Injured in a Car Accident? What to Do and What You Can Recover

Car accidents involving injuries can be disorienting. Understanding the necessary steps and your rights afterward is crucial for physical recovery and financial stability. This guide outlines key actions and legal considerations following such an event.

Immediate Notification and Medical Care

After a collision with injuries, prioritize safety. Check yourself, passengers, and occupants of other vehicles for injuries if it is safe. Avoid moving anyone with serious pain, bleeding, or unconsciousness unless there is immediate danger, such as fire. Wait for emergency responders.

Calling 911 is essential and often legally required for accidents involving injury or death. This dispatches police to document the incident and medical help if needed. An official police report provides an objective account of the scene. If law enforcement does not come to the scene, drivers might still need to file an accident report with the police or motor vehicle department within a specific timeframe.

Seek prompt medical evaluation, even if injuries seem minor. The shock of a crash can mask symptoms of conditions like whiplash, concussions, or internal injuries, which might appear hours or days later. Delaying treatment can worsen conditions. A medical examination creates a formal record linking injuries to the accident, which is vital for documenting the physical effects.

Collecting and Preserving Evidence

Once safety and medical needs are addressed, gather information about the accident. If possible, collect details at the scene. Use a smartphone or camera to take wide-angle photos showing vehicle positions relative to surroundings like traffic signs and road markings. Capture close-up images of vehicle damage, skid marks, road debris, and relevant conditions like wet pavement. Photographing visible injuries can also be part of this documentation.

Exchange contact and insurance information with other drivers involved, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and policy details. Record license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. If witnesses are present, obtain their names and contact information for an independent perspective. Note the exact date, time, location, and details about the sequence of events, weather, and visibility.

Preserving this evidence is critical. Safeguard photos, notes, and contact information. Keep the damaged vehicle in its post-accident state until inspected. Many vehicles have Event Data Recorders (EDRs), or “black boxes,” regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which record data like speed and braking before a crash. Preserving the vehicle allows potential retrieval of this data. Keep any damaged personal property from the vehicle as well.

Cooperation with Insurance

Interacting with insurance companies is necessary after an injury accident. You will likely communicate with your insurer and possibly the other driver’s insurer. Your policy includes a “cooperation clause” requiring you to assist your insurer’s investigation. This typically involves promptly reporting the accident and providing necessary details. Failure to cooperate could risk your coverage.

When reporting the accident or speaking with an adjuster from either company, provide factual information: policy numbers, names and contacts of involved parties and witnesses, vehicle details, the crash specifics (date, time, location), and descriptions of injuries and damage. Insurance companies use this to begin their investigation.

Adjusters investigate claims by reviewing police reports, interviewing parties and witnesses, examining vehicle damage, and potentially requesting medical records related to accident injuries. They may ask for a recorded statement. While your policy likely requires you to provide a statement to your own insurer, you are generally not obligated to give one to the other driver’s insurance company. Statements become part of the claim file.

The insurer’s investigation aims to understand the events, gather facts, evaluate the claim based on policy terms and laws, determine coverage, and protect against fraud. This process can take days, weeks, or longer, depending on the accident’s complexity.

Allocation of Fault

Determining responsibility for a car accident involves the legal concept of negligence: failing to exercise the care a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances. Drivers have a duty to operate vehicles safely, obeying traffic laws and paying attention to avoid foreseeable harm.

Fault is generally found when a driver breaches this duty through actions—or inaction—that fall below the standard of reasonable care, such as speeding, running a red light, or distracted driving. It must typically be shown that this breach directly caused the accident and resulting injuries. Violating traffic laws often indicates a breach of duty.

Accidents can involve negligence by more than one driver. Legal systems use different rules to allocate fault in such cases. A less common approach is contributory negligence, where an injured person even slightly at fault (e.g., 1%) may be barred from recovering any compensation.

Most states use comparative negligence, dividing fault based on each party’s degree of responsibility. In “pure” comparative negligence, recovery is possible even if mostly at fault, but the amount is reduced by the percentage of fault. In “modified” comparative negligence systems (common variants use 50% or 51% thresholds), recovery is barred if the injured party’s fault meets or exceeds that threshold. Below the threshold, recovery is reduced proportionally. The specific rule depends on the state where the accident occurred.

Types of Damages Recoverable

Individuals injured due to another’s actions in a car accident can generally recover compensatory damages, intended to cover losses suffered. The goal is to financially restore the injured party. These damages fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.

Economic damages cover specific, quantifiable monetary losses documented by bills or records. Examples include medical treatment costs (hospital stays, surgery, doctor visits, medication, physical therapy, medical equipment), lost income from time off work, and potentially loss of future earning capacity if injuries cause long-term disability. Costs to repair or replace the damaged vehicle and other property, plus related out-of-pocket expenses like transportation for medical care, are also included.

Non-economic damages compensate for intangible, subjective harms without a precise dollar value. Pain and suffering covers physical pain and discomfort. Emotional distress or mental anguish includes psychological impacts like anxiety, depression, or PTSD. Other examples are loss of enjoyment of life (diminished ability to participate in activities) and compensation for disfigurement or significant scarring. In some cases, damages for loss of consortium may address the negative impact on a marital relationship. Calculating non-economic damages is subjective, often based on injury severity or formulas related to economic losses.

Settlement and Lawsuit Options

Resolution after an injury accident typically involves negotiating a settlement or filing a lawsuit. Most claims are resolved through settlement, often directly with the at-fault party’s insurer. Negotiations may start with a demand letter outlining the accident, injuries, and compensation sought.

The insurance adjuster reviews the demand, leading to offers and counteroffers. If an agreement is reached, the injured party signs a settlement agreement, or release. This legally binding document details the terms and finalizes the claim, preventing further legal action related to that specific incident.

If settlement negotiations fail, the injured person can file a lawsuit by submitting legal documents, like a complaint, to the appropriate court. This outlines the claim against the defendant (allegedly at-fault party). Laws known as statutes of limitations set strict deadlines for filing personal injury lawsuits, typically starting from the injury date. Missing this deadline usually means losing the right to sue.

Even after a lawsuit begins, settlement remains possible. Litigation involves stages like discovery (exchanging information and evidence) and potential pre-trial motions. Negotiations often continue, sometimes aided by mediation. Many lawsuits settle before trial. If no settlement occurs, the case proceeds to trial, where a judge or jury decides liability and compensation.