The Dallas Crash Report: How to Get the CR-3 and What to Look For

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After a car wreck in Dallas, the crash report is one of the first documents an insurance adjuster reads. It shapes the early view of who caused the wreck, and it is often the first place an insurer looks for a reason to doubt a claim. Knowing how to get the report, and what to look for in it, helps you catch problems early. This article explains the Texas crash report, form CR-3.

When an officer files a CR-3

Under Transportation Code 550.062, an officer who investigates a crash that causes injury or death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more, must file a written report. That report is the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, form CR-3, and it is filed electronically with TxDOT within 10 days of the crash.

Drivers have their own duty: a crash with injury, death or a vehicle that cannot be driven must be reported at once to the local police in a city, or to the sheriff (550.026). In Dallas, that usually means calling 911 from the scene.

Who can get the report, and how

The full report is available to the people involved in the crash, their authorized representatives, the vehicle owners, the insurers involved and others directly concerned (Transportation Code 550.065). Copies are bought from TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System for a small fee. You will usually need the date of the crash, the county and a name or a report number.

If we represent you, we get the report for you, along with the other records that go with it.

What to check on the report

• The basics. Date, time, location, the direction each car was traveling, and which lane.
• The people. Names, addresses and insurance information for each driver and vehicle owner.
• Witnesses. Whether the officer recorded any, and how to reach them.
• The narrative and diagram. The officer’s account of how the crash happened, often drawn as a simple sketch.
• Contributing factors. What the officer thought caused or contributed to the crash.
• Injuries. Whether your injuries were noted, and how.

When the report gets it wrong

Officers often arrive after the cars have moved and the drivers have started telling different stories. A report can mix up lanes or directions, leave out a witness, or repeat one driver’s account as if it were fact. A report is evidence, but it is not the final word on fault. Under Texas law fault is divided in percentages among everyone who caused the crash (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 33.001), and it is decided on all the evidence: photographs, video, witnesses, the damage to the cars, and the report together.

If something in your report is wrong, tell us early. The sooner we know, the sooner we can gather the evidence that sets the record straight, before video is gone and memories fade.

If no report was made

Some crashes, such as minor parking lot wrecks, are never investigated, and no CR-3 is filed. A claim can still be made. Photographs, witnesses, repair estimates and medical records do the work the report would have done, which is one more reason to document everything at the scene.

Other records that go with the report

The CR-3 is rarely the only record of a crash. Depending on what happened, there may be 911 call records, photographs taken by officers, body camera or dashcam video, and notes from the paramedics who responded. Some of these are kept only for a limited time, which is why we ask for them early. Your own photos and the names of witnesses fill in what the official records miss.

Keep a copy of the report with your other claim papers, and do not write on the original.

How we help

We get the CR-3 and compare it with the other evidence from the start, and we deal with the insurers so you do not have to. The case review is free. No Fees or Costs Unless We Win: the firm advances case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered for you.

Questions people ask