The First Week After Your Los Angeles Accident What You Need to Do: Before the Other Side Gets Too Far Ahead

Here's something most accident victims don't realize until it's too late: the first week after your accident is often more important than the day of the accident itself. Day One is about immediate protection — calling 911, seeing a doctor, not giving a recorded statement. Most people handle that reasonably well, even when they're shaken up. 

The first week is where claims quietly fall apart. Not because people do anything dramatically wrong. Because they don't know what to do — so they do nothing. They wait to feel better before going back to the doctor. They figure they'll deal with the insurance company when they're ready. They assume the process will sort itself out.  Generally speaking....it won't.

Meanwhile, the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim is anything but idle. This guide walks you through exactly what the first seven days should look like — what to do, what to avoid, and what the other side is doing while you recover.

What the Insurance Company is Doing

Let's start here, because understanding this changes how urgently you approach everything else. Within days of your accident, the adjuster assigned to your claim by the at-fault driver's insurer — whether that's State Farm, Farmers, Mercury, AAA, or another carrier common in the Los Angeles market — has already done several things. They've reviewed the police or CHP report. 

 They've documented their insured's version of events. They've run your name to check for prior claims history. They may have already ordered surveillance of your property. And they are calling you — possibly multiple times — hoping to get a recorded statement while you're still in pain, still confused, and still without legal advice. Their goal this week is simple: close your claim as cheaply as possible, ideally before you understand what it's worth. Your goal this week is equally simple: don't let that happen. Here's how. 

Your First Week Action Plan 

Get Your Accident Report and Read It Carefully 

Your police or CHP report is one of the most important documents in your entire claim. It's also one of the most commonly misunderstood. 

Depending on the agency involved, your report will be available within five to ten business days of the accident. 

Here's how to get it: 

If LAPD responded: Request through the LAPD online report portal at lapdonline.org or in person at the reporting division. 

If the LA County Sheriff responded: Request through the Sheriff's Records Bureau at your local station. 

If CHP responded (freeway accident): Request through the CHP Automated Management System online or at your nearest CHP area office. CHP reports are typically available within 10 business days. 

Once you have it, read every word. 

Check the following items: 

The names and insurance information of all parties — errors are more common than you'd think. 

The officer's narrative of the accident — does it accurately reflect what happened? 

The diagram of the accident — is the sequence of events correct? 

The fault determination, if one was made (California officers can note a violation but the ultimate fault determination in a civil claim is made by the insurance companies and ultimately a jury if necessary). 

If you find errors — especially in the narrative or the sequence of events — dispute them immediately and in writing with the reporting agency. 

Don't assume errors will be overlooked. Insurance companies rely heavily on the police report when evaluating claims, and errors can follow your case all the way to trial if not corrected. 

Keep Going to the Doctor — No Gaps  

If there's one thing I want you to take from this entire guide, it's this: do not stop treating until your doctor tells you to stop. Gaps in medical treatment are the single most damaging thing that can happen to your claim in the first week. Here's why. 

Insurance adjusters are trained to look for gaps in treatment timelines. A gap — even a few days where you skipped an appointment or didn't follow up — becomes an argument that your injuries must not have been that serious. After all, if you were really in pain, you would have kept going, right? That's the argument. It's not fair. But it works. 

So whatever your doctor recommended on your first visit — follow-up appointments, physical therapy, specialist referrals, imaging — do it, and do it on schedule. 

A few specific things worth knowing about medical treatment in Los Angeles County: 

Many Los Angeles-area physicians and physical therapists will treat accident victims on a medical lien basis — meaning you pay nothing upfront and they are reimbursed from your settlement. If you don't have health insurance or your insurance doesn't cover accident-related treatment, ask about medical lien arrangements. 

If you were referred to a specialist but are struggling to get an appointment quickly, tell your primary physician. Documented referrals that go unfulfilled can create gaps that look like your choice, when in fact they were access problems. 

Every visit, tell your doctor about every symptom — even the ones that seem minor or unrelated. New symptoms often emerge in the first week as adrenaline wears off and the full extent of soft tissue damage becomes apparent. Get it documented.

Start a Daily Claim Journal  

This is one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do for your claim — and almost nobody does it. 

Starting today, spend five minutes each evening writing down: 

Your pain levels — where it hurts, on a scale of one to ten, and how it compares to the day before. 

How your injuries are affecting your daily life — can't pick up your kids, can't sleep, missed your workout, struggled to sit at your desk, had to ask someone else to do the grocery shopping. 

Your emotional state — anxiety, difficulty concentrating, fear of driving, nightmares about the accident. 

Emotional distress is a compensable element of damages under California law, and a contemporaneous record of it is far more persuasive than trying to reconstruct it months later. 

What activities you missed or modified because of your injuries — work, family events, exercise, hobbies, social plans. 

Why does this matter so much? Because personal injury cases often settle twelve to eighteen months after the accident. By that point, even the most articulate person struggles to describe specifically how they felt in week two or week six of their recovery. 

The journal fills that gap. It doesn't need to be formal. A few sentences in a notes app on your phone works fine. What matters is that you do it every day and that you date every entry. 

Gather and Preserve Every Document   

Your claim is ultimately a paper case. The side with better documentation almost always does better. Start building your claim file this week. 

Here's what goes in it: 

Medical records: Every bill, every explanation of benefits from your health insurer, every prescription receipt, every imaging report. If you're being treated through a medical lien arrangement, get copies of all documentation anyway. 

