What to do after a serious accident is: call 999 for any life-threatening injury, make the scene safe, exchange details and report the accident to the police within 24 hours where the law requires it, record evidence while it is fresh, and seek legal advice early, Emaari Legal can send a solicitor to visit within 24 hours where needed to protect any future claim. Acting in this order protects health first and evidence second.
The hours after a serious accident are disorientating. Pain, shock and practical demands (work, family, insurers) compete for attention at the worst possible moment. The steps below are ordered by priority, not by convenience, and apply to serious road traffic collisions, workplace accidents, and serious falls or public-place incidents.
What counts as a serious accident?
A serious accident is one causing injury severe enough to need hospital treatment, ongoing medical care, or time off work and normal activity, rather than a minor cut, bruise or short-lived strain. Emaari Legal deals specifically with catastrophic and serious injury, including brain and head injury, spinal cord injury and paralysis, amputation and limb loss, serious burns, sight loss, complex or multiple fractures, chronic pain conditions such as CRPS, and serious psychiatric injury including PTSD. Whiplash and minor soft-tissue injuries fall under a different, small-claims process and are not covered here.
A serious accident also includes any collision, workplace incident or fall that causes a fatality. Fatal accidents carry their own legal considerations for bereaved families, covered in detail on our page about serious injury claims.
Get safe and call the Emergency Services if anyone is seriously hurt; an Ambulance Service clinician will triage at the scene, and serious casualties go straight to Accident and Emergency. If the accident happened at work, tell the site manager and your Trade Union representative, and make sure it is recorded – the Health and Safety Executive may need to be notified by the employer. If it happened on the road, the Road Traffic Act requires the drivers to stop and exchange details, and where the other driver is uninsured or untraced the Motor Insurers Bureau is the route.
What to do in the first 24 hours after a serious accident
The first 24 hours after a serious accident follow a clear priority order: treat injuries, secure the scene, report the incident, gather evidence, then seek advice. Each step reduces harm or protects a future claim; skipping the order risks losing evidence that cannot be recreated later.
- Get medical treatment first. Call 999 for any injury that is severe, life-threatening, or unclear in extent. Do not move a casualty with a suspected spinal or head injury unless there is an immediate danger, such as fire.
- Make the immediate area safe. Turn on hazard lights, move to a place of safety if it can be done without risk, and warn other road users or workers of the hazard.
- Call the police where the law requires it. In a road traffic accident, drivers must stop and, where anyone is injured or property is damaged, report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours if not reported at the scene (gov.uk guidance on reporting a road accident). A workplace accident causing serious injury may also need to be reported by the employer under separate health and safety duties.
- Exchange details. Take the name, address, vehicle registration and insurance details of any other driver involved, and the names of any witnesses. In a workplace accident, note the names of anyone who saw the incident and the equipment or task involved.
- Record the scene while memory and evidence are fresh. Photograph injuries, vehicle damage, road conditions, machinery, or the location of a fall. Note the time, date, weather and lighting.
- Keep any physical evidence. Damaged clothing, footwear, protective equipment or vehicle parts can later support a claim and should not be discarded or repaired before they are examined.
- Contact your insurer promptly. Most motor policies require notification within a set period; delay can affect cover, even where the accident was clearly someone else’s fault.
- Seek legal advice early, particularly where the injury is serious, before giving a detailed statement to another party’s insurer.
Where symptoms look minor at first, seeing your General Practitioner the same day still creates the medical record the claim later relies on.
Should I go to A&E after a serious accident?
Anyone with a serious injury, or symptoms that develop after the initial impact, should attend A&E or call 999 rather than wait. Some of the most serious effects of trauma, including internal bleeding, brain injury and spinal damage, are not always obvious immediately and can worsen without prompt treatment.
Delayed shock is a genuine risk after a serious accident. It can appear hours after the event, once adrenaline subsides, and typically involves a rapid or weak pulse, pale or clammy skin, shallow breathing, dizziness, nausea, confusion or extreme tiredness. The NHS first aid guidance sets out how to recognise and respond to shock, and anyone showing these signs after a serious accident should seek urgent medical attention. A medical record made at or near the time of the accident also becomes important evidence if a claim follows later.
How long does recovery take after a serious accident?
Recovery time after a serious accident varies enormously by injury type, severity and the individual, and no fixed timeframe applies across all cases. A complex fracture may heal within months with rehabilitation, while a spinal cord injury, severe brain injury or amputation can involve lifelong changes in mobility, independence and care needs.
