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What to Do After a Car Accident in California

Nobody reads a checklist while standing on a freeway shoulder. This one is written to be useful on day two, when the adrenaline has worn off, your neck hurts more than it did, and you are trying to work out what you were supposed to have done. Two items here are legal obligations under California law, not advice, and they both have deadlines measured in days.

9 minute read · Last reviewed October 8, 2026

At the scene

  1. Get to safety first. If the cars are drivable and you are blocking lanes, Vehicle Code section 20002 contemplates moving vehicles out of traffic. Your safety beats preserving the exact resting position, and photographs taken before you move are the compromise.
  2. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, if anyone is impaired, or if a vehicle is disabled. Ask for paramedics if there is any question at all about an injury.
  3. Do not apologize or discuss fault. Not because it is dishonest, but because people say 'I'm sorry' reflexively and it gets quoted back as an admission. Exchange information and describe what happened to the officer, not to the other driver.
  4. Exchange what the law requires: name, address, vehicle registration information and insurance details. Photograph the other driver's license and insurance card rather than copying numbers by hand.
  5. Ask whether the other driver was working. A delivery driver, a contractor on a job, or a rideshare driver on an active trip may bring commercial coverage with far higher limits. Photograph any company name, placard or DOT number on the vehicle.
  6. Get witness names and phone numbers yourself. Police reports routinely list fewer witnesses than were actually present, and a witness who leaves is usually gone for good.

Report an injury crash within 24 hours

Vehicle Code section 20008 requires a written report to the CHP or the local police department within 24 hours when anyone is injured, however slightly. If officers responded and took a report at the scene, that generally satisfies it. If nobody came out, which happens often in minor-looking collisions, this is on you.

File the DMV SR-1 within 10 days

This is the one almost nobody knows about. California requires an SR-1 report to the DMV within 10 days whenever a crash involves any injury or death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. It applies even if police already took a report, even if you were not at fault, and even if you do not intend to make a claim. Failing to file can put your driving privilege at risk. The form is available on the DMV website, and either driver's failure to file does not excuse yours.

The first 48 hours

  1. Get examined, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks injury for a day or two, and soft tissue injuries and concussions commonly present later. An examination on day one also closes off the argument that something other than the crash caused your symptoms.
  2. Describe the mechanism accurately to the provider: the direction of impact, whether you saw it coming, whether you braced, whether you hit anything inside the car, and whether you lost consciousness even briefly. These details drive both treatment and the claim.
  3. Report concussion symptoms specifically. Headache, light sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, word-finding trouble, irritability and sleep disruption are the symptoms most often omitted from records and most often disputed later.
  4. Notify your own insurer. Your policy requires cooperation with your own company. That is a different thing from giving a statement to the other driver's company.
  5. Start a notebook. Date, pain level, what you could not do, appointments, missed work, and who called you. A contemporaneous record written at the time is far more credible than a recollection assembled a year later.
  6. Keep everything. Discharge paperwork, prescriptions, receipts, mileage to appointments, the tow bill, the rental agreement.

What not to do

  • Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. You are not required to, and its purpose is to lock in your words before you know your diagnosis.
  • Do not sign a broad medical authorization. A blanket release hands over your entire medical history rather than the records relevant to this crash.
  • Do not accept a quick settlement. Early offers arrive before the MRI does, and a release ends the claim permanently, including for an injury diagnosed next month.
  • Do not post about it. A photo of you at a party becomes proof you are fine, with no context about what it cost you the next day.
  • Do not let gaps open in treatment. Six weeks without an appointment becomes an argument that you recovered six weeks ago. If you cannot afford care or cannot get time off, say so, so it is documented.
  • Do not repair or release your vehicle if liability is disputed. Modern cars store speed, braking and seat belt data in an event data recorder, and repair or salvage usually destroys it.

The deadlines that follow

  • Two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1).
  • Three years for property damage (CCP 338).
  • Six months to file a written administrative claim against a public entity (Government Code 911.2), which covers city vehicles, transit buses, dangerous roadway conditions and government employees driving on the job.
  • Two years, with specific requirements, for an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim against your own insurer: within that period you must sue the at-fault driver, agree with your insurer on the amount, or formally demand arbitration. Ongoing negotiation does not count.
  • For an injured child, the two-year clock is generally tolled until the 18th birthday (CCP 352), though public entity deadlines still apply.

None of these are reasons to wait. Evidence disappears far faster than the deadlines run: surveillance video is commonly overwritten in 14 to 30 days, skid marks wash away, vehicles get repaired, and witnesses change numbers.

Reviewed October 2026. General information about California law, not legal advice. Statutes and case law change; confirm anything you intend to rely on.

Questions people actually ask

Do I have to file an SR-1 if the accident was not my fault?

Yes. The DMV reporting requirement does not depend on fault. It applies whenever there was any injury or death, or more than $1,000 in property damage, and it is due within 10 days even if police already took a report at the scene.

The police did not come out. Does that hurt my claim?

It removes one useful document, and it makes your own evidence more important: photographs, witness contact information and prompt medical care. It also means the 24-hour injury report under Vehicle Code 20008 is your responsibility rather than something the officer handled.

How long do I have to see a doctor?

Legally there is no deadline, but practically the sooner the better, ideally within a day or two. A gap between the crash and the first examination is the most common argument an insurer makes against causation, and it is entirely avoidable.

Should I talk to the other driver's insurance company at all?

You can confirm who you are and that you were involved. You do not have to give a recorded statement, speculate about fault, estimate your injuries before being examined, or agree to anything. Saying you will follow up after speaking with a lawyer is a complete and reasonable answer.

Tell us what happened. We will tell you where you stand.

The review is free, there is no obligation, and if you do not have a claim worth pursuing we will say so. If you do, we will explain the deadlines that apply to you and what happens next.

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