If you were just in a crash in California, the next 24 hours will shape everything — your health, your insurance claim, and your legal rights. What you do right now (and what you avoid) determines how strong your position is weeks or months from now when it's time to settle or litigate.
We've recovered over $150,000,000 for injured people across Southern California. The cases that go sideways almost always trace back to the same early mistakes — things the injured person didn't know they were doing wrong in those first hours after the crash.
Here are the 10 steps that protect you.
At a glance — what to do in the first 24 hours:
- Move to safety and check everyone for injuries
- Call 911 and get a police report on record
- Photograph the scene, vehicles, and any visible injuries
- Exchange information without admitting fault or apologizing
- See a doctor the same day, even without obvious pain
- Report the accident to your own insurer — basic facts only
- Write down everything you remember while it's still fresh
- Save every receipt, bill, and document from day one
- Stay completely off social media about the crash
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer
1. Get to a Safe Spot and Check Everyone for Injuries
Move yourself and anyone else out of moving traffic before anything else. If the vehicles are driveable, pull to the shoulder or a nearby parking lot. Turn on your hazard lights. If someone is seriously injured, do not move them unless there is an immediate danger — moving a person with a spinal injury can worsen it.
California law requires drivers involved in an accident to stop at the scene and render reasonable assistance to anyone who appears to need medical attention under Cal. Veh. Code §20003. "Reasonable assistance" includes calling 911 — it does not mean you must perform medical procedures you're not trained for.
California law requires drivers to report any accident involving injury or death to law enforcement under Cal. Veh. Code §20008.
Takeaway: Safety first, always — but once you're out of danger, stop moving things around. The scene is evidence.
2. Call 911 and Request a Police Report
Call 911 immediately if anyone is injured, if there is significant property damage, or if another driver is uncooperative. Even for a crash that looks minor, a police report is one of the most valuable documents your attorney or insurer will ever see.
Under Cal. Veh. Code §20008, any driver involved in an accident that results in injury or death must report it to the California Highway Patrol or the police department of the city where the collision occurred within 24 hours. A responding officer documents the positions of the vehicles, gathers statements from all parties, notes weather and road conditions, and may cite the at-fault driver at the scene. That official record carries weight that your own account alone does not.
Additionally, under Cal. Veh. Code §16000, if the accident caused injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000, you must also file a written SR-1 report with the California DMV within 10 days.
Under Cal. Veh. Code §16000, you must file a written SR-1 report with the California DMV within 10 days if the accident caused injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000.
Takeaway: Get the report number from the responding officer before they leave — you'll need it when you call your insurer and when your attorney requests the full report.
3. Photograph the Scene, Vehicles, and Any Injuries
Start photographing before anything is moved. Your smartphone is the most powerful evidence-gathering tool at the scene. Use it.
Photograph: the final resting positions of all vehicles, every angle of damage to each car, skid marks or debris on the road, traffic signals and street signs, license plates, road surface conditions (wet, cracked, construction zones), and any visible injuries on yourself or passengers. If there are witnesses, photograph their faces and their contact information as a backup.
Evidence disappears fast. Vehicles get towed. Road debris gets swept. Skid marks fade. What you capture in those first minutes at the scene may be the only record of conditions that existed at the moment of impact. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses — which can sometimes capture the crash itself — is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours, so your attorney should be notified quickly if that evidence might exist.
Takeaway: More photos are always better than fewer — photograph everything, even things that seem irrelevant in the moment.
4. Exchange Information Without Discussing Fault
Get the other driver's information — and give yours — without saying anything about who caused the crash.
Cal. Veh. Code §16025 requires every driver involved in an accident to provide their name, current address, driver's license number, vehicle registration number, and evidence of financial responsibility (i.e., insurance information) to any other party involved. Failure to do so is a separate traffic violation.
California drivers must exchange driver's license number, vehicle registration, and insurance information under Cal. Veh. Code §16025; failure to do so is a separate traffic violation.
What you must not do during this exchange: apologize, say "I didn't see you," admit you were distracted, or speculate about what happened. California operates under a pure comparative fault rule established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975). Under that rule, your compensation is reduced in proportion to your share of fault. An apology at the scene — even a reflexive, well-intentioned one — can be treated as an admission and used to increase your assigned percentage of fault.
