Checklist · Tort

Documenting and Presenting a Car Accident Claim: A Practical Checklist

42 U.S.C. § 1395

Type: Checklist
Jurisdiction: National
Date: 2026-07-26
Topic: Tort

This checklist runs a motor vehicle injury claim from the roadside to the release, in nine phases, with the acts that decide value placed in the first two. Phase 1 is the scene: the four photographs, the two witness names, and what to say and not say to the officer. Phase 2 is the first seventy-two hours, including same-day treatment and the preservation letters that save evidence which otherwise disappears within days. Phase 3 identifies every policy in the coverage stack, including the underinsured motorist coverage that usually matters more than the at-fault driver's. Phase 4 covers the adjuster contact, the recorded statement, and the medical authorization that are the two most useful tools the other side has. Phase 5 covers treatment documentation and the gaps that are argued for the life of the case, and Phase 6 covers wage loss and damages proof including the collateral source question. Phase 7 covers liens and the settlement allocation that determines what the claimant actually keeps. Phase 8 covers the demand package, evaluating an offer, and the release that cannot be undone. Phase 9 covers uninsured and underinsured claims and the consent-to-settle sequence, and five model letters and a ranked failure-mode list are included.

Documenting and Presenting a Car Accident Claim: A Practical Checklist

Tort > Personal Injury | Published 26 July 2026 - Updated 18 August 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Four photographs, two witness names, and treatment on the day. Everything else in this checklist is downstream of those three things, and all of them happen before anyone talks to a lawyer.

Keywords: scene, preservation, coverage stack, recorded statement, treatment gaps, liens, consent to settle, release

How to use this checklist

Nine phases. Each has - [ ] items and a Why it matters, and the traps note. A fictional case — a stopped vehicle rear-ended by a delivery van at twenty-five miles an hour — runs throughout.

Doctrine is in Motor Vehicle Injury Claims: A Comprehensive Guide to Liability, Coverage, Damages, and Settlement. The narrative is The First Two Weeks After a Crash: What You Do Now Decides What the Case Is Worth. The materials are in The Auto Injury and Insurance Claim Toolkit.

Phase 1 — At the scene

[ ] Call police and get a report number.
[ ] Do not say "I'm fine." Say "I don't know yet — I'm shaken up."
[ ] Photograph final vehicle positions before anything moves.
[ ] Photograph the point of impact on each vehicle.
[ ] Photograph the other vehicle's plate and any company name on the door.
[ ] Photograph the intersection, signals, and lane markings.
[ ] Photograph the other driver's license and insurance card.
[ ] Get names and phone numbers of any independent witnesses.
[ ] Note nearby businesses with cameras.
[ ] Tell the officer the mechanism and your symptoms; do not speculate about speed or fault.
[ ] Note whether anyone was cited.
[ ] Accept medical evaluation if offered.

Why it matters, and the traps. "I'm fine," said out of politeness, is quoted back from a transcript eight months later against a surgical recommendation. Both answers are honest; only one of them is used against you.

Independent witnesses evaporate within the hour and are nearly impossible to find afterward. A name and a number is the entire ask.

Four photographs take ninety seconds and are worth more than any later reconstruction.

Phase 2 — The first seventy-two hours

[ ] Get medical evaluation the same day, even if you feel fine.
[ ] Describe every symptom, including trivial ones.
[ ] Start a daily symptom journal: what hurts, what you could not do, appointments.
[ ] Report the loss to your own insurer; the policy requires it.
[ ] Request a complete copy of your policy, not the declarations page.
[ ] Send preservation letters to the at-fault company and nearby businesses.
[ ] Ask your insurer not to dispose of the vehicle if a defect is possible.
[ ] Photograph visible injuries, dated, and repeat as they change.
[ ] Obtain the police report when available and read it for errors.
[ ] Request correction of any factual error in the report, in writing.

Why it matters, and the traps. Soft-tissue injuries characteristically declare at 24 to 72 hours. A record created on the day is worth more than a diagnosis on day nine, and a symptom not recorded at the first visit is one the defense says appeared later.

