This car accident FAQ walks through what to do after a collision, from the first minutes at the scene through insurance claims, fault disputes, settlement taxes, and the deadline to sue. The decisions you make in the first hours tend to shape the outcome more than anything that happens later, so the order of the answers below roughly tracks the order you’ll face them.
What Should I Do in the First Minutes After a Crash?
Check yourself and your passengers for injuries first. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or if the vehicles are blocking traffic. When a crash is minor and everyone can move safely, most states want you to pull to the shoulder or a nearby lot so you don’t cause a second collision. If someone is seriously injured, leave the vehicles where they are and wait for responders.
Stay at the scene. Every state requires drivers in a crash to remain until information is exchanged and, when police respond, until officers release them. Leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries is a criminal offense everywhere in the country, and leaving a property-damage-only scene can still bring misdemeanor charges. If the other driver takes off, write down as much of the vehicle description and plate as you caught.
Do not discuss fault. Saying “I’m sorry” or “I didn’t see you” comes out naturally, but adjusters and opposing attorneys can use those statements to shift blame onto you. Stick to facts when you talk with the other driver and with police: the lane you were in, where you were headed, what you observed. If you don’t know something, say so instead of guessing.
What Information Should I Collect at the Scene?
Treat the next ten minutes like reporting a story. Get names, phone numbers, insurance carrier names, and policy numbers from every driver involved. Note driver’s license numbers, and record the make, model, color, and plate of each vehicle. If you can see the VIN on the dashboard or door jamb, record that too.
Witnesses matter more than most people expect. A bystander who saw the other driver run a red light can decide a disputed claim. Collect names and phone numbers from anyone who stopped or watched. Their accounts give a neutral perspective that carries real weight with adjusters and, if it goes that far, juries.
Use your phone camera heavily. Photograph where the vehicles came to rest from several angles, close-ups of all damage, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, road signs, and visible injuries. Wide shots of the intersection or road layout help reconstruct what happened. Weather, time of day, and road surface all matter, so capture the general environment before anything moves. Evidence disappears quickly once tow trucks arrive.
If officers respond, write down each officer’s name and badge number, and ask how to get a copy of the accident report. That report becomes a key piece of evidence in the insurance investigation, and you’ll need the report number to request it from the local police department or state agency.
Do I Need to See a Doctor Even if I Feel Fine?
Yes. Adrenaline masks pain. People walk away from crashes feeling fine, then wake two days later unable to turn their neck. Whiplash symptoms commonly surface 24 to 48 hours later. Concussion signs can develop gradually, starting with headaches and progressing to light sensitivity, balance problems, and trouble concentrating. Back injuries from compressed vertebrae or herniated discs follow a similar delayed pattern, and internal bleeding can worsen silently as pressure builds.
There is also a paper-trail reason to go quickly. Insurance companies look for gaps between the crash date and the first medical visit. If you wait two weeks, the adjuster will argue your injuries either aren’t serious or weren’t caused by the collision. Records generated within a day or two of the crash are far harder to dismiss, and they establish a baseline that supports future treatment if the condition worsens.
Who Do I Have to Report the Accident To?
Every state requires drivers to report crashes involving injuries or property damage above a dollar threshold, generally between $500 and $1,500 depending on the state. Reports typically go to the state DMV, the state police, or both. Many states now take online submissions, and mail-in forms remain available.
Deadlines vary but commonly fall within ten days of the crash. Missing one can bring a license suspension or fines, and the penalties tend to be stiffer when injuries are involved. Once your report is processed, you’ll get a confirmation or report number proving you met the requirement.
You also have to notify your own insurer. Most policies require you to report within a “reasonable time,” and some specify 30 or 60 days. In no-fault states, missing your insurer’s deadline can cost you your Personal Injury Protection benefits entirely. Report the crash even if you believe the other driver was completely at fault. Failing to do so can give your carrier grounds to deny coverage if the claim later escalates.
How Is Fault Decided?
Adjusters and courts determine fault by asking whether a driver failed to exercise reasonable care. This is the legal concept of negligence. Running a red light, following too closely, texting, or speeding all fall below the standard every driver owes to others on the road. When one driver’s negligence causes the crash, that driver is legally responsible for the resulting losses.
The police report is usually the starting point. Adjusters review the officer’s narrative, any citations, and the crash diagram to form an initial liability opinion. The report isn’t the final word in a civil case, but it carries serious weight in early negotiations.
Dashcams, EDRs, and Phone Records
Dashcam footage has become one of the most effective tools for settling fault disputes, often resolving arguments about light colors or lane changes in seconds. Most modern vehicles also contain an Event Data Recorder that captures speed, brake application, and steering input for the few seconds around a crash.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Event Data Recorder Federal rules require vehicles equipped with an EDR to record specified data elements, and the owner’s manual must disclose the EDR.2Legal Information Institute. 49 CFR Part 563 – Event Data Recorders Either side in a dispute can seek access to that data.
Phone records are a growing source of evidence. If witnesses or early investigation suggest a driver was on their phone, an attorney can subpoena call logs, text timestamps, and app usage from the carrier. Those records build a timeline that can prove distraction. File subpoenas early, because carriers don’t keep records indefinitely.
