Nobody plans for a crash, which is why the first hour goes badly for so many people. You are shaken, the other driver is talking, a tow operator is already hooking up your car, and the decisions you make in that window follow the claim for a year. This is the first of a ten-part series that walks through an Indiana injury claim from the moment of impact to the day the settlement check clears. Part 1 covers the first hour.
Get out of the road
If the vehicles are drivable and nobody is seriously hurt, Indiana law expects you to move them out of the travel lanes. Turn on hazards. If anyone is pinned, unconscious, or complaining of neck or back pain, leave them where they are and wait for EMS.
Call 911, even for a “minor” crash
Indiana requires a report for any crash involving injury, death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more, which today is almost any crash. More importantly for you, the officer’s report records the other driver’s name, insurer, and policy number and, in most cases, the officer’s opinion of who was at fault. Without a report you are relying on the other driver’s honesty about all three. If the police decline to respond, exchange information carefully and file a driver’s crash report with the Indiana BMV yourself within ten days.
Say less than you want to
Be polite. Exchange information. Do not apologize, do not say you are fine, and do not speculate about what happened. Indiana’s comparative fault rule reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault and bars it entirely above 50 percent, and the easiest evidence of fault is something you said at the scene. “Are you okay?” and “I’m going to let the police sort this out” are complete sentences.
Photograph everything, then photograph more
Both vehicles from all four corners and close up on every point of damage. The license plates. The road, with the lane markings and any signs or signals in frame. Skid marks and debris before they are swept. The other driver’s license and insurance card. Any dash cam, business camera, or doorbell camera that might have caught the crash. Your own visible injuries. The time stamps on these photos are evidence in themselves.
Get names before people leave
Witnesses leave within minutes and are almost impossible to find later. Ask anyone who stopped for a name and phone number. Get the responding officer’s name and the report number before they drive away.
Accept medical evaluation
If EMS offers to check you, let them, and if they recommend transport, go. Adrenaline masks neck, back, and head injuries that announce themselves a day later. Part 3 covers why the first 72 hours of medical care matter so much to the claim; for now, the short version is that declining care at the scene becomes an insurer’s first argument that you were not hurt.
Before you leave the scene
Know where your car is being towed and who has it. If it is going to a yard, it is accruing storage fees from the first day. Keep the tow receipt.
The one thing not to do that night
The other driver’s insurance company may call you the same evening. Do not give a recorded statement, and do not discuss your injuries. Take the adjuster’s name and number and say your attorney will be in touch. Part 4 explains why.
Next: Part 2, the crash report, where to get it in Indiana, and what to check when it arrives.
This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice about your situation. Laws change and every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about the facts of your case.