Personal injury accidents can happen on a highway, at an intersection, on unsafe property, at work, or during an everyday activity. The type of event helps identify the evidence to preserve, the insurance policies that may apply, and the questions that should be asked. It is only a starting point, however. Two incidents with the same label can involve very different facts, injuries, coverage, and legal issues.
Car and roadway accidents
Car crashes include rear-end collisions, intersection accidents, sideswipes, head-on impacts, rollovers, and multi-vehicle pileups. Useful evidence may include photographs of vehicle positions and damage, dash-camera video, traffic-light timing, road markings, witness information, repair estimates, and the investigating officer’s report. Do not assume that visible property damage answers every question about how a collision happened or whether someone was injured.
Motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents often require close attention to visibility, lighting, sight lines, road design, protective equipment, and statements made at the scene. Because these road users have less physical protection, even a low-speed impact may lead to significant medical evaluation. Learn more in our types of injuries resources.
Truck, commercial, rideshare, and delivery crashes
A collision involving a tractor-trailer, work vehicle, bus, rideshare driver, or delivery vehicle may involve more than one company or policy. Vehicle ownership, the driver’s work status, app activity, maintenance records, cargo information, electronic data, and commercial insurance can become important. These materials may not remain available indefinitely, so record the company name, vehicle number, license plate, and any identifying information visible at the scene without confronting the driver.
Premises and activity-related accidents
Slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall, falling-object, dog-bite, recreational, and other unsafe-property incidents are often grouped as premises cases. Photograph the condition from several distances, identify the exact location, report the incident, obtain the report number, and keep the footwear or damaged item involved. Surveillance video, inspection schedules, cleaning records, prior complaints, and warning signs may help explain what the owner or operator knew.
Workplace injuries can involve workers’ compensation, a claim against another responsible person or company, or both. Preserve the employer report, job description, schedule, witness names, equipment information, training materials, and medical work restrictions. Do not rely only on a brief verbal report.
What to document after any accident
Create a simple timeline while details are fresh. Include the date, time, location, weather, people involved, reports made, medical visits, symptoms, missed work, and insurer communications. Save original photos, video, bills, receipts, estimates, policy documents, letters, and electronic messages. Keep descriptions accurate and consistent; if you do not know an answer, say so rather than guessing.
A collision or incident report can organize basic facts, but it may not contain every witness, injury, or later medical development. A report is also different from an insurance decision or a final legal determination. Review it for correct names, vehicles, date, location, and insurance information, and ask the issuing agency how supplemental information or corrections are handled.
Choose the guide that fits the facts
Start with the event category that most closely matches what happened, then review related information about injuries, insurance companies, coverage, and reports. If several categories overlap, that is normal. A person can be injured in a rideshare vehicle by a commercial truck at an unsafe intersection, creating several factual and coverage questions.
If you want a human to help identify the most relevant information, start the case-evaluation checklist. It does not automatically approve, reject, or value a matter.
Review the related guides again when new facts or records become available.
This article provides general educational information for California and Texas. It is not legal or medical advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.