What if I’m Partly to Blame?
Crashes are rarely 100 percent one driver’s fault. Most states use comparative negligence, which reduces your compensation by your share of blame. If you’re 20 percent at fault and your damages are $50,000, you recover $40,000.
The rules depend on where the crash happened. Roughly a dozen states follow pure comparative negligence, which lets you recover something even if you were mostly at fault. About 33 use a modified system that cuts you off once your fault reaches 50 or 51 percent, depending on the state. A handful still follow contributory negligence, which bars recovery entirely if you bear any fault at all, even one percent. Which system applies determines whether a partial-fault situation is worth pursuing.
What Can I Actually Recover?
If someone else’s negligence caused the crash, you’re entitled to compensation for the resulting losses. Those fall into two categories, plus property damage.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the costs you can put a dollar figure on: emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, and other medical expenses tied to the crash. Lost wages count too, calculated from your normal pay rate for the time you couldn’t work. If your injuries reduce your future earning capacity, that projected loss is also recoverable. Documentation drives the number: medical bills, pay stubs, employer statements.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages cover the harm that doesn’t come with a receipt: pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, and emotional distress tied to a physical injury. These amounts are subjective. Attorneys and insurers often calculate them with a multiplier applied to total economic damages, or a daily rate across the recovery period. Some states cap non-economic damages, particularly in cases against government defendants or in medical malpractice, so the maximum available depends on the jurisdiction.
Property Damage and Diminished Value
Property damage recovery covers vehicle repairs and personal belongings damaged in the crash. If repair costs exceed the vehicle’s pre-accident market value, the insurer declares a total loss and pays actual cash value based on comparable sales in your area, not what you owe on your loan.
Even a fully repaired vehicle loses market value because the accident now shows on its history report. This is diminished value, and in almost every state you can claim it against the at-fault driver’s insurer. The claim tends to be strongest when the vehicle is relatively new, had a high pre-accident value, and sustained significant damage. You generally cannot file a diminished value claim against your own insurer, and you cannot file one if you were the at-fault driver.
Getting Your Deductible Back
If you file through your own collision coverage and pay a deductible, your insurer may pursue the at-fault driver’s carrier to recover what it paid out. That process is called subrogation. When it succeeds, you can get some or all of your deductible back. The timeline sometimes stretches a year or longer, and the amount depends on the fault split. If anyone asks you to sign a waiver of subrogation after a crash, understand that doing so gives up your insurer’s right to recover on your behalf, which likely means your deductible stays gone.
What if the Other Driver Has No Insurance or Not Enough?
Roughly one in seven drivers on U.S. roads carries no auto insurance. Getting hit by one of them doesn’t have to be financially devastating if your own policy includes uninsured motorist coverage. It pays for your injuries and, in some policies, your vehicle damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or can’t be identified, as in a hit-and-run.
Underinsured motorist coverage fills a different gap. When the at-fault driver has insurance but the policy limits don’t cover your losses, your underinsured motorist coverage makes up the difference, up to your own limit. If you carry only the state minimum, the math can work out to zero additional benefit, so higher limits are worth considering. Some states require one or both of these coverages; others make them optional but require insurers to offer them. Check your declarations page to see what you actually have, because this is the coverage that matters most when things go wrong.
Will I Owe Taxes on My Settlement?
Not all settlement money is treated the same by the IRS. Compensation for physical injuries or physical sickness is excluded from gross income, whether paid as a lump sum or in installments.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness That covers medical expense reimbursement, pain and suffering tied to a physical injury, and related emotional distress. You don’t report those amounts on your return.
Several categories are taxable, however:
- Punitive damages are always taxable, regardless of whether they relate to a physical injury.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
- Settlement funds replacing lost wages are taxed as ordinary income, even inside a personal injury case.5Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments
- Interest that accrues on a settlement, whether held in escrow or after judgment, is taxable.
- Emotional distress not tied to a physical injury is not treated as a physical injury under the tax code. You can exclude only the portion reimbursing actual medical expenses for treating that distress.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness
- If you deducted medical expenses on a prior return and your settlement later reimburses those same costs, the reimbursed amount is taxable up to what you deducted.
How a settlement agreement allocates money between categories matters. The IRS generally respects a written allocation across physical injury, lost wages, and other categories as long as both parties intended the breakdown. If the settlement is large enough to trigger tax consequences, getting the allocation right before you sign is worth a tax professional’s review.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit?
Every state sets a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit after a crash. Miss it and you lose the right to sue, no matter how strong the case. These deadlines typically run two to four years from the crash, though a few states allow as little as one. Property damage claims sometimes have a different deadline than personal injury claims in the same state.
Some circumstances pause or extend the clock. If the injured person is a minor, most states don’t start the limitations period until they turn 18. If the at-fault driver left the state or can’t be located, some states toll the deadline during that absence. These exceptions are narrow and fact-specific. Treat the standard deadline as firm and consult an attorney well before it approaches. Filing an insurance claim does not pause or satisfy the statute of limitations for a lawsuit. They are separate processes with separate deadlines.