Complete Accident Reports!
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND - Did you know that, all of a sudden, the Prince George's County Police decided to stop giving out complete accident reports/police crash reports to people who had been hurt in car accidents? It's true! On it's own, the County Police decided that they would immediately only provide redacted reports to people who had been involved in car accidents throughout the County. Then, they locked horns with Blaszkow Legal, and lost. Here is how Blaszkow Legal battled the county for an injured client, and won!
What happened?
Blaszkow Legal was retained to represent an innocent person who was injured as a passenger in a Prince George's County car accident. As part of our investigation of the case, we always obtain a standard police crash report (sometimes simply called a "police report.) This is usually pretty simple, because the information for the crash (time, date, location, at-fault driver's info, police report number) are on the "police exchange sheet." Unfortunately, the Prince George's County Police have a regrettable habit of giving out incomplete exchange sheets to people, or not giving them out at all! This is especially true for passengers, and people who have been transported from the scene of the crash to a hospital.
Blaszkow Legal's staff had to call into the police department to get the correct police report number, and once received, sent off to the department for it. So far, so good. (NB - sometimes you can get the crash report online through a third-party service, but about half the time, the report cannot be found, so you have to go the PD itself).
About three weeks after sending off to the County Police for the report, we got it back. But it was half empty!!! The police report was missing very important information: the address of the driver and the address of the owner were missing!
Why Is This Information So Important?
You need the address of the at-fault individuals (driver and, potentially, the owner) because in order to file a lawsuit, you have to properly name the parties involved. It is not enough to file a lawsuit and say "Jane Doe, at an unnamed address." You - the injured party, or Plaintiff - have to comply with all the rules of the Court.
Without this information, there is a work-around: your car accident lawyer would have to file a John Doe lawsuit, subpoena the information from the police, and then re-file the regular lawsuit. Sounds easy? Well, for an experienced lawyer, it is not too difficult, but it does a few things that affect you: 1) it doubles your expenses, because the Court doesn't let you file lawsuits for free, 2) you have a lot more costs in serving the subpoena, and 3) you may get the information too late! You see, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for a car accident in Maryland (and DC) is three years - but in Virginia, it is only two years! Your accident may happen in PG County, but if the at-fault driver lives in VA, then you may want to file your lawsuit there, because Virginia's General District Court is quicker, cheaper, and has a higher jurisdictional limit.
The County Says "No"
As a matter of course, our office's Chief Operating Officer (Matt) reviews these police reports when they come in, as he used to be a police officer himself. When he noticed that the report was incomplete, he emailed the Police Department's Records Office. Their response was to cite a new policy, below:
This policy was very new, as for many years, we had obtained Prince George's County Police Reports without a problem. The unfortunate clerk was just following a new directive, and doubtless did not understand what the law was, and why the information had to be released to an injured party (and the injured party's legal representative [law firm]).
Matt escalated the matter to the records department's supervisor, a Sergeant Rickert. Unfortunately, this Sergeant also toe'd the party line, and attempted to argue that the release of police reports was governed by the MPIA, or Maryland Public Information Act (the Maryland-state equivalent of the federal Freedom of Information Act).
We did not agree. The MPIA would indeed apply if, say, we wanted a report that we did not have an "interest" in - meaning that we did not represent a party to the crash. So Matt set out the argument in detail.
It's important to remember that Maryland law COMMANDS people involved in a crash to exchange information, and this doesn't just mean insurance cards. It means name, address, telephone number, and insurance.
The County Government Gets Involved
Our firm escalated the matter once again, to the Office of the Chief of Police. At this point, someone also got involved from the County Attorney's Office. After some back and forth between our offices, it was understood that the policy was put in place because someone in the County Police believed that if un-redacted police reports went out, then accident victims would begin to retaliate against the other persons involved. Objectively, we concede that privacy is indeed a concern, but not one that should - or, in Maryland law, does! - impact our ability to obtain a police report.
So, we wrote a final letter setting our position out at length: what we needed, why we needed it, and why Maryland expressly permits us to have it (link below).
The County deliberated amongst itself, in meetings with the PG County Attorney and Prince George's County Police leadership.
Meanwhile, we prepared a lawsuit against the County for wrongfully withholding information, and prejudicing our client's case.
Blaszkow Legal Wins! The County Reversed It's Policy
An email came in short order as we were preparing to file our lawsuit that the County had reversed its wrong - and, bluntly, illegal - policy, and would be providing unredacted police reports to accident victims and their legal representatives!
Our client was pleased, and we moved on with the underlying case.
How To Protect Yourself in a Prince George's County Car Accident
When you have been in a car accident, you need to remember to take these steps to protect yourself, right there, and always.
Call the Police - even if they don't come, your call is recorded and logs the date, time, and location of the incident.
Take Lots of Pictures - get pics of everything: debris, damage to your car, damage to other cars, drivers, witnesses, roadway markings, etc. You can't have too many pics!
Exchange Information - this doesn't mean get a picture of the other motorist's insurance card. Get a picture of the driver's license of the driver, and anyone else in the car. If the other driver refuses to provide you the license, then call the police back and let them know. Get the refusal on film, if you can.
Get Medical Treatment - get to a hospital or urgent care center to get evaluated by a physician, right away. Don't go to a chiropractor, who's scope of practice is limited by law. Get a comprehensive medical evaluation done as soon as possible!
Call a Maryland Car Accident Lawyer - as soon as you can after the crash, call Blaszkow Legal at 703-879-5910. We will begin contacting insurance companies, and protecting you right away. Never forget that Insurance Adjusters are hoping to use your own words against you, in contributory negligence states like MD, DC, and VA.
Blaszkow Legal is a car accident and personal injury law firm that fights for clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
Maryland Transportation Article 20-104(b) imposes a duty on all motorists involved in motor vehicle collisions to exchange information, including full name, address, driver's license number, and date of birth.
