Nobody hands you a list. You are sore, shaken and being told a dozen things at once by people who all sound certain.
See a doctor within 24 to 48 hours even if you feel functional, tell your own insurer the same day, and write down what you remember before you sleep. In Ontario the accident benefits clocks are 7 days to notify and 30 days to file the application. Every province runs its own version.
These three days carry more weight than any others because two things are still available to you now that will not be available later. A medical record can still be created that ties your symptoms to the collision, and your memory of what happened is still accurate.
What should you do on day one after a car accident?
Three things, in this order.
See a doctor. Say clearly that you were in a collision. Describe everything you are feeling, including anything that seems too minor to mention. That visit is what anchors your symptoms to the crash.
Notify your own insurer. You report to your own insurance company regardless of who caused the collision. This is not an admission of fault. A phone call today is far easier than explaining a delay in six weeks.
Secure the paperwork. If police attended, request a copy of the report or note the report number. If the collision was reportable and police did not attend, find out whether your province requires you at a reporting centre and by when. In Ontario that is within 24 hours where combined damage looks to be over $5,000.
Why see a doctor if you feel fine?
Because feeling fine in the first hours tells you very little. Adrenaline and cortisol suppress pain as part of the body's stress response, and they do it well enough that people have walked away from collisions with concussions and fractures.
Whiplash inflammation commonly builds over 24 to 72 hours, so stiffness and pain often peak a day or two after the crash rather than at the scene. Concussion symptoms can take hours or days to surface. More detail sits in why car accident injuries sometimes appear days later.
How soon must you tell your insurer?
The same day if you can manage it. Most policies require notice as soon as reasonably possible, and the formal deadlines are shorter than people expect.
In Ontario you have 7 days to notify your insurer that you intend to claim accident benefits and 30 days to submit the completed application. Those two numbers are separate and both are easy to lose inside a bad week. Other provinces set their own limits, so confirm yours rather than assuming Ontario's apply.
What should you write down before you sleep?
Tonight, while it is still sharp:
- Exactly where and when it happened
- The road, light and weather conditions
- What you remember of the impact, including direction, speed and the order things happened in
- Any symptom you noticed at the scene or in the hours after
- Everyone you spoke to, including officers, witnesses and the other driver
- What was said to you and by whom
Memory after a shock degrades faster than ordinary memory. What you write today is more accurate than what you will recall in two weeks, and far more accurate than what you will recall when someone finally asks you formally.
What are you allowed to refuse in the first 72 hours?
More than most people realize, and this is the section worth reading twice.
You are allowed to decline a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer until you have taken advice. Your own insurer requires your cooperation. The other driver's insurer has no such relationship with you, and a statement given while you are still in shock can narrow your claim permanently.
You are allowed to say you do not know yet, rather than guessing at speeds, distances or how badly you are hurt. A guess written down becomes a fact you have to live with.
You are allowed to report a symptom today that you did not have yesterday, as many times as it happens. Nobody gets one chance to describe an injury.
What is worth avoiding rather than refusing is social media. Anything you post publicly can be pulled into a claim or a proceeding, including photographs, descriptions of how you feel and remarks about what happened.
What happens on day two and day three?
Follow through on whatever your doctor asked for. If they referred you for imaging or a follow-up, book it rather than waiting to see whether things settle.
Start a daily record. A few lines is enough: pain levels, sleep, what you could not do, how you felt. This is the window where symptoms are still changing, and a record started on day two shows a trajectory that a record started in month two never can.
Keep every receipt connected to the collision. Prescriptions, appointments, transport to and from them, any device or support you had to buy. Many of these are reimbursable and almost all of them are forgotten.
What should you record from day one?
Six things, starting today.
- The collision itself, in your own words, dated today
- Every symptom and the date it first appeared
- Every medical visit, who you saw and what they said
- Every call with an insurer, with the date, the name and what was agreed
- What you could not do that you could do before
- Every expense, with the receipt attached
The fourth one is the one people wish they had. Insurance conversations happen by phone, move quickly and are remembered differently by each side. A dated line written the same afternoon settles most of those disagreements before they start.
The National MVA Recovery Guide was built for exactly these early days, with dated space for the collision, your symptoms and your first medical visits in one place. The free First 72 Hours tracker covers the same ground if you want to start tonight.
Read next
- Why car accident injuries sometimes appear days later
- How long does recovery after a car accident take
- What to do after a car accident in Ontario
Keep your recovery in one place
The National MVA Recovery Guide covers what applies anywhere in Canada. Your provincial Companion Guide adds the insurer, the forms and the deadlines where you live.
Last verified August 2026. Deadlines named here are Ontario's and are set out by the province and its insurers. Limits differ elsewhere in Canada. This article is general information and is not medical, legal or insurance advice.