After a Crash

2. Information to exchange

From the driver (or other cyclist):

• Full name, phone, and address
• Driver’s license number
• Insurance company and policy number
• License plate, plus vehicle make, model, and color
• Their employer, if they were driving for work — commercial insurance often applies

From any witnesses, before they leave:

• Name and phone number
• A quick note or voice memo of what they saw

3. Document the scene

• Photos of the damage — your bike, the vehicle, the road surface, skid marks, debris
• Photos of the surroundings — traffic signals, lane markings, sight lines, lighting, weather
• Photos of your injuries, and again over the following days as bruising develops
• A short voice memo describing what happened while it’s fresh
• The exact location — nearest cross streets, plus a GPS pin from your phone
• Time and date

The clock is running on evidence. Small-business surveillance footage is often retained for only 24–72 hours before it’s overwritten. Commercial vehicle event recorders (“black boxes”) and GPS data on consumer devices can disappear within days. If you can’t act yourself, an attorney can send a preservation letter immediately — but only if you flag what to preserve before it’s gone.

4. Get medical care

• Go to the ER or urgent care, even if you feel okay. Head, neck, and internal injuries are routinely delayed.
• Use the exact phrase “I was struck by a motor vehicle while cycling on [date] at [location]” with every provider, every visit — ER, X-ray intake, follow-up, physical therapy. This causal language creates the chain in your chart that links every diagnosis and bill to the crash for insurance and legal purposes.
• Check your chart for “fell off bicycle” or similar phrasing that breaks that chain. If you find it, ask the provider to amend the record to reflect the actual mechanism: struck by motor vehicle. Most providers will correct it.
• Save every bill, prescription, and discharge summary.
• Follow up with your primary care doctor within a few days.

5. Preserve evidence

• Don’t repair or discard your bike, even if it still rolls. Keep it as-is.
• Keep your helmet. It’s evidence, and it’s no longer protective after a single impact — replace it before riding again.
• Save torn or blood-stained clothing and gloves.
• Don’t wash anything until you’ve photographed it.

6. File a police report

• If officers came to the scene, get the report number and the officer’s name and badge.
• If they didn’t come, go to the station and file a report yourself, the same day if possible.
• Request a copy of the report when it’s released (typically 1–5 business days).
• Read the report carefully. Errors are common. If something is wrong, ask the officer how to correct it — most departments allow a supplemental statement.

7. Talk to an attorney before insurance

• Bicycle-specific personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and most work on contingency — no fee unless you recover.
• If the at-fault driver’s insurer calls before you have counsel, the entire script is one sentence: “I will respond once I have spoken with an attorney” — then end the call. Don’t give them a statement, a recorded interview, a timeline of what happened, or even a polite recap. Adjusters are trained to extract usable phrasing from casual conversation.
• Don’t sign anything from their insurer — releases or medical-records authorizations — without legal review.

8. Notify your own insurance

• Health insurance — needed for medical billing; notify them promptly.
• Auto insurance — many policies have personal-injury protection (PIP) or uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage that applies even while you’re cycling. Worth checking even if you don’t own a car — household policies may extend to you.
• Homeowner’s or renter’s — sometimes covers bike replacement or theft of equipment damaged in the crash.

9. Keep a record afterward

A simple journal makes a real difference if a case develops:

• Pain levels, day by day
• Missed work and lost income
• Every medical appointment and the provider’s name
• Sleep, mood, ability to exercise — quality-of-life impacts matter
• Mileage to and from medical appointments; often reimbursable

10. What not to do

• Don’t apologize or admit fault, even casually.
• Don’t post about the crash on social media. Insurance adjusters and opposing counsel routinely check.
• Don’t accept a quick cash offer at the scene from a driver who “doesn’t want to involve insurance.” Injuries surface in the days after; settlements close the door.
• Don’t agree to handle it informally without a police report and full information exchange.
• Don’t let anyone — including police — pressure you into a brief statement before you’re medically cleared and have your bearings.
• Don’t sign a broad medical release from the at-fault driver’s insurer. The form is usually titled something innocuous, but it gives them access to your entire medical history — years or decades back — so they can find pre-existing conditions to blame for your injuries. A release scoped narrowly to crash-related care is reasonable; an unlimited one is not. Your attorney will handle this.

