Gregg Oberg has been board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1995. In this three-minute video, he answers a question the office gets almost every week: after a car wreck in Mesquite, do you actually need a police report?
The short answer is that you should always ask for one — and the reasons have less to do with paperwork than with what happens weeks later. A police report locks down who, when, where and what happened while the details are still fresh. As Gregg puts it, the other driver’s story has a habit of changing.
Two things in particular catch people out. Officers won’t always come out to a minor collision, especially if nobody needs an ambulance — so you have to ask. And a wreck that looks minor from the outside isn’t necessarily a minor injury; symptoms often don’t surface for 24 to 48 hours.
Watch the full answer below, or read the transcript underneath if you’d rather skim.
Full transcript (lightly edited for readability)
Hello, I’m attorney Gregg Oberg. I practice in Mesquite, Texas. I’m board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. I’m here to answer some questions that we get frequently in our office from people who have recently been in an injury incident or a car wreck.
Why a police report matters
A police report is important because it answers all the necessary questions to get the claim started — and ultimately the lawsuit, if necessary. Who, when, where, why, and what happened. Too many times the defendant driver’s story changes, so we’ve got to lock that down in the police report.
A police report is important even if the collision is minor, because you don’t know what the long-term effects might be. It’s not unusual for your injuries not to really fully come forward for even 24 to 48 hours after the wreck. So just because the damage to your car is minor doesn’t mean your injury is.
What to do at the scene
If you’re in a crash, the first thing you need to do is call 911 and ask the officers to come out. Unfortunately, because of the amount of business that they have to do, many times they will ask you if you need an ambulance — and if you don’t need an ambulance, they won’t send an officer to do a police report. But ask. It’s important.
And then if a police report is created, there is a statewide system where you can get that information online, but that often takes anywhere from 3 to 10 days.
Filing a claim without a report
Yes, of course you can file a claim without an official police report, but you’ve got to have the documentation necessary to set up the claim. You need the name of the other driver, the insurance information from the other driver, and anything that’ll help locate that — whether it’s a plate number on the vehicle that hit you, a copy of the insurance card if they’ll let you have it, all those kinds of things. That’s what you need to set up the claim.
The police report isn’t required, but because the police report has all that information, it’s really helpful.
If you found this video helpful, please like or subscribe to help get the word out to other people who may need our help. If you have specific questions about your situation and feel like you need a consult with a lawyer, give us a call. We’re always happy to talk to you. And of course, that consultation is free. Be careful out there.
Related reading
- How to Obtain a Mesquite Accident Report: A Step-by-Step Guide — the step-by-step process for requesting your report.
- How a Police Report Affects a Car Accident Settlement in 2026 — how the report is used once a claim is under way.
- What to Do After a Car Accident in Mesquite: A Comprehensive 2026 Guide — the wider checklist for the hours after a wreck.