Third-party surveillance video is typically overwritten within days. The preservation letter is short, requires no lawyer, and is frequently the difference between having the footage and not.

Phase 3 — Identify every policy

[ ] The at-fault driver's liability policy and its limits.
[ ] Whether the at-fault driver was working — an employer policy with far higher limits.
[ ] For rideshare or delivery, the driver's app status at impact, from platform records.
[ ] Your own liability, UM, UIM, and MedPay.
[ ] PIP, in a no-fault state, and which threshold applies.
[ ] A resident relative's policy.
[ ] The policy on any vehicle you occupied.
[ ] Any umbrella policy on either side.
[ ] Your health insurance, and whether it is a self-funded ERISA plan.
[ ] Whether stacking is available under the policy or by statute.
[ ] Whether UIM limits are reduced by the liability payment or stack on top.

Why it matters, and the traps. The at-fault driver's policy limit is usually the practical ceiling — most individual defendants have no reachable assets beyond it.

Which makes UIM the coverage that actually matters, and the one most often declined.

Read the policy, not the declarations page. Stacking, setoff, consent-to-settle, and arbitration all live in the policy language.

Phase 4 — When the adjuster calls

[ ] Confirm which insurer the caller represents.
[ ] Cooperate with your own insurer as the policy requires.
[ ] Decline a recorded statement to the other side's insurer.
[ ] Provide basic facts in writing only: date, time, location, vehicles, that you were injured.
[ ] Say nothing about severity, fault, or speculation.
[ ] Do not sign a broad medical authorization.
[ ] Offer instead to provide records yourself, or sign a narrowed authorization by provider and date range.
[ ] Keep a log of every call: date, time, name, and what was said.
[ ] Request the liability limits disclosure in writing.

Why it matters, and the traps. You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer. The obligation to cooperate runs to your own carrier, and people conflate the two constantly.

The broad authorization produces a lifetime medical history, mined for every prior neck or back complaint — the raw material of the preexisting-condition defense.

What to say: "I'm not prepared to give a recorded statement today. I'll provide the basic facts in writing."

Phase 5 — Treatment

[ ] Follow the treatment plan; attend every appointment.
[ ] Avoid gaps. If one is unavoidable, document the reason in writing to the provider.
[ ] Report new or changed symptoms at each visit.
[ ] Keep the symptom journal daily.
[ ] Keep every receipt: prescriptions, mileage, medical devices, household help.
[ ] Obtain a causation and prognosis opinion from the treating physician.
[ ] Obtain records and bills as you go, not at the end.
[ ] Stop posting on social media; do not delete existing posts.
[ ] Note the defense examination will come under the analogue of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35 — negotiate scope and obtain the complete report.

Why it matters, and the traps. Three patterns are argued for the life of the case: the initial gap, gaps during treatment, and non-compliance.

The honest complication: people miss treatment because they cannot afford it, cannot take time off, or have no transportation — and the claim is penalized for poverty. The only available correction is to document the reason contemporaneously, so the gap carries an explanation rather than an inference.

Deleting social media after a claim arises is spoliation. Stop posting; preserve what exists.

Phase 6 — Damages proof

[ ] Obtain all medical records and itemized bills.
[ ] Determine whether your state's collateral source rule admits the billed, paid, or written-off amount.
[ ] Obtain a written wage loss statement from the employer — dates, rate, hours missed.
[ ] For self-employment, assemble records showing the actual loss.
[ ] Document lost earning capacity where the injury is permanent.
[ ] Document specific, verifiable life disruptions — not adjectives.
[ ] Obtain a life care plan where future care is substantial.
[ ] Identify objective findings: imaging, nerve studies, an ordered surgery.

Why it matters, and the traps. The collateral source question can halve or double the economic component, and it should be answered before any demand is made.

There is no "multiplier." What moves non-economic damages is objective findings, duration, permanence, and specific disruption — "she coached her daughter's team for six years and has not since," not "she was in pain."