If injuries are serious

The checklist above is for any crash. If the injuries are catastrophic — traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, internal organ damage, amputation, or any ICU admission — the questions get bigger and the stakes get longer. A few things specific to that situation:

• Family access to medical information. If the survivor can’t speak for themselves, HIPAA blocks the hospital from sharing records or accepting decisions from family by default. Ask the hospital social worker on day one: “What do we need to sign so the medical team can share information with us, and who needs to sign it?” Healthcare proxy and HIPAA authorization forms are routine; the social worker handles this every day.
• Inpatient vs. observation status. Hospitals sometimes hold patients under “observation status” rather than formally admitting them. The distinction is critical: observation status often doesn’t trigger Medicare or insurance coverage for inpatient rehabilitation afterward. Ask the charge nurse directly: “Has the patient been formally admitted as an inpatient?”
• Victim advocate. If criminal charges are filed (vehicular assault, reckless driving causing injury), the District Attorney’s office can assign a victim advocate to walk you through the legal process and connect you to services. If one hasn’t been assigned, request one through the DA.
• Don’t settle early. The biggest portion of what you’re owed is for care you haven’t received yet — future surgeries, long rehabilitation, adaptive equipment, lost earning capacity. No one can put a number on that until your condition stabilizes (months, often a year or more). Early settlements are almost always irreversible and almost always inadequate.

For survivors and families of catastrophic crashes, The White Line publishes a much deeper guide covering medical decision-making, the criminal accountability path, long-term financial planning, and mental health for survivors and caregivers. It was written by Jill and Michael White after their son Magnus was killed by a driver while training. thewhiteline.org

Bike-on-bike crashes

The steps above apply. Two differences worth knowing:

• The other cyclist usually doesn’t carry liability insurance, but their homeowner’s or renter’s policy may cover injuries they caused.
• Police are less likely to respond to a cyclist-only crash. File a written report yourself anyway — it’s often the only documentation that will exist.

If you witness a crash

• Stop. Stay until police arrive.
• Help with first aid only if you’re trained.
• Give your name and contact info to the cyclist or their family.
• Write down what you saw before the details fade.

State-by-state differences

Cycling and crash law is set at the state level, and a few rules can change the outcome of a case dramatically. The four points below are the ones most worth knowing before you talk to anyone.

Statute of limitations

The deadline for filing a personal-injury lawsuit. Most states allow two or three years from the date of the crash, but some are shorter (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee are one year for personal injury). Claims against a city or government agency — for example, over road conditions — usually have a much shorter notice deadline, often 30 to 180 days. Don’t wait to find out.

Comparative vs. contributory negligence

Most states use some form of comparative negligence: if you’re found 20% at fault, your recovery is reduced by 20%. But a handful still use pure contributory negligence — if you’re found any percent at fault, you recover nothing. That rule applies in:

• Alabama
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.

In those jurisdictions, an off-hand “I’m sorry” at the scene or a careless statement to an adjuster can end a case. Several other states use a modified comparative rule with a 50% or 51% bar — if you’re more than half at fault, you recover nothing. Get local counsel.

Helmet laws and how they affect a case

Roughly half of U.S. states require helmets for cyclists under 16 or 18; very few impose universal helmet requirements. Some cities have stricter local ordinances. Importantly, in most states the absence of a helmet cannot be used to reduce damages from a crash caused by another party — but a few states allow it. Check your state.

E-bike classification

Most states have adopted the three-class e-bike framework (Class 1 pedal-assist, Class 2 throttle, Class 3 high-speed pedal-assist) but where each class is allowed — bike lanes, multi-use paths, sidewalks — varies widely. Crash response is the same, but classification can affect liability and insurance treatment.

Local resources

Cycling advocacy organizations near you can often recommend bicycle-friendly attorneys, help with reporting dangerous infrastructure, and connect you with crash survivors. Find a local group on the organization directory.