Vehicle damage: Your repair estimate, the final repair bill, the insurance company's damage assessment, and all photographs of the damage before and after repair. 

Lost income documentation: If you missed work, get a letter from your employer on company letterhead documenting the dates missed and your hourly or daily rate of pay. If you're self-employed, gather tax returns and business records that establish your income. 

Out-of-pocket expenses: Every expense caused by the accident — Uber rides to medical appointments because you couldn't drive, over-the-counter medications, medical equipment like a neck brace or heating pad. Keep every receipt. 

Insurance correspondence: Every letter, email, text, or voicemail from any insurance company. Write down the date, time, and substance of every phone call you receive from an adjuster — even if you didn't call them back. 

Don't assume your attorney or the insurance company will collect all of this for you. Some of it they will. But the documentation that most often gets lost is the day-to-day out-of-pocket stuff — the $12 Uber receipt, the $28 prescription — that adds up to real money and is completely unrecoverable without a record.

Handle Insurance Contact Strategically    

By the end of your first week, you will likely have been contacted by at least one and possibly two or three different insurance adjusters. Let's break down who they are and how to handle each one. 

The at-fault driver's insurance company. 

This is the opposing insurer — the company whose interest is directly adverse to yours. You have no legal obligation to give them a recorded statement, and in almost every case you should not do so without an attorney present. When they call, be polite. Take their name, direct number, and claim number. Tell them you are still treating and will be in touch. Then stop talking. 

Your own insurance company. 

Your policy requires you to cooperate with your own insurer. If you haven't already notified them, do so this week. Keep your statement to the basic facts — date, time, location, other vehicle involved. If your own uninsured motorist coverage is potentially involved — because the at-fault driver had no insurance or insufficient coverage — consult an attorney before giving your own insurer a detailed recorded statement. 

A medical payments adjuster. If you have MedPay coverage on your own policy — coverage that pays your medical bills regardless of fault — you may be contacted separately about this. This is generally straightforward and worth cooperating with promptly. MedPay can help cover treatment costs while your claim is pending. 

One rule that applies to all of them: get everything in writing. If an adjuster tells you something important over the phone — about coverage, about a payment, about a deadline — follow up with an email confirming what they told you. This creates a record that is very useful later if they change their position.

Watch What You Do Online     

I mentioned this in the Day One guide and I'm repeating it here because in the first week — when you're home recovering and bored and connected to your phone — this is where it actually becomes a problem. Insurance defense firms in Los Angeles routinely pull social media records in litigation. 

Defense attorneys request Facebook archives, Instagram histories, and TikTok content as part of discovery. Posts made in the week after your accident are particularly scrutinized. 

What trips people up isn't usually the dramatic stuff — it's the innocent post. A photo from a birthday dinner you attended despite the pain because you didn't want to disappoint your family. A picture from the bleachers at your kid's soccer game. A check-in at a restaurant. All of these get presented as evidence that your injuries couldn't have been that serious. 

Keep all accounts private. Post nothing accident-related. And if friends or family want to post photos of you during this period, ask them not to — or at least ask them to untag you.  Best thing to do is avoid social media altogether.  It's generally unnecessary anyway and may come back to haunt you.

Talk to an Attorney This Week      

I'll put this as plainly as I can. The most common theme among people who call after their claim has already been damaged is this: I wish I had talked to someone sooner. Not because they needed to hire someone immediately. But because a 30-minute free consultation in the first week would have told them not to give that recorded statement. Not to accept that quick settlement offer. Not to skip those physical therapy appointments. 

Most every personal injury attorney in Los Angeles offers free initial consultations — there is no cost and no commitment. A brief conversation doesn't lock you into anything. But it gives you a clear picture of where you stand, what the claim might be worth, and what you need to do to protect yourself. 

The earlier an attorney gets involved, the more they can do. Evidence can be preserved. Spoliation letters can be sent requiring the other side to preserve video footage, vehicle data, and maintenance records before they disappear — which in Los Angeles can happen fast. Expert witnesses can be identified. The right doctors can be brought in. All of that becomes harder — sometimes impossible — the longer you wait.

About Quick Settlement Offers 

Some people receive a settlement offer in the first week. This happens more often than you'd think — particularly in cases where liability is clear and the insurer wants to close the file before the claimant understands their rights. 

Here is the short version: do not accept it. 

Here is the slightly longer version: a settlement offer made in the first week is almost always made before you know the full extent of your injuries. Soft tissue injuries, disc problems, and concussions frequently don't declare their full severity for weeks or months. 

Once you sign a release and accept that check, the claim is over — permanently. You cannot go back for more money if your back gets worse or your headaches turn out to be something more serious. The insurance company knows this. That's exactly why they're offering now. 

If you receive a settlement offer this week, call an attorney before you respond. You don't have to hire anyone. Just get an honest evaluation of whether the offer reflects what your claim is actually worth. 

After the First Week 

If you've followed the steps above, you're in good shape. You have your accident report. You're treating consistently. You've started your claim journal. You've built your claim file. You've handled insurance contact carefully. And hopefully you've spoken with an attorney. 

Phase 3 covers what comes next — the medical treatment phase, which is the foundation your entire settlement will be built on. 

 Understanding how treatment affects claim value, how long you should treat, and what insurance companies look for in your medical records is essential reading before you go much further.

→ Continue to Phase 3: Getting Medical Treatment