8 min read · Updated August 2026
What to do after a car accident: the complete checklist
The exact steps to take in the first hour, first day, and first week after a car accident — and the five mistakes that quietly shrink settlements.
In the first hour
Move to safety and call 911 — even for a 'minor' crash. A police report is the single most useful document your future claim can have, because it locks in the other driver's identity, insurance, and often a preliminary fault assessment before stories change.
Photograph everything: all vehicles from multiple angles, license plates, the road, skid marks, traffic signs, and any visible injuries. Wide shots establish the scene; close-ups establish damage. Your phone's photos are timestamped evidence.
Exchange information but say little. Give your name, insurance, and registration. Do not apologize, do not say 'I'm fine,' and do not speculate about fault — casual words at the scene appear in claim files with remarkable regularity.
Get contact information for every witness. Independent witnesses are gold precisely because they have nothing to gain, and they are impossible to find a week later.
In the first 24–72 hours
See a doctor even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks injuries, and whiplash, concussions, and soft-tissue damage commonly surface 24–72 hours later. Medically, this protects your health; legally, it creates a record connecting your injuries to the crash. A gap between the accident and first treatment is the insurer's favorite argument.
Report the crash to your own insurer — you're contractually required to, and delay can jeopardize your coverage. Stick to facts: time, place, vehicles involved.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. You have no obligation to. Their adjuster's job is to find words they can use to reduce your claim; politely decline and let your documentation speak.
In the first weeks
Follow every treatment recommendation and keep every appointment. Insurers read treatment gaps as 'not really hurt.' Consistent care is both the path to recovery and the backbone of claim value.
Start a claim file: medical bills, receipts, mileage to appointments, missed work days, and a short daily note on pain and limitations. Six months from now, this diary will prove what memory can't.
Learn your number before negotiating. Insurers make first offers quickly because early settlements are cheap settlements — once you sign the release, discovering a herniated disc changes nothing. Use our settlement calculator to see the realistic range for your injury before you respond to any offer.
Talk to a lawyer before accepting anything if you needed more than one medical visit. Injury attorneys work on contingency (typically 33–40%), and studies consistently show represented claimants net more even after fees — especially in claims involving continuing treatment.
The five mistakes that shrink settlements
1. Posting on social media — adjusters check, and a smiling photo becomes 'evidence' you weren't hurt.
2. Gaps in treatment — the single most cited reason for reduced offers.
3. Accepting the first offer — first offers are opening bids, usually a fraction of documented claim value.
4. Signing a medical release giving the insurer your full history — they're looking for prior conditions to blame. Provide accident-related records only.
5. Missing your state's filing deadline — after the statute of limitations, your claim is worth exactly zero. Check your state's deadline in our state guides.
The first two weeks, condensed
These apply to every injury claim, and each one is a mistake insurers count on.
Get treated within 72 hours, and do not skip visits
Treatment delay and gaps in care are the two most common reasons claims get discounted. If you have to pause treatment for money, work, or childcare, tell the provider so the reason appears in the chart rather than reading as recovery.
Photograph everything while it is fresh
Both vehicles from multiple angles, the scene, road conditions, skid marks, traffic controls, and your visible injuries as they develop. Bruising often looks worse on day three than on day one — photograph it again.
Keep a dated symptom journal
Pain scores, sleep disruption, and specific activities you could not do. Contemporaneous notes carry weight that a recollection twelve months later does not, and they are what make non-economic damages concrete.
Document work impact through your employer
A letter confirming missed shifts, modified duty, or lost overtime turns lost income from an assertion into a provable number.
Decline the early recorded statement
You are not obligated to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Early statements are taken before symptoms peak and are quoted back for the life of the claim.
Report every symptomatic area at the first visit
Injuries that hurt less at first get mentioned later, and the delay becomes the insurer's causation argument. List everything that hurts, even mildly.
Where this sits in the settlement process
Six phases from crash to check. The first is the longest — nothing can be valued until treatment ends or plateaus.
Treatment
Weeks to many monthsNothing can be valued until your doctor says you have stopped improving — maximum medical improvement. Settling before that point means paying for your own future care.
Demand package
2 to 6 weeks after treatment endsRecords, bills, wage documentation, and a written demand go to the adjuster. Assembling complete records from every provider is usually what takes the time.
Insurer review
1 to 8 weeksThe adjuster reviews the file, often runs it through claims-evaluation software, and sets an authority range. Complex or disputed claims go to a supervisor or a committee.