Phase 7 — Liens

[ ] Identify every payer: Medicare, Medicaid, an ERISA plan, a private health insurer, workers' compensation, hospital or provider liens, child support arrears.
[ ] For Medicare, obtain the conditional payment amount and resolve it — 42 U.S.C. § 1395y, 42 C.F.R. part 411.
[ ] For Medicaid, apply 42 U.S.C. § 1396p as limited by Ahlborn, Wos v. E.M.A., and Gallardo v. Marstiller.
[ ] For an ERISA plan, obtain the plan document, not the summary — 29 U.S.C. § 1132, 29 U.S.C. § 1144.
[ ] Allocate the settlement deliberately between past medical, future medical, wage loss, and non-economic damages.
[ ] Negotiate reductions before the settlement is final.
[ ] Confirm tax treatment — 26 U.S.C. § 104.
[ ] For a beneficiary on means-tested benefits, address a special needs trust or structure before signing.

Why it matters, and the traps. A settlement figure is not a net figure. After Gallardo a state may reach amounts allocated to future medical care as well as past — which is exactly why an unallocated lump sum invites the largest possible lien.

Settling without resolving a Medicare conditional payment exposes everyone, counsel included.

Phase 8 — Demand and evaluation

[ ] Assemble the demand package: liability facts with photographs and the report · complete records and bills, chronological · wage documentation · the physician's causation and prognosis opinion · the journal · a damages summary.
[ ] State a number and support it.
[ ] Where the injury exceeds the limit, consider a time-limited policy limits demand — the requirements are technical and state-specific.
[ ] Evaluate any offer against the arithmetic of the alternative: probability-weighted verdict, minus costs, years, liens, and fee.
[ ] Account for Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 exposure in the walk-away analysis.
[ ] Note settlement communications are protected under the analogue of Federal Rule of Evidence 408.
[ ] Do not sign a release while treatment is ongoing or the prognosis is unsettled.
[ ] Read what the release covers — never sign a property damage release that also releases bodily injury.
[ ] Where resolved in litigation, preserve the court's enforcement authority — Kokkonen.
[ ] Diary the limitations period and any governmental notice of claim deadline.

Why it matters, and the traps. A demand consisting of a number and a paragraph produces an offer consisting of a number and a paragraph.

The release is permanent, covers unknown injuries, and cannot be undone because the condition worsened.

Governmental notice deadlines are measured in months, not years — see Calculating and Preserving a Limitations Deadline: A Practical Checklist.

Phase 9 — Uninsured and underinsured claims

[ ] Confirm UM/UIM coverage and limits from the policy.
[ ] For a hit and run, confirm prompt police reporting was done — it is a condition.
[ ] Give the UM/UIM carrier timely notice.
[ ] Obtain the liability carrier's limits disclosure and offer in writing.
[ ] Send a written consent-to-settle request to the UIM carrier, attaching the offer and the medical documentation.
[ ] Wait for a written response — consent, or a substitute payment preserving subrogation.
[ ] Only then execute the liability release, drafted so it does not release the UIM claim.
[ ] Check whether the policy compels arbitration — 9 U.S.C. § 2, with narrow review under 9 U.S.C. § 10.
[ ] Document any unreasonable delay or unexplained valuation for a potential bad faith claim.

Why it matters, and the traps. Settling with the at-fault driver before obtaining UIM consent can forfeit the entire UIM claim. It is the single most common way a serious injury with a minimum-limits tortfeasor becomes uncompensated.

Model letters

A. Preservation letter

"This concerns a collision on [date] at approximately [time] at [location] involving [vehicles]. A claim is anticipated. Please preserve, and suspend any automatic deletion or overwriting of, all surveillance or dashcam video, telematics and GPS data, event data recorder information, driver qualification and hours-of-service records, dispatch records, maintenance records, and any communications concerning this collision, for the period [date range]. Please confirm in writing that these materials have been preserved."

