Steps After a Car Accident in Arizona: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes, 24 Hours, and 30 Days

After a crash, medical care and roadside safety come first. You can collect paperwork once you are safe, and someone you trust can help organize it while you recover. Missing a photograph or remembering a detail later does not mean you should give up on getting advice.

This guide covers the first few minutes through the following month. Its time windows help organize tasks. They are not medical deadlines or a substitute for the notice and filing requirements that apply to your situation.

General information: Your injuries, insurance policy and the circumstances of the collision affect the next step. For a free consultation with Wood Injury Law, call (480) 937-2116.

Step 1: The first 5 minutes, get emergency help and reach safety

Check for injuries, call for emergency help when needed, and follow the dispatcher’s instructions. Move an operable vehicle out of traffic only when it is safe.

1. Call 911 for an injury or immediate danger. Give your location, direction of travel and nearby landmarks. Explain if anyone is trapped or if traffic is creating another hazard. Follow the dispatcher’s instructions about helping an injured person.
2. Notify law enforcement about an injury or death. A.R.S. 28-666 requires the driver to notify the appropriate police, sheriff or highway patrol office immediately by the quickest means. That section does not set a $1,000 property-damage reporting threshold.
3. Clear traffic when the conditions allow it. Arizona’s quick-clearance law applies on specified highways when serious injury or death is not apparent and the vehicle can be driven safely without further damage or hazard. Do not delay a safe move to take photographs. If you are unsure whether moving is safe, tell the dispatcher.
4. Stay available and describe what you know. Arizona has duties to stop and remain after an injury crash and to provide information and reasonable assistance. Give accurate facts. If you did not see a signal or cannot remember a movement, say so rather than guessing who caused the collision.

Step 2: At the scene, exchange information and preserve what you can

Exchange driver and vehicle information, identify the investigating agency, and preserve photographs or witness details from a safe location.

1. Record the other driver’s details. A.R.S. 28-663 requires a driver’s name, address and vehicle registration number, plus exhibition of a driver license on request. Also ask for insurance details and a way to contact the driver. Keep photographs or notes private.
2. Ask for the agency name and report number. A city police department, county sheriff and Arizona DPS use their own records procedures. You do not need to wait for the completed report to begin organizing your claim information.
3. Take useful photographs when safe. Include vehicle damage and plates, road markings, and the surrounding area. Keep the original files. Note whether the vehicles had already moved, and do not stand in traffic to recreate their earlier positions.
4. Save witness and video leads. Ask witnesses for their names and contact details without coaching their accounts. Note nearby cameras and preserve your own dashcam recording before routine use overwrites it. Our guide to finding witnesses and video explains how to record those leads.

Step 3: During the first day, arrange medical care and notify your insurer

Get medical advice for injuries or symptoms, follow emergency instructions, and notify your insurer promptly using the process in your policy.

Tell a healthcare professional about the collision and any symptoms, including when they started. A possible concussion needs medical evaluation. The CDC explains that concussion symptoms can appear hours or days later. After a head injury, call 911 or seek emergency care for danger signs such as a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, a seizure, slurred speech, increasing confusion or difficulty waking up.

Ask your clinician what follow-up care or tests you need. Imaging is a medical decision based on the injury and examination. For example, the CDC says a brain scan is not needed to identify a concussion, although a clinician may use one when concerned about bleeding. An MRI is not a routine claim-building step, and no scan guarantees a settlement amount.

1. Notify your own insurer promptly. Follow your policy and insurance card instructions. Ask which notice or cooperation requirements apply, and keep the claim number. The Arizona insurance regulator recommends prompt notice. A universal 24-hour deadline should not be assumed.
2. Identify anyone requesting a statement. Ask for the caller’s name, insurer, claim number and purpose. Your own insurer and the other driver’s insurer have different roles. Request a written explanation of what they need, and get advice if you are unsure about a recorded statement or medical authorization.
3. Keep the first set of documents together. Save discharge instructions, bills and appointment information. Add insurer correspondence as it arrives. Describe symptoms accurately without trying to predict how long recovery will take.

Step 4: During the first week, request records and document missed work

Request the collision report from the investigating agency and keep dated records of symptoms, treatment and missed work.

Use the agency on your exchange sheet or other paperwork. DPS handles its own collision records and directs local-agency requests to the investigating agency. Availability and processing time depend on the agency and record. Start with our collision-report guide.

If a report contains an error, keep the original and identify the exact entry you dispute. Ask the agency how it accepts supporting evidence or correction requests. Our report-correction guide explains how to prepare that request. A disagreement about fault calls for evidence, and a correction is not guaranteed.

Write down changes in daily activities with dates and concrete examples. If pain interrupts a work shift, record the hours missed and keep the employer’s message. Save pay records and any clinician’s work restrictions. The lost-wages records guide provides a starting list.

Step 5: Over the next two weeks, review requests and proposed settlements

Keep insurer requests and settlement documents, ask what each document covers, and obtain advice before agreeing to terms you do not understand.

Ask for a complete copy of any proposed release, authorization or settlement offer. Check the parties named and the claims it addresses. A vehicle-repair payment and an injury settlement raise different questions, so do not rely on an email subject line to identify the scope. Tell your attorney about anything already signed or accepted, including a check with attached terms.

If you have an attorney, coordinate insurer communications through that attorney. Otherwise, bring the written request to a consultation. Do not send a message saying an attorney represents you unless that is true, and do not assume you can ignore your own insurer’s policy requirements.

Follow the care instructions you receive. If transportation, cost or scheduling prevents an appointment, contact the provider and ask about alternatives. Explain new or worsening symptoms to the clinician. Keep existing messages, photographs and posts relating to the collision, and ask your attorney how to preserve them.

Step 6: Through the first 30 days, keep an expense record and check deadlines

Continue recording expenses and medical follow-up, and have the applicable insurance, notice and lawsuit deadlines checked early.

Keep receipts with a note explaining each expense. A transportation log can show the appointment date, destination, miles driven and parking charge. Record what happened and what you paid. Do not apply a mileage rate from a tax rule or another claim without checking whether it belongs in your case.

Keep originals of medical records and insurer letters. If a record is missing, list the provider and dates you need. The guide to requesting complete medical records can help you organize the request.

Check legal deadlines now, even if treatment continues. A.R.S. 12-542 sets a two-year period after accrual for many personal injury actions. Accrual and exceptions affect the calculation. Claims against Arizona public entities or employees can involve a 180-day notice of claim and a separate one-year lawsuit deadline, subject to the applicable rules. Ask an attorney to identify the deadlines and required recipients for your situation.

Questions about the first steps after an Arizona crash

Official sources

Sources checked November 4, 2026. The linked statutes and agency guidance support the legal and medical information above. The practical recordkeeping suggestions help you prepare for a case review.

• Arizona Legislature: 28-662, attended-vehicle damage collisions, 20-259.01, UM/UIM coverage, and the reporting, assistance, quick-clearance and deadline statutes linked in the guide.
• Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions: automobile insurance consumer information.
• Arizona Department of Public Safety: records requests.
• CDC: concussion symptoms and emergency signs and concussion evaluation.
• State Bar of Arizona: ER 1.5 fee guidance.

Find more Arizona injury guides for collision reports, insurance questions and medical paperwork.

Get help with my next step through the Wood Injury Law contact page.

Related reading: Arizona car accident guide | Talking with an insurance adjuster | About Josh Wood