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slug: personal-injury-lawyer-pittsburgh/car-accident-first-72-hours-pennsylvania
type: page
title: “What to Do After a Car Accident in Pennsylvania: The First 72 Hours”
yoast_title: “Car Accident First 72 Hours Pennsylvania | What to Do | Lebovitz & Lebovitz”
yoast_metadesc: “The evidence that proves what happened starts disappearing the moment the crash ends. What you do in the first 72 hours determines what can be proven later.”
focus_kw: what to do after car accident pennsylvania first 72 hours
parent: 229686
hub: personal-injury-lawyer-pittsburgh
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Personal Injury · Car Accidents
The evidence that proves what happened starts disappearing the moment the crash ends. Skid marks fade. Surveillance footage overwrites. Witnesses forget. Bruising peaks at 48 to 72 hours and then recedes. The first 72 hours after a car accident in Pennsylvania are not a waiting period under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. They are the evidence window.
What you do in the first 72 hours after a car accident determines what can be proven later. What you skip in those 72 hours may not be recoverable.
If you have been in a car accident and want to understand your options before you speak to the insurance company, call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation. Pennsylvania personal injury claims must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.
Photograph everything before anything moves, get witness names before they leave, call 911 for a police report, and do not admit fault to anyone at the scene.
Your phone is the most important tool you have at the scene. Use it before anything moves. Photograph the position of all vehicles before they are moved, damage to all vehicles from multiple angles, road conditions, skid marks, traffic controls, and any visible injuries. Photographs taken at the scene document what existed — evidence that cannot be recreated after the vehicles are towed and the road is cleared.
Get the other driver’s name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, and license plate. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses before they leave. Witnesses who are not identified at the scene are often impossible to locate later. Call 911 and wait for a police report. The police report establishes the official record of the crash, the parties involved, and any citations issued. Do not leave the scene without it.
Do not apologize, admit fault, or make statements about how the accident happened to anyone at the scene other than the police officer. Statements made at the scene can be used as admissions. Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence standard under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102 — anything that increases your percentage of fault reduces your recovery proportionally.
Seek medical attention the same day as the accident even if you feel fine at the scene. Car accidents involve significant force. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and internal injuries frequently do not produce symptoms immediately. The adrenaline response at the time of impact suppresses pain signals. Symptoms that seem minor at the scene can indicate serious injuries that become apparent hours or days later.
A same-day medical visit does two things. It identifies injuries that may not yet be symptomatic. It also creates a medical record that connects your injuries to the accident on the date it occurred. A two-week gap between the accident and the first medical visit gives the insurance company its strongest argument: if the injury were real, you would have sought treatment immediately.
Follow through on every treatment recommendation. Keep every appointment. A gap in treatment becomes a gap in documentation, and documentation gaps become arguments that the injury resolved or was not caused by the accident. Consistent treatment from the date of the accident through maximum medical improvement is the foundation of a documented injury claim.
Bruising peaks at 48 to 72 hours after the impact and then fades. Photograph visible injuries — bruising, lacerations, swelling — at the scene if possible and again at 24-hour intervals for the first several days. These photographs document what actually existed and cannot be recreated. An insurance adjuster who reviews photographs taken at peak bruising sees different evidence than one who is told about bruising that has since resolved.
Keep a daily journal starting the day of the accident. Record every symptom, every limitation on daily activity, every missed day of work, and every way the injury affects normal life. The journal does not need to be formal — a note on your phone is sufficient. What it needs to be is consistent and contemporaneous. A journal started months after the accident at an attorney’s suggestion carries less weight than one started the day of the crash.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. The adjuster will call quickly, sound helpful, and ask you to describe what happened. The recording is not for your benefit. It is for theirs. Anything you say — including statements about how you feel, whether you are injured, and what you remember about the accident — can be used to reduce or deny your claim. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other party’s insurer.
Do not post about the accident on social media. Insurance companies monitor social media. A photograph of you at a family event two weeks after an accident claiming serious injury creates a contradiction that is difficult to explain regardless of context. A post describing the accident can become an admission. The simplest rule: say nothing publicly about the accident until the claim is resolved.
