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A car accident is disorienting, and the choices you make in the minutes, days, and weeks afterward can affect both your health and any claim you may bring later. This guide walks through the steps we most often talk clients through, plus the rules that are specific to Maryland. It is general information, not legal advice, and every case is different.
1. Get to safety and call 911. If it is safe to do so, move vehicles out of traffic. Check yourself and others for injuries and report the crash. A police report creates an independent record of what happened, which can be valuable later.
2. Document the scene. If you are able, take photos of the vehicles, their positions, the damage, license plates, road conditions, and any visible injuries. Exchange name, contact, insurance, and license-plate information with the other driver, and get names and numbers for any witnesses. Do not admit fault or argue about who caused the crash — stick to exchanging information. In Maryland this matters even more than in most states, for a reason covered below.
3. Seek medical care promptly. Even if you feel "okay," some injuries — whiplash, concussions, and soft-tissue injuries — can show up hours or days later. Getting evaluated protects your health and connects your injuries to the crash. Long gaps or delays in treatment are one of the most common things an insurance company points to when it wants to reduce or deny a claim.
4. Report the accident to your insurer — carefully. Most policies require you to notify your own insurance company. Stick to the basic facts: when, where, and who was involved. You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to the *other* driver's insurer, and it is wise to talk to a lawyer before doing so. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that can minimize your claim.
5. Preserve evidence. Keep everything: the police report number, photos, medical records and bills, repair estimates, and a simple log of missed work and how the injuries affect your daily life. Do not repair or dispose of your vehicle before it has been documented.
6. Be careful on social media. Insurers do review public posts. A photo that seems harmless can be taken out of context to suggest you are not as hurt as you actually are.
7. Know when to call a lawyer. You do not have to handle a serious claim alone — especially before giving a recorded statement, if fault is disputed, or if you were seriously injured. A consultation is a low-risk way to understand your options.
Contributory negligence. Maryland is one of only a handful of states that still follows the strict "contributory negligence" rule: if you are found even partially at fault for the crash, it can bar your recovery entirely. This is why documenting the scene carefully and never speculating about fault matters so much in Maryland — a stray "I'm sorry" at the roadside can be turned into an argument that costs you the whole claim.
Your PIP benefits. Maryland auto policies include Personal Injury Protection (PIP) — commonly $2,500 — unless it was waived in writing when the policy was bought. PIP pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages after a crash regardless of who was at fault, and using it does not raise your rates. Many clients are surprised to learn they have it. Check your policy or ask us to check for you.
The deadline. In Maryland you generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit for your injuries. That sounds like a long time, but building a strong claim — finishing treatment, collecting records, negotiating with the insurer — takes months, so the earlier the work starts, the better positioned you are.
Uninsured drivers. Maryland requires every auto policy to include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. If the other driver has no insurance or too little, your own policy may step in — and claims against your own carrier still need to be handled carefully, because your insurer's interests and yours are not the same in that negotiation.
Beyond the paperwork, a Maryland car-accident lawyer's job is to keep the contributory-negligence trap closed, make sure every available coverage is identified (the other driver's liability policy, your PIP, your UM coverage, sometimes an employer's policy), document the full extent of your injuries, and negotiate from evidence instead of hope. Every case is different, and nothing here is a promise about any particular outcome.
If you were hurt in a car accident in Maryland, Portner & Shure offers consultations, and we handle crashes across the state. We can tell you what your specific deadlines are, what coverage applies, and what your claim actually involves.
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