What to do after a car accident

Check yourself and everyone else for injuries before anything else, then move to a safe spot if the vehicles are creating a hazard. Call 911 — even for a minor crash, having an officer document it creates the neutral, on-the-record account your claim will later depend on.

While you wait, photograph everything: both vehicles and their positions, the damage from several angles, the road, traffic signals and signs, skid marks, debris, and any visible injuries. Exchange names, phone numbers, insurance details, and license plates with the other driver, and get the names and numbers of any witnesses before they leave. Write down the time, the weather, and exactly how it happened while it is fresh.

What you should not do matters just as much: do not apologize, do not admit fault, and do not speculate about what happened. A simple "I’m sorry" can later be treated as an admission of liability, even when the crash was not your fault.

Whiplash, concussions, and soft-tissue damage routinely take hours or days to surface. A prompt medical visit protects your health first, and it also creates a record dated to the accident that ties your injuries to the crash. If new symptoms appear later, go back — and keep every bill, every discharge note, and every prescription.

In the same window, report the crash to your own insurance company. Most policies require prompt notice, and reporting it is not the same as admitting fault. Stick to the facts: when, where, and what happened. If the other driver’s insurer calls, you are not required to give them a recorded statement, and it is reasonable to decline until you have had time to think or to speak with an attorney.

Start a simple file — physical or digital — for everything connected to the crash: the police report number, photos, medical records, repair estimates, a log of missed work, and notes from every phone call including who you spoke with and when. This file is what makes a claim straightforward later.

A quick settlement offer often arrives before you know the full extent of your injuries. Once you accept and sign a release, the claim is closed — if a problem surfaces months later, you generally cannot reopen it. There is no obligation to accept a first offer, and there is no deadline that forces you to.

Be careful with recorded statements and broad medical authorizations. An adjuster may ask for a recorded account of the crash or sign-off to pull your entire medical history; both can be used to argue your injuries pre-dated the accident. You can decline a recorded statement, and you can limit a medical release to records relevant to this crash.

Keep your communication factual and in writing where you can. You do not have to guess, speculate, or fill silences. If the conversation starts to feel like a negotiation you are not equipped for, that is a reasonable point to bring in a personal injury attorney — most work on contingency, meaning they are paid only if they recover money for you.

Miss the statute of limitations and you usually lose the right to recover, no matter how strong your case. In South Carolina the deadline is generally three years from the date of the accident, but some situations carry shorter deadlines, so it is worth confirming the one that applies to your specific accident early rather than late.

Fault rules vary too. South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule: as long as you were 50% or less responsible for the crash, you can still recover — your compensation is just reduced by your share of the fault. That means even a crash that was partly your fault may still be worth having reviewed.

A claim can include more than vehicle damage: medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Understanding what your claim could actually cover is what stops people from settling for the property-damage figure alone and walking away from the rest.

The report is the officer’s neutral account of the crash: who was involved, where and how it happened, road and lighting conditions, and a diagram. To get a copy you have to know which form to file, which agency to contact, and pay a release fee — all while you are still trying to recover.

This is where AccidentBureau comes in. You tell us a few details about your accident; our team requests your official report from the right agency, covers the release fee ourselves, and emails the report to you. It is free for accident victims, with no obligation.