General information only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and coverage are fact-specific.
Short answer: If you were hurt in Dallas, the DFW metro, Edmond, Oklahoma City, or on a highway between those offices, treat medical care and the claims file as two jobs that start the same day. Skipping the ER or talking to the other insurer on a recorded line are the two mistakes we see most often.
Hour 0–4: scene, safety, and a record that exists
Get to a safe place. Call 911 if anyone is injured, traffic is blocked, or the other driver leaves. In Texas and Oklahoma a police report is not required for every fender-bender, but it is the cheapest contemporaneous record you will ever have. If officers do not come, exchange names, licenses, plates, insurance cards, and a phone photo of each.
Photograph vehicles in place if it is safe: all four corners, damage close-ups, license plates, airbags, seatbelts, road debris, weather, and any traffic signal or stop sign. Then photograph visible injuries the same day and again as bruising develops. Phone GPS and timestamp metadata are evidence. Do not “clean up” the scene before photos unless safety requires it.
Witnesses leave. Get names and numbers before they do. If a business camera pointed at the intersection, note the store name. Preservation letters can come later. A camera that overwrote itself on a 48-hour loop cannot.
Hour 4–24: medical care that matches the crash
Adrenaline hides injury. ER or urgent care the same day is the first line of your medical chronology. Tell the provider it was a motor-vehicle collision, list every body part that hurts, and do not downplay because you “feel fine standing here.” Gaps between crash and first visit are the first thing an adjuster highlights.
Follow the discharge instructions. If they send you to orthopedics, PT, or imaging, go. Insurers treat skipped referrals as proof you got better. Keep after-visit summaries, imaging, and pharmacy receipts. If you have health insurance, use it. Waiting for the at-fault carrier to “approve” treatment is how people go untreated for months.
Hour 24–72: insurance, recorded statements, and what not to post
Notify your own insurer if your policy requires prompt notice — many do. Give the date, location, other driver, and that you were injured. You do not need to guess fault on that first call.
The other driver’s insurer will call quickly. In Texas and Oklahoma you generally are not required to give them a recorded statement. A short confirmation of identity and that you have counsel (or will) is enough. Recorded statements are used to lock you into “I feel okay” before imaging. If you already gave one, tell us. We work with the tape; we do not pretend it does not exist.
Do not post crash photos, jokes about the wreck, or “I’m fine” captions. Do not sign medical authorizations or broad releases from the at-fault carrier without a lawyer reading them. Those forms often reach further than the crash.
Texas and Oklahoma are not the same file
Texas is a modified comparative-fault state: if you are more than 50% at fault, you generally recover nothing. Oklahoma currently uses a similar modified system after legislative changes in recent years — the exact percentage and how it is applied is fact-specific and can change. We do not quote a percentage on a website and treat it as your case.
PIP / Med-Pay, UM/UIM, and health-insurance liens work differently in each state and on each policy. Dallas wrecks often involve DFW traffic cameras and multiple carriers. Edmond and Oklahoma City wrecks often involve different UM stacks and different hospital collection practices. That is why we ask which state the crash happened in before we talk strategy.
Personal-injury limitations periods in both states are often two years from the crash for negligence claims, with exceptions. Minors, governmental defendants, and uninsured-motorist contract claims can run on different clocks. Do not use this page as your deadline calculator.
What a claim is actually built from
Liability is photos, the report, witnesses, and sometimes reconstruction. Damages are medical bills, records, wage proof, and — if the injury is lasting — what you cannot do that you did before. We do not send a demand the week of the crash unless the injury is already documented and treatment has a trajectory. Premature demands get low offers. Late demands with a clean file get taken seriously.
If the other driver is underinsured, your own UM/UIM may be the real policy. If a commercial vehicle, rideshare, or company car is involved, the coverage picture changes. Tell us that in the first conversation.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement?
- Generally no. Confirm identity if you choose, then pause until coverage and medical facts are reviewed.
- How soon should I see a doctor?
- The same day if anyone is hurt. Treatment gaps are a common reason insurers discount a claim.
- Does Texas or Oklahoma law apply?
- The crash location usually controls, even if you live in the other state. We review both from Dallas and Edmond.
Start on the personal injury page, use the state-specific forms for Texas or Oklahoma, or call 866-230-7236.