California's pure comparative fault rule, established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975), means anything you say at the scene or to an adjuster can be used to increase your share of fault and reduce your compensation.
Takeaway: Be polite, be cooperative on information exchange, and say nothing about what caused the accident.
5. See a Doctor Even If You Feel Okay
Go to a doctor the same day — even if you walked away from the crash feeling fine.
Adrenaline is a powerful painkiller. In the immediate aftermath of a collision, your body floods with it. Injuries that will dominate your life for weeks — whiplash (cervical soft-tissue damage), concussion (mild traumatic brain injury), herniated discs, soft-tissue tears — frequently produce no significant symptoms for 24 to 72 hours. By the time the pain arrives, the gap between the crash and your first medical record has already become a problem.
Injuries like whiplash and concussion can take 24 to 72 hours to produce symptoms, so seeing a doctor the same day as a crash — even without obvious pain — creates a medical record that ties your injuries directly to the accident.
Insurance adjusters are trained to argue that a delay in seeking care means the injury was not serious or was not caused by the accident. A same-day visit to an emergency room, urgent care, or your primary care physician creates a medical record that timestamps your injury to the crash. That record is the foundation of your medical damages.
If you were injured at work in a vehicle accident — for example, as a delivery driver or a tradesperson driving between job sites — your injury may also trigger a workers' compensation claim in addition to any personal injury claim. The intersection of those two claims requires careful handling from the start.
Takeaway: A same-day doctor visit is not an overreaction — it is the single most important documentation step you will take.
6. Report the Accident to Your Own Insurer
Notify your own insurance company within 24 hours — but keep it factual and brief.
Most California auto insurance policies include a cooperation clause that requires you to promptly report any accident. Failing to report can create a technical basis for the insurer to complicate or delay your own coverage, including your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and any medical payments (MedPay) coverage you carry.
When you call, report the basic facts: date, time, location, and the other driver's information. Do not speculate about fault. Do not describe your injuries in detail until you have a medical evaluation. Do not agree to give a recorded statement to your own insurer without first understanding your policy — and, if the other driver is disputing fault, without speaking to an attorney.
Takeaway: Report the accident to your insurer promptly, but treat the call as a notification — not a deposition.
7. Write Down Everything You Remember While It's Fresh
Sit down within a few hours of the crash and write a detailed account — by hand or by voice memo — of everything you remember.
Human memory is reconstructive, not recorded. Research in cognitive science has consistently shown that details of traumatic events change significantly within the first 24 hours and continue to shift over time. The account you write today — while the shock is still sharp — is more accurate and more useful to your attorney than what you'll remember three months from now.
Include: how the crash happened step by step, what the other driver said at the scene, road and weather conditions at the time of impact, the speed of both vehicles to the best of your estimate, where each vehicle was traveling, what you were doing immediately before the collision, and the names and contact information of any witnesses you spoke to. Note every physical symptom you feel, even minor ones — headache, neck stiffness, lower back tightness — with the exact time you noticed them.
Takeaway: Write your account before you sleep. Once you've slept, your brain will have already begun filling in gaps with assumptions.
8. Keep Every Receipt and Document from Day One
Start a dedicated folder — physical or digital — and put every accident-related document in it from the moment you leave the scene.
California law allows injured parties in a personal injury claim to recover economic damages including medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage costs. Every one of those categories requires documentation. What you throw away or fail to track today is compensation you cannot recover later.
Save: emergency room bills, pharmacy receipts, physical therapy invoices, rideshare or taxi receipts from when your car was out of service, rental car contracts, repair estimates, pay stubs showing time missed from work, and any written communications from insurers. If you had to pay for childcare because you couldn't drive, document that too.
For an overview of what California personal injury claims typically cover, visit our personal injury practice area page.
Takeaway: Treat every receipt as money — because under California law, it is.
9. Stay Off Social Media About the Crash
Do not post anything about the accident on any social media platform — not photos, not updates, not a vague "had a rough day."
