The first two days after a crash shape the rest of your claim, and most of what goes wrong happens in that window — not in a courtroom months later. This is what to do, in order, after a car or auto accident in Rhode Island.
At the scene
Get the police report number before you leave. Not the officer’s name, the report number. Retrieving a report later without it is slow and sometimes impossible.
Photograph more than the damage. Capture vehicle positions before anything is moved, the road surface, traffic controls, any obstructed sightline, and the wider scene showing how the vehicles came to rest. Damage photos alone tell you what happened to the cars; position photos tell you what happened in the crash.
If the other driver says anything about not seeing you, being distracted, or being in a hurry, write it down immediately. Those statements are common at the scene and tend to evolve later.
Get medical attention the same day
This is the single most common mistake we see. Adrenaline masks injury, and people who feel functional at the scene often wake up unable to turn their head. A gap between the crash and your first treatment is the first thing an adjuster reaches for to argue your injuries came from something else.
Same-day treatment is not about being dramatic. It creates the medical record that links the crash to the injury.
Report it — carefully
Notify your own insurer promptly; most policies require it. But be careful about the other driver’s insurer. You are not obliged to give them a recorded statement, and those early questions are not neutral. Adjusters are trained to ask about speed, about what you were doing, and about how you feel today — a question designed to produce “I’m fine” on tape before your symptoms develop.
How long you actually have
Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b) you generally have three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury claim. That sounds comfortable, and it misleads people.
Evidence has a much shorter life than three years. Commercial surveillance is typically overwritten within 7–30 days. Witnesses move. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped. And claims involving a city, town or state entity can carry notice deadlines measured in weeks, not years.
Being partly at fault does not end your claim
Rhode Island applies pure comparative negligence under § 9-20-4. You can be found substantially at fault — even mostly at fault — and still recover, with damages reduced by your share. Most states cut recovery off at 50 or 51 percent. Rhode Island does not.
Since the 2019 amendment to that statute, the argument that a hazard was open and obvious no longer bars recovery outright either.
This matters because insurers frequently open with a fault argument hoping you will assume the claim is worthless. In Rhode Island it usually is not.
What not to do
- Do not accept a fast settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries
- Do not post about the crash or your recovery on social media
- Do not sign a medical authorisation for the other insurer without advice — they are often written broadly enough to pull your entire history
- Do not let your vehicle be repaired or disposed of before it has been documented
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a lawyer for a minor accident?
Not always. If you were genuinely uninjured and the damage is small, you may not. The time to call is when there are injuries, when fault is disputed, or when an insurer is pressing you to settle quickly.
What if the other driver was uninsured?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may respond. This is also why checking your UM/UIM limits before you need them is worth ten minutes.
How much does it cost to hire you?
Nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee — you pay nothing unless we win.
If your crash happened in a specific city, start here: Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket or Woonsocket.
For a free consultation about a Rhode Island or Massachusetts car or auto accident, call (401) 288-3888 or email mfc@mfclaw.com. You pay nothing unless we win.