This variability matters for a claim as well as for health, because compensation is designed to reflect the actual impact of the injury rather than a general average. It is why an early medical assessment, and ongoing specialist input, forms part of both proper treatment and an accurate claim.
| Injury type | Typical initial care | Recovery pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Complex/multiple fractures | A&E, surgery, physiotherapy | Weeks to months, may need ongoing rehabilitation |
| Serious burns | Emergency burns unit, skin grafts | Months, often with scarring and psychological impact |
| Spinal cord injury/paralysis | Emergency stabilisation, specialist spinal unit | Long-term or lifelong, often permanent change in mobility |
| Brain/head injury | Emergency imaging, neurology, rehabilitation | Varies widely; can be lifelong |
| Amputation/limb loss | Emergency surgery, prosthetics assessment | Lifelong adaptation, ongoing prosthetic care |
| Psychiatric injury (including PTSD) | GP referral, psychological therapy | Varies; can persist without treatment |
Keep a note of every reference: the claim later runs under the Civil Procedure Rules’ Pre-Action Protocol for personal injury, future losses are valued with the actuarial Ogden Tables, and any state benefits recoupable under the Compensation Recovery Unit rules are accounted for before payment. Any unresolved service complaint sits with the Legal Ombudsman, and people living with spinal injuries can draw on the Spinal Injuries Association for support.
What insurance details do I need to give after an accident?
After a road traffic accident, drivers must exchange name, address and vehicle registration details with anyone involved, and provide insurance details if asked. Failing to stop or to give these details when required is a legal obligation, not an optional courtesy, and applies regardless of who was at fault.
A workplace accident works differently: there is no “insurance exchange” at the scene, but the employer’s liability insurer will usually become involved once an incident is reported internally. In either case, avoid admitting fault or estimating injury severity to an insurer before a medical assessment and legal advice, since early statements can be used later to challenge a claim.
Areas covered: where Emaari Legal operates
Emaari Legal acts for claimants across the whole of England and Wales, from offices in London and Manchester. For anyone seriously injured or hospitalised, a solicitor can visit at home or in hospital within 24 hours of being instructed if required, removing the need to travel while recovering.
Making a claim after a serious accident
A serious accident can lead to a personal injury claim once negligence by another party (a driver, employer, occupier or other individual) caused or contributed to the injury. Claims are generally subject to a 3-year time limit under the Limitation Act 1980, running from the date of the accident or the date the injury was first known about, with exceptions for children, people who lack mental capacity, and fatal claims. Criminal injury claims through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority carry a shorter 2-year limit.
Compensation, where a claim succeeds, is assessed under two heads: general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, and special damages for financial losses such as loss of earnings, care costs, rehabilitation and home adaptations. Our page on serious injury claims sets out the injury types Emaari Legal handles and how a claim is valued in more depth.
What happens after reporting a serious accident?
Once a serious accident has been reported and treated, the next stage is a legal assessment of what happened, who was responsible, and what the injury has cost or will cost the claimant. This is a distinct process from the immediate 24-hour steps above.
Emaari Legal offers a free consultation to assess a potential claim, and funds cases on a no win, no fee basis. Full detail on how a claim actually proceeds, from first contact through to settlement or court proceedings, is covered on our personal injury claim process page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is classed as a serious accident?
A serious accident is one causing injury requiring hospital treatment or ongoing medical care, such as brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, serious burns, sight loss, complex fractures or serious psychiatric injury, rather than a minor cut or short-lived strain.
Should I go to A&E after a crash?
Yes, if there is any significant injury, pain that does not settle, or symptoms such as confusion, breathing difficulty or worsening pain, because some serious effects of a crash, including internal injuries, are not always obvious straight away.
How long does it take to recover from a severe car accident?
Recovery time varies by injury and person; a fracture may improve over months with rehabilitation, while a brain, spinal or amputation injury can involve permanent, lifelong change, so no single timeframe applies.
Do I have to report a serious road accident to the police?
Yes, drivers must stop at the scene and report a road accident to the police where anyone is injured or property is damaged, as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours if not reported immediately.
What should I do if I don’t feel injured straight away after a serious accident?
Seek a medical check regardless, since delayed shock and some serious injuries can develop hours after the event, and a timely medical record also helps support a claim if symptoms later prove significant.
Free consultation on your serious-injury claim. Call 0330 441 6754 or request a callback. Call Emaari Legal for a free consultation about a serious accident claim.
“No win, no fee” means we act under a conditional fee agreement: if your claim does not succeed you do not pay our fees, subject to the agreement’s terms. If your claim succeeds, a success fee is deducted from your compensation, capped by law at 25% of the damages awarded for your pain, suffering and past losses, and you may be liable for certain costs in some circumstances. We explain the full terms, including any insurance you may need, before you sign anything.
About this page. This page provides general information about the law in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on as legal advice; the right course of action always depends on the specific facts of your situation, and the law may have changed since this page was last reviewed. Strict time limits apply to personal injury claims, usually three years from the date of the accident or the date you first knew your injury was linked to it, with important exceptions (for example for children and for people who lack mental capacity). If you think you may have a claim, take advice as early as possible. For advice about your own circumstances, contact Emaari Legal on 0330 441 6754. Emaari Legal Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 8007172).