The First 72 Hours
What to document after a collision in Canada. Free. No email required. For drivers, passengers, cyclists and people on foot.
If you are reading this soon after a collision, take a breath first. Nothing on this page has to be done in the next five minutes.
What follows matters for one reason. Months from now, someone who was not there will decide what happened to you, and they will decide it from paper. You do not need to do this perfectly. You need to start.
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What to do at the scene of a car accident
- ☐ Hazard lights on. Stay where you are if moving is unsafe.
- ☐ Call 911 if anyone is hurt or you are unsure.
- ☐ Photograph everything before a single vehicle moves.
- ☐ Collect every driver's name, address, phone, licence number, plate, insurance company and policy number.
- ☐ Get a name and phone number from every witness.
- ☐ Say nothing about fault. Do not apologize.
- ☐ Note the time, the exact location, your direction of travel and the weather.
Photograph this list. Every vehicle from every angle. Every plate. The wider scene showing lane position. Traffic signals and road signs. Skid marks and debris. The road surface. The light.
Witnesses disappear within minutes and are almost impossible to find later. A first name and a phone number are enough.
Police in Ontario must be involved if there are injuries, if a pedestrian or cyclist was struck, if impaired driving or another criminal act is suspected, if public property was damaged or if damage across all vehicles appears to top $5,000. Otherwise you have 24 hours to attend a Collision Reporting Centre.
What to do in the first 24 hours after a crash
- ☐ See a doctor even if you feel fine.
- ☐ Name every symptom out loud so it enters the record.
- ☐ Start a symptom log. Date, time, what hurts, severity out of ten, what it stopped you doing.
- ☐ Photograph visible injuries with the date showing.
- ☐ Notify your insurer. Ontario requires this within seven days.
- ☐ Keep every receipt from today forward.
Why the doctor visit cannot wait. Concussions and soft tissue injuries often show nothing on day one. A gap between the collision and your first medical visit is the most common reason an injury gets questioned later.
Say everything. Headache. Dizziness. Nausea. Ringing. Stiffness. Trouble sleeping. Trouble concentrating. If it is not spoken it is not written down, and if it is not written down it did not happen as far as the file is concerned.
If you are already past seven days, do not panic. A late notice does not automatically end a claim. You will be asked for a reasonable explanation, so call your insurer today rather than tomorrow. Write down now why the delay happened while you still remember it clearly. Hospitalization, severe injury and being unable to function are all understood reasons.
What to document on days two and three
- ☐ Write your full account of the day while it is still fresh.
- ☐ Photograph injuries again. Bruising darkens over several days.
- ☐ Log every new symptom. Delayed pain is normal and needs to be on paper.
- ☐ Watch for the accident benefits package. In Ontario the OCF-1 is due within 30 days of the day it reaches you.
- ☐ Start a call log. Date, time, who you spoke to, what was said.
- ☐ Tell your employer in writing if you are missing work.
Your account of the day is the most valuable page you will ever write. Where you were going. What you saw and heard. What your body felt immediately after. Write more than seems necessary.
What to keep logging after the first week
Log daily where you can. Symptoms. Appointments. Treatments. Mileage. Money spent. Most of all, what you can no longer do that you could do before the collision. That last one is the part people leave out and the part that carries the most weight.
Free fillable trackers for all of it are at our resource hub. Symptoms, medications, appointments, mileage and expenses, and a log of every call. No signup, no email.
Your deadlines depend on where you live
Every province and territory runs on different dates, and several of them are shorter than people expect. Find yours.
Ontario British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Quebec Nova Scotia New Brunswick Prince Edward Island Newfoundland and Labrador Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
What changed for Ontario accident benefits in July 2026
In Ontario, as of July 1, 2026, only medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits remain mandatory in an auto policy. Income replacement, non-earner, caregiver, dependant care, indexation and funeral benefits became optional.
Those optional benefits now reach only the named insured, a spouse, dependants and listed drivers. Pedestrians, cyclists and some passengers who would have been covered before may no longer be eligible.
Policies renew as they are unless the holder asks in writing to change them, so most people will find out what they no longer carry on the worst day of their year.
You cannot change your coverage after a collision. You can change the quality of your record starting today.
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Two things decide how an injury claim goes. What you wrote down and whether you did the right thing at the right time for where you live. The National Recovery Guide handles the first, the daily record of symptoms, appointments, calls and costs that a claim is eventually judged on. The Provincial Companion Guide handles the second, the deadlines, forms, boards and appeal routes for your own province. People who have only one tend to end up with a careful record aimed at the wrong process, or the right dates and nothing to put in front of them.
Both of our lines are built the same way. There is a National Recovery Guide and a Provincial Companion Guide for motor vehicle collisions, and the same pair again under The Way Back for workplace injuries.
Recovery First. Pressure Last.
Media inquiries: Recovery@hurtsquare.ca. Story leads and fast facts are on our media page.
This page is general information for people in Canada. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules differ by province and change over time. Confirm anything specific to your situation with a lawyer, your insurer or your provincial regulator.