Negotiation
2 weeks to several monthsOffers and counters. Straightforward claims resolve in a handful of exchanges; disputed liability or serious injury can take many rounds, and sometimes a lawsuit filing to move.
Release and paperwork
Days to 2 weeksYou sign a release ending the claim permanently. Read it — a broad release can extinguish claims against parties you did not intend to release.
Payment and disbursement
2 to 6 weeksThe check goes to your attorney's trust account. Liens and medical providers are paid first, then fees and case costs, then the balance reaches you. Many states require the insurer to pay within roughly 30 days of the signed release.
Questions people ask
The questions people actually search for on this topic, answered in full.
Should I call the police for a minor accident?
Yes. Many states require a report above a property-damage threshold, but the practical reason is evidentiary: a report fixes the other driver's identity, insurance, and often a preliminary fault view in a contemporaneous document. Without one, a cooperative driver at the scene can become an unreachable one a week later.
How soon after an accident should I see a doctor?
Within 24 to 72 hours at the latest, and immediately for head impact, loss of consciousness, numbness, weakness, or severe pain. Soft-tissue and concussion symptoms often surface a day or two after the crash, and insurers treat any delay as evidence that something else caused the injury.
Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer?
You are generally not obligated to. Adjusters are trained to elicit fault-shifting phrasing and premature assessments of your own injuries. It is reasonable to decline, provide the basic facts in writing, and get advice before agreeing to a recording.
Do I have to report the accident to my own insurance if it wasn't my fault?
Yes — nearly every policy requires prompt notice of any loss regardless of fault, and late notice can jeopardize collision, MedPay, PIP, and any uninsured or underinsured motorist claim you may later need to make.
What should I photograph at the scene?
All vehicles from several angles including undamaged sides, license plates, the position of the cars before they are moved, skid marks and debris, traffic controls and sightlines, road and weather conditions, visible injuries, and the other driver's insurance card and license.
What if I feel fine at the scene?
Adrenaline routinely masks injury for hours. Decline to characterize your condition — say you will be evaluated rather than 'I'm fine' — and get checked. A statement that you were uninjured appears in the claim file and is quoted back at settlement time.
Should I post about the accident on social media?
No. Insurers review public profiles as a matter of routine, and an ordinary photo of you at a family event becomes an argument about the severity of your limitations. Set profiles to private and post nothing about the crash, your injuries, or your activities until the claim closes.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Notify insurers within days. The lawsuit deadline is set by your state's statute of limitations, most commonly two or three years from the accident, with much shorter notice deadlines for claims against government entities. Check your state guide for the specific rule.
Fees, taxes and what you actually take home
The questions people actually search for on this topic, answered in full.
How much does a personal injury lawyer take from a settlement?
Contingency fees typically run 33% to 40%. The common structure is one third if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, rising to 40% once litigation begins or the case approaches trial. Case expenses — filing fees, records, expert reports — are usually deducted on top of the fee rather than out of it, so ask specifically which structure the agreement uses.
Are personal injury settlements taxable?
Compensation for physical injury or physical sickness is generally not taxable federally. Portions allocated to lost wages, punitive damages, and interest generally are, and previously deducted medical expenses can be taxable when reimbursed. How the settlement is allocated among those categories has real consequences, so it is worth addressing before the documents are signed rather than at tax time.
How much of my settlement do I actually take home?
The order of payment is liens and medical providers first, then attorney fees and case expenses, then you. On a $100,000 settlement with a one-third fee, $4,000 in costs, and $15,000 in medical liens, the net is roughly $48,000 — and lien negotiation is frequently where the largest gains are available, because providers often accept substantial reductions.
How long does it take to get paid after a settlement is signed?
The insurer typically issues the check within two to four weeks of receiving the signed release, and most states require payment within a reasonable period commonly understood as 30 to 45 days. Disbursement to you then depends on how quickly liens are resolved, which can add several weeks.
Should I accept the insurance company's first offer?
Usually not. Industry analysis consistently places first offers at roughly half of a claim's fair value, and adjusters are evaluated in part on savings against reserves. Cases involving a genuine lowball frequently resolve for several times the opening number once the file is properly documented — but the first offer is also final if you accept it, because the release closes the claim permanently.
Do I have to repay my health insurance from a settlement?
In most cases yes. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and hospitals hold subrogation or lien rights against injury recoveries. Those liens are frequently negotiable — sometimes substantially — and reducing them raises your net recovery dollar for dollar without any further negotiation with the insurer.
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General information, not legal advice. InjurySage is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation. Rules vary by state and change over time — verify anything deadline-critical with a licensed attorney in your state. Page updated August 2026.