Insurance defense teams and opposing attorneys routinely monitor social media after accidents. Under California's discovery rules, your public posts — and sometimes even private posts, depending on the circumstances — can be subpoenaed. A photo of you at a family event two weeks after the crash, even if you're smiling through genuine pain, will be used to argue you're not as hurt as you claim. A comment about the accident itself may be used against you on fault.
This applies to all platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Nextdoor, and private group chats on platforms where screenshots exist. Ask your family members to follow the same rule.
Takeaway: The safest post is no post. Stay off social media about the crash until your claim is fully resolved.
10. Avoid Giving a Recorded Statement Before Getting Advice
Do not agree to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company — at least not before speaking with an attorney.
You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company, and doing so without legal advice can seriously damage your claim.
The other driver's insurer is not on your side. Their adjuster's job is to resolve your claim for as little money as possible. A recorded statement is a tool they use to lock you into an account of events before you have complete medical information about your own injuries, before you've reviewed the police report, and before you understand the full value of your claim.
Adjusters are trained to ask questions that seem straightforward but are designed to elicit minimizing answers. "On a scale of one to ten, how is your pain right now?" "Were you able to drive your car away from the scene?" "Have you had any prior injuries to that area?" Answers you give in that first phone call — when you're still shaken, medically unevaluated, and unrepresented — follow your claim to the end.
You are under no legal obligation to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. Politely decline, note the date and time of their call, and consult with an attorney before deciding how to proceed.
Takeaway: One phone call with an attorney before a recorded statement costs nothing and can protect everything.
Get a Free Case Review Before You Decide Anything Else
The first 24 hours matter more than most people realize. Every step above — from the police report to the doctor visit to staying off social media — builds the foundation of your claim. Getting one step wrong can reduce what you're entitled to recover.
If you were hurt in a California accident, call (818) 794-9947 for a free consultation. We handle personal injury and workers' comp claims across Southern California. No fee unless we win — ever. If you can't come to us, we come to you.
Or schedule a free case evaluation online — available in English and Spanish.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do in the first 24 hours after an accident?
In the first 24 hours after a California accident, you should: move to safety, call 911, photograph the scene, exchange information without discussing fault, see a doctor the same day, report the accident to your own insurer, write down your detailed account of events, save every document and receipt, stay off social media, and decline to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer without legal advice.
How soon should I see a doctor after a crash?
You should see a doctor the same day as the crash, even if you feel fine. Whiplash, concussion, and soft-tissue injuries commonly take 24 to 72 hours to produce noticeable symptoms. A same-day medical visit creates a record that directly ties your injuries to the accident — a gap in that record is one of the most common arguments insurers use to minimize claims.
When do I need to report a car accident in California?
Under Cal. Veh. Code §20008, you must report a collision involving injury or death to law enforcement within 24 hours. Under Cal. Veh. Code §16000, if the accident caused injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000, you must file a written SR-1 report with the California DMV within 10 days.
What should I not do after an accident?
Do not admit fault or apologize at the scene. Do not discuss the crash on social media. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer without first speaking with an attorney. Do not skip the doctor visit because you "feel okay." Do not throw away any receipts, bills, or documents related to the accident.
Do I have to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company?
No. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Politely decline and speak with an attorney first. The other insurer's adjuster is working to minimize what they pay — a recorded statement taken before you have complete medical information and legal guidance frequently results in statements being used to dispute or reduce your claim.
What information do I legally have to exchange after a California accident?
Under Cal. Veh. Code §16025, California drivers must exchange their name, current address, driver's license number, vehicle registration number, and proof of insurance with any other party involved in the accident. Failure to provide this information is a separate traffic violation.
Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault?
Yes. California follows a pure comparative fault rule established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975). Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still recover even if you were significantly at fault. This is one reason why what you say at the scene and to adjusters matters — any statement that increases your assigned percentage of fault directly reduces your recovery.
What if my accident happened while I was on the job?
If you were injured in a vehicle accident while performing work duties — for example, as a delivery driver, rideshare driver, or contractor traveling between job sites — your injury may qualify for both a workers' compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. These two claims interact in important ways, including subrogation rights. Speak with an attorney who handles both practice areas before making any decisions about how to proceed.
Reviewed by Minas Nordanyan, CA Bar #296806 — Nordanyan Law, Van Nuys, California. Last reviewed July 2026.