What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Car Accident

A car accident is disorienting. In the immediate aftermath, shock, adrenaline, and confusion make it difficult to think clearly — yet the first 24 hours are among the most consequential for both your health and any legal claim that may follow. What you do at the scene, how quickly you seek medical care, and how you communicate with insurance companies can all affect what you recover.

Step 1–6: At the Scene

1. Check for injuries — yours and everyone else's

Before anything else, assess yourself and everyone in your vehicle for injuries. Do not move someone who may have a neck or spinal injury unless they are in immediate danger from fire or traffic. If anyone is injured, call 911 immediately and request both emergency medical services and police. Even if injuries are not immediately obvious, having emergency services respond creates a contemporaneous record of the collision and the conditions at the scene.

2. Move to safety if the vehicle is operable

California law — specifically Cal. Veh. Code § 20002 — requires drivers involved in collisions to stop. However, if the accident is minor, vehicles are operable, and it is safe to do so, California Vehicle Code provisions and CHP guidance encourage drivers to move vehicles to the shoulder or a safe nearby location to prevent secondary collisions. Turn on hazard lights immediately. If you have emergency flares or warning triangles, deploy them at safe distances behind the vehicle to warn approaching traffic.

3. Call 911 and report the collision

Even for accidents that appear minor, calling police to the scene is advisable. A police report documents the collision — the parties involved, the vehicles, the location, the time, and the reporting officer's observations about the scene. This report is a critical piece of evidence in any subsequent insurance claim or personal injury case. It may also document any signs of impairment by the other driver, traffic violations, or other circumstances relevant to fault.

California law requires that any accident resulting in injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000 be reported to the California DMV within 10 days using form SR-1. The police report does not satisfy this requirement — you or your attorney must file the SR-1 separately.

4. Exchange information with the other driver

California law requires drivers involved in a collision to exchange certain information. Collect — and provide — the following:

• Full legal name and current address
• Driver's license number and state of issue
• Vehicle registration information
• Auto insurance company name and policy number
• Vehicle make, model, color, and license plate number

Do not discuss fault at the scene. Avoid statements like "I'm sorry" or "I didn't see you" — these can be characterized as admissions of responsibility even when made out of reflex or courtesy. Provide factual information only.

5. Document the scene thoroughly

Use your phone to photograph and video the scene before vehicles are moved, if possible. Document:

• All vehicles involved — every panel, from multiple angles
• The point of impact and the final resting position of the vehicles
• Skid marks, debris, fluid pools, and road markings
• Traffic signals, stop signs, speed limit signs, and lane markings
• Road conditions — wet pavement, potholes, construction zones
• Visibility conditions — time of day, weather, sun angle
• Your visible injuries, and those of other occupants if they consent

6. Collect witness information

Anyone who saw the crash or the events immediately leading to it is a potential witness. Collect full names, phone numbers, and email addresses. Ask if any bystanders have dashcam footage, phone video, or other recordings of the collision. Witnesses who observed the other driver's behavior before the crash — erratic driving, running a signal — may be critical to establishing liability.

Step 7: Medical Care — Even if You Feel Fine

This is the step most frequently regretted by accident victims who skip it. Many of the most serious injuries resulting from vehicle collisions do not produce obvious pain immediately after the crash. Adrenaline and shock mask symptoms. The effects of whiplash, concussion, herniated discs, and soft-tissue injuries may not be apparent for hours or days. Internal injuries can be life-threatening and completely painless in the immediate aftermath of trauma.

Seeking medical evaluation within 24 hours of the accident — at an emergency room, urgent care center, or primary care physician — serves two critical purposes. First, it ensures that any injury is identified and treated promptly, preventing complications. Second, it creates a medical record directly linking the crash to any injuries that emerge. A gap of days or weeks between the accident and first medical contact gives insurance adjusters a powerful argument that any injury was not caused by the crash.

At your medical evaluation, describe the crash mechanism in detail — the direction of impact, the speed involved, whether airbags deployed, and any symptoms you are experiencing no matter how minor they seem. Keep copies of all records, imaging results, and treatment notes from every subsequent visit.

Step 8: Notifying Your Insurance Company

Most auto insurance policies require prompt reporting of any accident. Contact your own insurer on the day of the accident or the next morning and provide a factual account — the time, location, parties involved, and a description of what occurred. Your cooperation obligation runs to your own insurer.

If the other driver's insurance company calls — which frequently happens within 24 to 48 hours of the crash — you are not required to provide a recorded statement. Insurance adjusters for the at-fault driver's insurer represent the interests of that insurer, not yours. Questions in recorded statements are often phrased in ways designed to minimize injury severity or assign partial fault. You may tell the adjuster you are consulting an attorney and decline to provide a recorded statement at that time.

Documentation After You Leave the Scene

The documentation process does not end when you leave the accident scene. In the first 24 hours after a crash, consider the following additional steps:

• Write down everything you remember. Your memory of the details — the sequence of events, what the other driver said, the exact words of any witnesses — will fade quickly. Write a detailed account while your recollection is fresh and store it somewhere safe.
• Photograph your injuries again. Bruising, swelling, and soft-tissue injuries often become more visible and dramatic in the hours following a crash. Photograph your injuries at 24 and 48 hours post-crash to capture their full extent.
• Preserve your damaged vehicle. Do not authorize repairs without first ensuring your attorney and your insurer have an opportunity to inspect the vehicle. Vehicle damage pattern is important evidence in reconstructing the collision mechanics.
• Save all records and receipts. Keep every piece of paper connected to the accident — medical bills, prescription receipts, rental car agreements, towing invoices, repair estimates, and any out-of-pocket expense you incur as a result of the crash.

What Not to Do in the First 24 Hours

Equally important as the actions above are the things to avoid in the hours after an accident:

• Do not post about the accident on social media. Insurance companies and defense attorneys regularly monitor social media accounts of accident claimants. Photos, comments, or check-ins that suggest you are less injured than claimed can be used to undermine your case.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the adverse insurer without legal guidance. As described above, this carries significant risk of undermining your claim.
• Do not accept a quick settlement offer. Insurance companies sometimes make fast, low settlement offers in the days immediately following an accident, before the full extent of injuries is known. Accepting such an offer typically requires signing a release of all claims. Once signed, no additional recovery is available — even if injuries prove more serious than initially apparent.
• Do not delay medical care. Every day that passes without a medical record connecting your injury to the crash is a day the adverse insurer will point to as evidence the injury was not serious or was not caused by the accident.

California Legal Deadlines to Know

Understanding California's legal deadlines is important even in the days immediately following a crash, because certain deadlines — particularly those involving government entities — are very short.

If the at-fault driver was operating a government vehicle — a city bus, a county vehicle, a state agency vehicle — or if a government entity's road maintenance contributed to the crash, a government tort claim must be filed with the appropriate entity within six months of the date of the injury. This is a dramatically shorter deadline than the two-year period for private defendants and must be taken seriously from the first day after the crash.

The SR-1 vehicle accident report to the California DMV is due within 10 days of any accident involving injury, death, or property damage over $1,000.