A car accident takes about three seconds. The decisions you make in the hour that follows can shape your health, your finances, and your legal rights for years. Most people have never been through one, and the adrenaline makes it hard to think clearly.
Here are the five steps that matter most — in the order you should take them.
1. Check for Injuries and Move to Safety
Before anything else, check yourself and your passengers. Adrenaline masks pain, so a quick self-assessment matters: numbness, dizziness, blurred vision, or neck stiffness are all worth noting even if nothing hurts yet.
If the vehicles are drivable and you are on a busy road, move them to the shoulder and turn on your hazard lights. If a car is not drivable or anyone appears seriously injured, leave everything where it is and stay put. Call 911 immediately — an emergency call also creates a time-stamped record of the crash.
Do not stand between vehicles or in a live traffic lane. Secondary collisions at accident scenes are common and often more severe than the original crash.
2. Call the Police and Get a Report
Florida law requires you to report a crash involving injury, death, or apparent property damage of at least $500 — which covers nearly every accident on the road today. Reporting is a good idea even when it is not strictly required. A responding officer documents the vehicle positions, road conditions, statements from both drivers, and any citations issued.
That report becomes a neutral, third-party account of what happened. Without one, a claim can devolve into your word against the other driver’s — and the other driver’s story has a way of changing once an insurance adjuster gets involved.
When you speak with the officer, stick to the facts. Describe what you saw and what happened. Avoid speculating about fault or apologizing reflexively; a casual “I’m so sorry” at the scene can later be quoted as an admission.
Before you leave, ask for the crash report number and the officer’s name and badge number.
3. Document the Scene Yourself
Your phone is the most useful tool you have. Crash reports take days to obtain and are not always complete. Photos taken in the first fifteen minutes are irreplaceable.
Capture:
- Wide shots showing both vehicles and their positions relative to the road, lane markings, and traffic signals
- Close-ups of all damage on every vehicle, including the other driver’s
- The other driver’s license, insurance card, and license plate
- Skid marks, debris, broken glass, and any road hazards or obstructed signage
- Weather, lighting, and road conditions
- Visible injuries — then again over the following days as bruising develops
Also collect names and phone numbers from any witnesses. Independent witnesses are extremely valuable and nearly impossible to track down later. Note whether nearby businesses, traffic cameras, or a doorbell camera may have captured the crash; that footage is often overwritten within days.
4. Get Medical Attention Within 14 Days — Sooner Is Better
This is the step people skip, and in Florida it is the one that costs them the most.
Florida is a no-fault state. Your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays the first $10,000 of medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash — but only if you receive initial medical care within 14 days of the accident. Miss that window and you can lose your PIP benefits entirely, no matter how legitimate or serious your injuries are.
Do not wait to see whether you feel better. Soft-tissue injuries, concussions, and internal injuries frequently do not produce symptoms for 24 to 72 hours, and whiplash tends to surface the next morning. Getting evaluated promptly protects your health, preserves your benefits, and creates a medical record that ties your injuries directly to the crash.
From there, follow your doctor’s instructions and attend every follow-up. Gaps in treatment are the single most common reason legitimate claims get reduced. Keep every bill, prescription receipt, and discharge instruction.
5. Call Your Attorney — Call Me — Before You Talk to the Insurance Company
Notify your own insurance company promptly; most policies require it, and delay can jeopardize your coverage. Give them the basic facts: when, where, and who was involved.
Then stop.
The other driver’s insurer is a different matter entirely. That adjuster does not work for you. He works for a company whose business model depends on paying you as little as possible, and he is trained and experienced at it. You are generally not obligated to give him a recorded statement, and doing so before you know the full extent of your injuries almost never helps you. The early settlement offer works the same way: it arrives fast, it feels like relief, and it is usually a fraction of what the claim is worth once your treatment is finished. Once you sign it, it is over.
That is the moment to call me instead.
My name is William Sepulveda. I am a trial attorney with Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, and I represent people right here in our community who were hurt in crashes they did not cause. Call me directly and I will tell you honestly where you stand. There is no charge for the conversation and no obligation to hire me.
Call right away if any of this sounds familiar:
- You were injured and are facing medical bills or missed work
- The other driver is blaming you, or fault is being disputed
- The at-fault driver was uninsured, underinsured, or driving a commercial vehicle
- An adjuster is pressuring you for a recorded statement or pushing a quick settlement
- You are simply not sure whether you are being treated fairly
You will speak with me, not a call center. I handle these cases on contingency — you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
One last thing while you decide: say nothing about the accident or your recovery on social media. Insurers routinely comb public profiles, and one photo of you at a family barbecue gets used to argue you were never really hurt.
And do not wait. In Florida you generally have only two years from the date of the crash to file an injury lawsuit. That deadline arrives faster than people expect, and once it passes your right to compensation is gone no matter how strong the case was.
William Sepulveda, Esq.
Trial Attorney
Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath
Cell: 772-678-5046 | Office: 561-820-2251
Email: wsepulveda@foryourrights.com
Call or text anytime. If I do not pick up, I will call you back.
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