Warner Robins, GA
The steps you take in the first 72 hours decide what the other driver’s insurer can argue later. Here they are in order, with the North Carolina rule that makes each one matter.
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Being hit by someone else’s mistake should be simple: they caused it, their insurance pays. In North Carolina it usually works out that way, but only if the record you build in the first days supports it. The other driver’s insurer is looking for any fact that lets it argue you contributed to the crash, because under North Carolina law that argument, if it succeeds, wipes out your claim.
Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law handles injury claims across North Carolina, and the cases that go wrong share a pattern: a recorded statement given too early, a gap before the first doctor visit, or a report never filed. This page lays out what to do, in order, and why each step protects a North Carolina claim.
Stop, stay, and call 911. North Carolina law requires the driver in a crash that causes injury or death or at least $1,000 in property damage to notify law enforcement immediately, by the quickest means available, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1. Almost any collision that damages a modern vehicle clears that dollar line, so treat every crash as reportable. Every driver involved also has to stop and exchange name, address, driver’s license number, and plate number under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166, and render reasonable assistance to anyone hurt.
While you wait for the officer, photograph the vehicles where they came to rest, the damage from several angles, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, and the other driver’s license, plate, and insurance card. Get the names and phone numbers of witnesses before they leave. Tell the officer what you saw without guessing at speeds or distances. If the other driver leaves, note everything you can about the vehicle and report it as a hit and run; you will need that report for your own uninsured motorist coverage.
See a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks injuries, and a gap between the crash and the first visit is the single most common reason adjusters give for discounting a claim. Tell the provider it was a car crash so the record says so. Then notify your own insurer that a crash happened; your policy requires it, and your own coverage (medical payments, collision, uninsured and underinsured motorist) may be paying long before the other driver’s insurer does.
Start a file: the crash report number, every bill and receipt, a daily note on pain and what you could not do, and the name of everyone you speak to at any insurer.
| Do | Do not |
|---|---|
| Call 911 and get an officer to the scene; get the report number | Agree to “handle it without insurance” or leave before the officer arrives |
| Photograph vehicles, scene, injuries, and the other driver’s documents | Move the vehicles before photographing them, unless they are a hazard |
| See a doctor the same day and follow the treatment plan | Wait to see if the pain goes away |
| Notify your own insurer that a crash happened | Give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement |
| Keep every bill, receipt, and work note | Sign a release or accept a quick check for your injuries |
General guidance. Your own policy sets notice deadlines; read it or have a lawyer read it for you.
As little as possible, and nothing about fault. The other driver’s adjuster will call quickly, sound helpful, and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one. The purpose of the call is to lock in a version of events that includes something they can use later: that you were going a little fast, looked at your phone, were tired, or braked late. North Carolina is one of only a handful of jurisdictions that still follows pure contributory negligence, and under that rule an injured person whose own negligence contributed to the crash in any degree recovers nothing. The defendant has to prove it under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-139, and your own words are the cheapest proof there is.
Give the adjuster your name, contact information, and your claim number, confirm the date and location of the crash, and say that you will provide further information in writing or through your attorney. Do not sign medical authorizations that open your entire history. Do not accept a property-damage check that also releases the injury claim. If the adjuster says the case is worth a fixed amount, ask for the at-fault driver’s policy limits in writing; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-3-33 lets a claimant require that disclosure. The full rule and the exceptions to it are in our North Carolina contributory negligence guide.
The at-fault driver’s liability coverage pays for your injuries and your vehicle. North Carolina requires every driver to carry at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-279.21. If the other driver is uninsured, or fled and was never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage pays, because North Carolina treats a hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist. If their limits are too low for your injuries, your own underinsured motorist coverage covers the gap. Your health insurance and any medical payments coverage you bought pay the bills in the meantime, and are usually reimbursed from the settlement.
Liability insurers pay at the end of a claim, not bill by bill, and only after fault and damages are documented. That is the work a North Carolina car accident lawyer does, and the lawsuit deadline of three years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16) does not pause while an insurer negotiates. Call before you talk to the adjuster; the consultation is free.
Managing Partner · Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law
Attorney Palmer concentrates in personal injury law and trained in North Carolina law at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham. These answers are the ones he gives clients across a desk, written down: direct, in plain English, and tied to the North Carolina rule that applies.
Hit by a driver who was clearly at fault? Call before you speak to their insurer. The case review is free, and we will tell you what to say and what not to sign.
Responsible attorney: Joshua E. Palmer, Managing Partner · 106 Moran Dr #5106, Bonaire, GA 31005 · (478) 887-3734. Attorney advertising. This page is general legal information about North Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation; contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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Each case is different. Any results, settlement figures, or benefit amounts described on this page depend on the specific facts of that case and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in yours. Statutes and benefit rates cited are current as of September 2026; confirm current law with an attorney before relying on it.