At the scene
Move to safety if the vehicles are in traffic and you are able to. Call 911 and make sure a report is generated, even for a collision that looks minor, because a crash without a report becomes your word against the other driver's. Accept medical evaluation if it is offered.
Photograph more than you think you need: both vehicles from several angles, the position of the vehicles before they are moved, skid marks and debris, traffic controls and sight lines, the road surface and weather, and any visible injury. Get the other driver's name, insurance carrier and policy number, and photograph the license and insurance card rather than copying them by hand. Collect the names and phone numbers of witnesses before they leave, because once they drive away they are usually unreachable.
Be careful what you say. Apologizing is a reflex, and it is recorded in the report as an admission.
The same day
See a doctor. Not next week, and not only if something hurts. Head, neck and back injuries frequently present late, and the gap between a crash and the first medical visit is the most common argument an insurer makes for paying less. An urgent care or emergency department visit creates the record; follow-up care builds on it.
There is a hard deadline attached to this. Florida PIP requires that you seek initial services and care within 14 days of the crash. Miss that window and PIP pays nothing, regardless of how badly you were hurt or who caused it. It is the most unforgiving rule in Florida auto insurance and the one people most often learn about too late.
Notify your own insurer that you were in a crash. Reporting the crash is not the same thing as giving a recorded statement about your injuries, and the distinction matters.
The first week
Follow the treatment plan you were given, and go to the appointments. Gaps in treatment get read as evidence that you recovered, whether or not that is why you missed them.
Keep everything: bills, explanation of benefits forms, prescription receipts, mileage to appointments, and a written note of the days you could not work or could not do something you normally do. Memory fades and this record will be worth more than your recollection a year from now.
Expect a call from the other driver's insurer, sometimes within 48 hours. The offer that comes early is early because the extent of your injuries is not yet known.
What not to do
- Do not post about the crash, your injuries or your activities on social media. Adjusters look, and a photograph of you at a family event is used to argue you are fine.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer without advice.
- Do not accept a quick settlement before you know whether your injury is permanent. Signing a release ends the claim, including for treatment you have not had yet.
- Do not sign medical authorizations that open your entire history to the insurer.
- Do not repair or dispose of the vehicle before it has been photographed and, in a serious case, inspected.
Common Questions
Do I need to call the police for a minor accident?
Yes. A crash report creates an independent record of the date, the vehicles, the drivers and the initial description of what happened. Without one, the other driver can later dispute that the collision occurred at all, or describe it differently. Florida also imposes reporting obligations depending on injury and property damage.
How long after a car accident can injuries appear?
Soft tissue injuries and concussion symptoms commonly emerge 24 to 72 hours after a crash, once adrenaline subsides and inflammation develops. Some spinal injuries declare themselves over weeks. Feeling fine at the scene is not evidence that you were not injured, which is why same-day evaluation matters.
Should I use my own insurance or the other driver's?
Both, in sequence. Your own PIP coverage pays first for medical treatment regardless of fault, up to its limits. A claim against the at-fault driver's liability coverage is separate and covers what PIP does not, including pain and suffering if your injury meets Florida's permanent injury threshold. Your own policy also requires you to report the crash.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
You can still recover, but less. Florida applies modified comparative negligence: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and if you are found more than 50% at fault you recover nothing. That 50% bar came in with the 2023 tort reform and does not apply to medical negligence claims. An insurer's early fault assessment is not the final word.