What should I do immediately after a personal injury accident in San Diego?

Quick Answer

Get medical attention even if you feel fine. Call 911 and get a police report. Photograph everything at the scene. Gather witness contact information. Do not discuss fault with anyone or accept any insurance settlement offer. Call a personal injury attorney before you talk to the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

Reviewed by Daryoosh Khashayar, ABOTA Member, founder and managing partner of Khashayar Law Group — Last updated May 2026.

The first 24 hours after a personal injury accident in San Diego substantially affect both your medical recovery and your eventual financial recovery. The at-fault driver, their insurance company, and their defense attorney all begin building their case the moment the crash happens. The evidence that survives the first 72 hours is what determines case value.

Three California rules govern what happens next. The two-year statute of limitations under California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 begins running immediately. Pure comparative negligence under California Civil Code §1714 allows partial recovery even when you share fault — meaning what you say at the scene affects how fault gets allocated. And federal evidence preservation rules for commercial drivers under 49 CFR §395 require litigation hold letters to be sent before electronic logging device (ELD) data is overwritten.

In our $5 million truck-and-scooter case, the California Highway Patrol report initially placed 100% of fault on our client. The case turned on evidence Khashayar Law Group preserved within the first 72 hours: dashcam footage, witness statements, scene photographs, and post-crash drug-and-alcohol test results we subpoenaed before they could be destroyed.

On this page

What should I do at the scene of the accident?

  1. Call 911. Request paramedics and police. Get a report number before anyone leaves. In San Diego, the responding agency is either the San Diego Police Department or California Highway Patrol depending on the location.
  2. Accept medical attention even if you feel fine. Many of the most valuable injuries — concussions, internal bleeding, soft-tissue and disc injuries — don’t show symptoms for hours or days. A gap in medical treatment is the single most common defense argument used to reduce a case.
  3. Photograph everything. Vehicle damage from multiple angles. License plates. The other driver’s insurance card and driver’s license. Road conditions, traffic signals, skid marks. Visible injuries. Wide shots and close-ups.
  4. Get witness contact info. Names, phone numbers, what they observed, where they were standing. Witnesses scatter within 24 hours and become unreachable.
  5. Identify dashcam and surveillance camera sources. Note any vehicles with visible dashcams, nearby businesses with security cameras, and any traffic light cameras. We can subpoena this footage if you can tell us where to look.
  6. Save everything in writing. Police report number, badge numbers, ambulance company name, hospital, the at-fault party’s insurance policy number. Take a screenshot of the location on a map.
  7. Call an attorney before the insurance company calls you. The at-fault insurer will call within 24-48 hours. Do not give a recorded statement until you have counsel.

What should I avoid saying to the other driver or insurance company?

Anything you say can become evidence used against your claim. The following phrases routinely cost personal injury cases 20-50% of their value:

  • “I’m sorry.” California courts treat apologies as admissions. Even reflexive politeness becomes “the plaintiff admitted fault at the scene.”
  • “I didn’t see them.” Used by defense attorneys as evidence of inattention.
  • “I’m fine” or “I’m not hurt.” Used to argue your injuries developed later from an unrelated cause.
  • Any speculation about how the crash happened. Stick to facts you directly observed.

The at-fault driver’s insurance company will call within 24-48 hours and ask for a “recorded statement.” You are not required to give one. Politely decline and refer them to your attorney. Recorded statements are designed to lock in inconsistent details that get used later to impeach your testimony.

When should I contact a personal injury attorney?

As soon as practical — ideally within 24-72 hours of the incident. The first 30 days set the trajectory of the entire case. Within that window, an attorney can:

  • Send a litigation hold letter to preserve dashcam, ELD, and surveillance footage that’s routinely overwritten within 30-90 days.
  • Subpoena the at-fault driver’s phone records to prove distracted driving.
  • Photograph and document scene conditions before they change.
  • Identify all available insurance policies (often multiple, especially in commercial vehicle and rideshare crashes).
  • Intercept the at-fault insurance company before they pressure you into a low first offer.

The consultation with Khashayar Law Group is free and confidential. The firm works on contingency — no attorney fee unless we recover.

What if I’m too injured to gather evidence at the scene?

Your priority is medical care. The evidence-gathering steps above can be done by a family member, friend, or your attorney after the fact. Khashayar Law Group regularly works with seriously injured clients whose initial evidence collection was limited — we subpoena police body-cam footage, hospital records, ambulance dispatch logs, nearby business security cameras, and traffic camera data to reconstruct the scene. The earlier we are retained, the more of that evidence we can preserve.

Related cases we’ve handled

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This FAQ relates to our Automobile Accidents, Truck Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, and Bike and Pedestrian Accidents practice areas. To preserve evidence before it disappears, call (858) 509-1550 for a free consultation, 24/7.