What to Do After a Car Accident in Wichita Falls (Checklist)

In the first ten minutes after a crash: get safe, call 911, photograph everything, exchange information, and say nothing about fault. Then see a doctor the same day even if you feel fine. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.

That is the whole checklist compressed. What follows is the reasoning, because a list you understand is a list you will actually follow while your hands are shaking.

The first ten minutes

1. Check for injuries and get out of the traffic lane if you safely can. Secondary collisions happen to people standing beside disabled cars. Hazards on, and stand behind a barrier if there is one.

2. Call 911. Even for something minor. Most states require reporting a crash involving injury or property damage above a dollar threshold, and the report itself is worth having regardless. It records who was there, what they said, and what the scene looked like, from someone with no stake in the outcome.

3. Do not discuss fault. Not because you are hiding anything, but because "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you" is a reflex, not an analysis, and it will be quoted back to you. Check that the other person is okay. Skip the apology.

4. Photograph before anything moves, if it is safe to. This is the only moment this evidence exists.

The photo list

Take more than you think you need. Nobody has ever regretted having too many.

• Wide shots from several angles showing where both vehicles ended up relative to lanes, signals, and each other
• All four corners of both vehicles, close up
• License plates of every vehicle involved
• The other driver's license and insurance card — photograph them rather than copying numbers by hand
• Traffic signals, stop signs, lane markings, and any obstructed sightlines
• Skid marks, debris fields, fluid trails
• Road and weather conditions, including how much light there was
• Any visible injuries, yours and your passengers'
• The interior, if airbags deployed

Then look around for cameras. Businesses, doorbells, traffic cameras, a bus stopped nearby. Note the addresses. Most of those systems overwrite themselves within days or weeks, so knowing where to ask is genuinely valuable and only takes thirty seconds at the scene.

Get witness information, not witness reassurance

People say "I saw the whole thing, that was totally his fault," and then they drive away and you never speak to them again. Get a name and a phone number. It is the piece of the scene most often skipped and the one that most often decides a disputed liability case.

Medical care, and the 72-hour problem

Adrenaline is remarkably good at masking injury. Whiplash, concussion symptoms, and soft-tissue damage very commonly show up a day to three days later, which is exactly the window in which people decide they are fine.

Get evaluated the same day if there is any symptom at all — headache, neck stiffness, numbness, nausea, ringing, or simply feeling off. Two reasons, in order of importance:

1. Some of these injuries are worse than they feel at hour one.
2. A gap between the crash and your first medical record is the most common and most effective argument an insurer uses to reduce a claim. Not because it proves anything, but because it lets them ask why you waited.

If you do start treatment, follow through with it. Scattered attendance is used the same way a delay is.

Notifying insurance

Report the crash to your own insurer promptly. Your policy almost certainly requires it, and it is not an admission of anything.

The other driver's insurer will also call, often faster than expected. That adjuster is not your enemy and not your friend. Their job is to resolve the claim for the least defensible amount, and they are good at it.

Some practical ground rules:

• Facts, not narrative. Date, time, location, vehicles, and that you are being evaluated medically.
• "I don't know yet" is a complete answer about your injuries. Because you don't.
• Do not sign a blanket medical authorization. A broad release lets them pull your entire medical history looking for anything pre-existing.
• Do not agree to a recorded statement on day two unless you understand why you are doing it.
• Do not post about it. A photograph of you at a wedding three weeks later, cropped and context-free, will be shown to somebody.

The coverages people forget they have

Before you conclude there is no money available, check your own declarations page for:

• Uninsured / underinsured motorist (UM/UIM). Pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. This is the most valuable coverage most people do not know they bought.
• Medical payments (MedPay) or personal injury protection (PIP). Pays medical bills regardless of fault, and pays early, which matters when treatment starts before any settlement.
• Rental reimbursement.

More than one policy can be in play at once, and the order in which you resolve them matters.

When you do not need a lawyer

We would rather tell you this than have you spend your time on a call that goes nowhere.

If it is property damage only and nobody was hurt, handle it yourself. Vehicle damage claims are largely mechanical. Get two repair estimates, know your car's pre-loss value, and push back on a lowball with documentation rather than with a lawyer.

If you had one clinic visit, no follow-up, and you were genuinely back to normal within a week, you can reasonably negotiate that directly. Total your bills and any lost wages first, and understand that the release you sign ends the claim permanently.

Get a free case review if you were transported by ambulance, you have a fracture or head injury, treatment is ongoing or you have been referred to a specialist, you missed real work, fault is disputed, a commercial vehicle was involved, or the offer arrived before you had finished treating. Our guide to whether you need a lawyer goes into that decision in more depth.

The one thing to remember

Deadlines are real, and they are shorter than most people assume — particularly if a government vehicle or public entity is involved, where written notice is often required within months. Life after a crash is chaotic, and claims die quietly while people are busy getting through the week.

Wichita Falls Personal Injury Lawyers helps people injured in Wichita Falls and across North Texas and the Red River counties find out whether they qualify for a free case review with an experienced car accident attorney. No upfront cost to check. If a commercial truck or a motorcycle was involved, see our truck accident and motorcycle accident pages.

Call (844) 511-2320 or use the form on this site. This article is information, not legal advice.