What To Do After a Car Crash [Video Guide]

A car crash can happen in seconds. The decisions you make right after can affect your health, your finances, and your legal rights for months. In these moments, taking the correct action at the scene and the days that follow protects your claim and builds a stronger case. Knowing what to do after a car crash puts you in a far better position when timing and strategy matter.

What To Do After a Car Crash: Steps at the Scene

Get clear of traffic. Then call 911. Reporting an accident is required by South Carolina law, and establishing a police report can carry significant weight in a personal injury claim. Meanwhile, you can start gathering information while you wait for officers to arrive.

Exchange Information With the Other Driver

In South Carolina, drivers involved in a crash are required to exchange certain information. Once you know the police are on their way:

• Trade driver’s license numbers, insurance information, and contact details with the other driver
• Avoid apologizing or admitting fault, even casually. Statements made at the scene can be used against you later

Document the Scene

Visual evidence gathered at the scene helps to establish fault. Before moving any vehicles:

• Photograph damage to the vehicles involved, skid marks, and public property.
• Scan for surveillance cameras on traffic poles, storefronts, or parking lots, and note the locations.
• Ask any witnesses for their name and phone number.
• Write down any statements the other driver made, as well as road and weather conditions.

Surveillance footage does not last. Often, most businesses overwrite it within 24 to 72 hours, so an attorney needs to act fast to preserve it. Furthermore, the same urgency applies to the police report. It will include driver statements, physical evidence, road conditions, and any citations issued. To obtain a copy, you can request one from the South Carolina DMV website right away. The other driver’s insurer will have their copy, but you’ll want yours first.

Seek Medical Attention and Notify Your Insurer

Even if you feel fine, see a doctor. Soft tissue injuries and concussions have a way of hiding for the first day or two. Then, once symptoms show up, the insurer will point to the gap in care and can use it against you. If you are in pain at the scene, take the ambulance. After that, keep a file for every bill, prescription, and receipt. Your attorney needs that paper trail to put a real number on your claim.

After you’ve received medical care:

• Follow up consistently with any treatment your doctor recommends. Gaps in care give insurers grounds to reduce your settlement.
• Report the crash to your own insurance company and stick to the basic facts.
• Avoid agreeing to a recorded statement. Speak with an attorney first.
• If the other driver’s insurer calls, you are not required to give a statement. An adjuster’s job is to limit the payout, and anything you say can be used against you.

Once your health has been addressed and you’ve notified your insurer, it’s time to focus on protecting your legal rights.

What to Do After a Car Crash: Talk to a South Carolina Attorney

You have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit in South Carolina, but do not let that create a false sense of comfort. Evidence disappears fast. The sooner an attorney gets involved, the better your chances of preserving it. Never accept a settlement offer without speaking to one first.

Lowcountry Law offers free, confidential consultations for injured motorists across South Carolina. Call us today. You pay nothing unless we win.