B. Response to a recorded statement request

"I received your call of [date]. I am not prepared to give a recorded statement. The basic facts are: on [date] at approximately [time] I was [describe position] at [location] when [vehicle] struck my vehicle. I was injured and am receiving medical treatment. I will provide medical documentation when treatment is complete. Please direct further communications to me in writing."

C. Narrowed medical authorization cover

"I decline to sign the general authorization enclosed with your letter. I am willing to provide records relating to treatment for injuries from this collision. Enclosed is an authorization limited to [providers] for the period [date] to present. I will supplement as treatment continues."

D. UIM consent-to-settle request

"I am insured under policy [number]. On [date] I was injured by [driver], whose liability carrier has offered its policy limits of $[amount], evidenced by the enclosed correspondence. My damages exceed that amount, as shown by the enclosed medical records and bills. I request your written consent to accept the liability settlement, or in the alternative that you advance payment in that amount to preserve your subrogation rights. Please respond in writing within [N] days."

E. Demand letter opening

"This is a demand for settlement of [claimant]'s bodily injury claim arising from the collision of [date]. Liability: [facts, with the report and photographs]. Injuries and treatment: [summary, with records and bills, chronologically indexed at Tab __]. Wage loss: [amount, with the employer statement at Tab __]. Prognosis: [physician opinion at Tab __]. Demand: $[amount]. This demand remains open until [date]."

Failure modes, ranked

Waiting to seek treatment.
Giving a recorded statement to the other side's adjuster.
Signing an open-ended medical authorization.
Not photographing the scene, vehicles, and injuries.
Not sending preservation letters before video is overwritten.
Not identifying every policy, especially UM and UIM.
Settling with the at-fault driver without UIM consent.
Signing a property damage release that also releases bodily injury.
Ignoring liens until the check is issued.
Accepting an unallocated settlement and inviting the largest lien.
Settling while treatment is ongoing.
Deleting social media after a claim arises.
Missing the limitations period or a governmental notice deadline.
Letting the vehicle be salvaged where a defect claim is possible.

The evidence that expires

More claims are damaged by evidence that ceased to exist than by evidence that was contested. This is the argument for Phase 2.

Evidence	Typically available	How to preserve
Third-party surveillance video	Days to two weeks	Written request to the business, immediately
Commercial dashcam and telematics	Weeks to months	Preservation letter to the carrier and employer
Event data recorder	Until the vehicle is destroyed	Do not authorize salvage
The vehicles	Crushed within weeks of a total loss	Written instruction to the insurer
Independent witnesses	Gone within the hour	Names and numbers at the scene
Roadway evidence	Hours to days	Photographs at the scene
Visible injuries	Days to weeks	Dated photographs, repeatedly
Driver cell records	Carrier retention, months	Preservation letter, then subpoena
Hours-of-service and dispatch records	Regulatory retention, months	Preservation letter to the employer

The preservation letter requires no lawyer and no filed case. It identifies the collision, lists the categories, and asks that automatic deletion be suspended. Where a party destroys evidence after such a demand, spoliation sanctions become available — but only if the demand was actually made.

The two-minute triage

When there is no time for the full checklist, answer these in order.

Has anyone been treated? If not, today.
Is there any photograph of the scene? If not, and vehicles are still involved, now.
Does anyone know a witness's name? If not, it is already too late — proceed.
What are the at-fault driver's limits, and do you have UIM? This sets the ceiling.
Was the other driver working? Commercial limits change everything.
Has a recorded statement been given, or an authorization signed? If so, stop and take stock.
Is there a gap in treatment? If so, document the reason now, contemporaneously.
Who paid the medical bills? Medicare, Medicaid, and ERISA plans each behave differently.
Is a governmental entity involved? Notice may be due in 60 to 180 days.
Has anything been signed? Releases are permanent.

Questions 4 and 5 together determine whether there is a case worth building. Question 10 determines whether it still exists.

What "documented" actually looks like

A well-documented claim is not a thick file; it is a specific one. For the running example, the file at demand time contains:

Liability. Four scene photographs. Two witness statements, each a short signed paragraph. The police report with the citation. The delivery company's telematics showing speed and braking, obtained because a preservation letter was sent in week one.