Do not accept a settlement offer in the first 72 hours or the first several weeks. Early offers are made before the full extent of injuries is known. Once a release is signed, the claim is permanently closed. A person who accepts $5,000 in the first week and later requires surgery has no recourse. The release is final under Pennsylvania contract law regardless of what develops afterward.
Some evidence in a car accident case has a very short window. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses and traffic cameras is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours unless preserved by request. If there are cameras near the accident scene — a gas station, a store, a traffic light — that footage needs to be requested immediately. Once it is overwritten it is gone.
Electronic data from the vehicles themselves is also time-sensitive. Event data recorders in modern vehicles capture speed, braking, and steering inputs in the seconds before a crash. This data can establish what each driver was doing at the moment of impact. Accessing it requires a preservation demand before the vehicle is repaired or scrapped. In commercial vehicle accidents, electronic logging device data and driver logs are subject to federal retention requirements but can still be altered or lost without a timely preservation demand.
Witness memory fades quickly. A witness who clearly remembers what they saw the day of the accident may have significant gaps two months later. Identifying witnesses at the scene and obtaining written or recorded statements as soon as possible preserves what they know while it is fresh.
Contact an attorney before you speak to the other driver’s insurance company. Not after. Before. The insurance company’s adjuster is experienced at claims evaluation. Their job is to close your file at the lowest defensible amount. Speaking with them before understanding your rights and the value of your claim puts you at a structural disadvantage that is difficult to recover from.
Most personal injury attorneys offer free initial consultations and work on contingency — you pay nothing unless there is a recovery. The cost of a consultation is zero. The cost of a recorded statement that reduces your claim by thirty percent is not. If you were injured as a passenger in a car accident, you may have claims against multiple drivers and your own insurance policy, which requires coordination to maximize recovery from all available sources.
If the accident involved serious injuries, a commercial vehicle, a government-owned vehicle, or disputed liability, contact an attorney the same day if possible. These cases have additional evidence preservation requirements and shorter notice deadlines that can affect the entire claim if missed.
Pennsylvania auto accident law is governed by the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1701 et seq., which establishes insurance requirements, tort election, and coverage standards. Cases are administered through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System in the Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions About the First 72 Hours After a Car Accident in Pennsylvania
You are required to cooperate with your own insurance company under your policy terms. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. The other party’s adjuster is not working in your interest. Giving a recorded statement before consulting an attorney is one of the most common ways injured people damage their own claims.
Yes. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and internal injuries frequently do not produce immediate symptoms. Adrenaline at the time of impact suppresses pain. A same-day medical visit creates a contemporaneous record connecting your condition to the accident on the date it occurred. A gap between the accident and the first medical visit is one of the most common arguments insurers use to dispute injury causation.
Two years from the date of the accident under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Missing this deadline permanently bars recovery regardless of how clear the liability is or how serious the injuries are. Exceptions exist for minors and for injuries that were not immediately discoverable, but these exceptions are narrow and should not be relied upon without legal advice.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Pennsylvania requires insurers to offer UM coverage, and you may have stacked coverage across multiple vehicles on your policy. Contact your own insurer and an attorney before making any statements or accepting any offers. UM claims are handled differently than third-party liability claims and have their own procedural requirements.
Yes, as long as your percentage of fault does not exceed 50 percent. Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence standard under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102. If you are found 30 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by 30 percent. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault, recovery is barred entirely. This is why statements at the scene and recorded statements to insurers matter — anything that increases your assigned fault percentage reduces your recovery proportionally.
Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. · Pittsburgh Personal Injury Attorneys Since 1933. Serving Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania.
This page is part of our Personal Injury practice. For car accident case value, see how much a car accident case is worth in Pennsylvania. For what drives settlement value generally, see what affects personal injury settlement value in Pennsylvania.
Car Accidents · Pittsburgh
Surveillance footage overwrites. Witnesses forget. Bruising fades. What you preserve in the first 72 hours is what can be proven later. Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation with Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A.
The first 72 hours after a Pennsylvania car accident determine what evidence exists, what injuries are documented, and what the claim is worth. Surveillance footage overwrites. Bruising peaks and fades. Witnesses move on. The evidence window is open immediately after the crash. It closes faster than most people expect.
