After a car accident, get appropriate medical care, preserve evidence, and respond carefully to insurance requests. Before accepting a settlement, understand your injuries, your losses, and which claims you would give up.
Put Safety and Medical Care First
If the accident just happened, call 911 if anyone needs emergency help. Do not put yourself or others at risk to take photographs or collect information.
Seek medical care for your injuries. Tell your providers how the accident happened, when your symptoms began, and what activities are difficult. Describe any prior symptoms accurately and explain what changed after the accident.
Follow your providers’ treatment recommendations. If new symptoms develop or existing symptoms worsen, contact your provider. If cost, transportation, or scheduling makes it difficult to attend treatment, tell your provider and ask about available options.
Report the Accident
An emergency call, a police report, and a DMV report serve different purposes. For a nonemergency, contact the appropriate police agency to report the accident and ask whether an officer will respond. If police investigate, keep the report number.
Vermont requires the driver to submit a written report to DMV within 72 hours if anyone is injured or total property damage is $3,000 or more. Do not assume that calling police or having an officer investigate replaces this separate driver-reporting obligation. Use DMV’s Operator Crash Report form and keep a copy.
Preserve Evidence and Keep Your Records Together
If you can do so safely, photograph the vehicles, visible damage, road conditions, traffic signs, and the surrounding scene. Collect the other driver’s contact and insurance information, along with witnesses’ names and contact information.
If you already left the scene, save the information you have.
Keep these records together:
Accident photographs, videos, and witness information.
Any police report or report number.
Medical records, bills, and treatment-related receipts.
Work restrictions, missed-work dates, and income records.
Insurance letters, emails, claim numbers, and settlement offers.
Preserve original photographs, videos, and messages. Keep a dated record of conversations with adjusters, including who you spoke with and what was discussed.
Document How Your Injuries Affect You
Keep brief, dated notes about symptoms and limitations caused or worsened by the accident. Describe what changed, including difficulties sleeping, driving, working, or caring for your family.
Record both improvements and setbacks accurately. Keep track of time missed from work and any changes to your duties or hours. These details are easier to document as they happen than to reconstruct months later.
Notify Your Insurer and Respond to Requests
Notify your own insurer promptly and review your policy’s reporting and cooperation requirements. Do not assume that reporting the accident to the other driver’s insurer satisfies your own policy obligations.
Give accurate information. If you do not know an answer, say so rather than guessing. Keep copies of documents you submit and ask for clarification when you do not understand a request.
Recorded Statements: Know Which Insurer Is Asking
Get legal advice before giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.
Do not ignore requests from your own insurer. Your policy may require cooperation, including providing a statement. If you are unsure what is required, seek advice promptly so you can respond and meet your policy obligations.
Review Documents Before Signing
Read insurance forms carefully. A medical authorization, a property-damage settlement, and a release of an injury claim serve different purposes. Do not assume a document concerns only vehicle repairs because that is what you discussed with the adjuster.
If you do not understand what a document authorizes or which claims it resolves, ask for an explanation and get legal advice before signing.
Do Not Rush a Settlement Decision
Bills and missed income can make a quick settlement appealing. But if you are still receiving treatment or do not know when you can return to work, you may not yet understand the full extent of your losses.
Before accepting an offer, understand your injuries, any additional treatment you may need, and your lost income. Understand which claims the proposed release would give up.
Get Help If You Are Unsure What to Do Next
You can speak with a lawyer while you are still receiving treatment. You do not have to wait for a denied claim or a settlement offer.
During an initial call, I can discuss whether I may be able to assist, what information I need to review, and the next steps. Have the accident date, insurance correspondence, and basic treatment information nearby if available, but you do not need every record before calling.
For more about when legal help may be useful, read my related blog, Do I Need a Lawyer After a Car Accident in Vermont?
Injured in a Car Accident in Vermont?
No fee unless we win: You pay no attorney’s fee unless I recover compensation for you through a settlement or judgment.
Call me at (802) 556-3582 for a free consultation to discuss your case.
This blog is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every car accident claim depends on its facts, medical evidence, insurance coverage, and applicable deadlines. If you need advice about your particular situation, you should consult an attorney.