Injury. Emergency department record from the day of the collision listing neck, shoulder, and headache complaints — the headache being the symptom that would otherwise have been called "new" six months later. Twenty-two physical therapy visits with no gaps. Two epidural injection reports. An MRI showing a herniation at the level corresponding to the mechanism. A treating physician letter stating that the collision aggravated a previously asymptomatic degenerative condition and that the impairment is permanent.

The prior records, produced voluntarily, showing a single chiropractic visit in 2019 and no treatment for the same complaint in the five years before the collision. This is the document that defeats the preexisting condition defense, and it is stronger produced voluntarily than extracted by subpoena.

Damages. Itemized bills totalling $31,000. An employer letter stating six weeks missed at $1,150 weekly. A journal with 180 daily entries. Receipts for prescriptions, mileage, and eleven weeks of household help.

Liens. A conditional payment letter, resolved. A written allocation dividing the settlement among past medical, future medical, wage loss, and non-economic damages.

What is not in the file: a recorded statement, a broad authorization, a social media history, or a treatment gap.

Three sentences worth memorizing

"I don't know yet — I'm shaken up." — the roadside sentence that is honest and is not quoted against you.

"I'm not prepared to give a recorded statement today." — always available, never rude.

"Nothing gets signed until treatment is complete and the liens are resolved." — the two conditions that make a settlement number real.

Authorities behind the checklist

Authority	Where it bites
42 U.S.C. § 1395y · 42 C.F.R. part 411	Phase 7 — Medicare secondary payer recovery and conditional payments
42 U.S.C. § 1396p	Phase 7 — Medicaid recovery
Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006)	Recovery limited to the medical-expense portion
Wos v. E.M.A., 568 U.S. 627 (2013)	No irrebuttable statutory allocation
Gallardo v. Marstiller, 596 U.S. 420 (2022)	Reaches future medical allocations — why Phase 7 allocation matters
29 U.S.C. § 1132 · § 1144	ERISA plan reimbursement; preemption of anti-subrogation law
26 U.S.C. § 104	Phase 7 — physical injury damages excluded from income
Fed. R. Evid. 702 · 703	Phase 5–6 — expert admissibility and bases
Daubert, 509 U.S. 579 (1993) · Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997) · Kumho Tire, 526 U.S. 137 (1999)	Causation gatekeeping; the analytical gap
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 · 35	Expert disclosure; defense medical examination
Fed. R. Civ. P. 68 · Fed. R. Evid. 408	Phase 8 — offer of judgment exposure; compromise communications
9 U.S.C. § 2 · § 10	Phase 9 — UM/UIM arbitration clauses and narrow review
15 U.S.C. § 1011 · § 1012	Why every coverage answer is state-specific
49 U.S.C. § 30118 · 49 C.F.R. part 573	Preserve the vehicle where a component failed
Kokkonen, 511 U.S. 375 (1994)	Phase 8 — preserve enforcement authority over a settlement

Two rows do the most work. Gallardo is why the settlement must be allocated rather than paid as a lump sum. And 9 U.S.C. § 10 is why a UM claim headed to arbitration should be valued differently from one headed to a jury — the outcome range compresses and appellate review effectively disappears.

Documenting and Presenting a Car Accident Claim: A Practical Checklist

How to use this checklist

Phase 1 — At the scene

Phase 2 — The first seventy-two hours

Phase 3 — Identify every policy

Phase 4 — When the adjuster calls

Phase 5 — Treatment

Phase 6 — Damages proof

Phase 7 — Liens

Phase 8 — Demand and evaluation

Phase 9 — Uninsured and underinsured claims

Model letters

A. Preservation letter

B. Response to a recorded statement request

C. Narrowed medical authorization cover

D. UIM consent-to-settle request

E. Demand letter opening

Failure modes, ranked

The evidence that expires

The two-minute triage

What "documented" actually looks like

Three sentences worth memorizing

Authorities behind the checklist

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