Being involved in a car accident can leave you juggling a lot at once: pain, a damaged vehicle, time off work, and calls from insurance adjusters who want answers before you’ve even had a chance to breathe.
Fortunately, you can protect both your health and your claim with a few practical steps, and most of them are simple if you do them in the right order. In Oregon, some of those steps are also legal requirements, like reporting certain crashes to the DMV within 72 hours.
Portland’s roads can increase the risk of car accidents, especially in high traffic corridors like I-5 near the Rose Quarter, I-84 by the Lloyd District, I-205 around Gateway, and surface streets like Powell, Barbur, Sandy, Lombard, and Burnside.
Add rain, dark winter mornings, and construction bottlenecks, and it’s easy to see why even cautious drivers can end up in a crash. What you do immediately after an accident can affect everything that comes after, including your medical recovery and the strength of your insurance claim.
Right after a crash, focus on safety and medical care, in that order. If you can move to a safe spot, do it.
Turn your hazard lights on, check to make sure that your passengers are okay, and call 911 if anyone’s hurt, if there’s a suspected impairment issue, or if the roadway is unsafe. Even a “minor” impact can cause concussions, soft tissue injuries, or back problems that feel manageable in the moment and then flare up hours later.
If you struck your head, feel dizzy, black out, have neck or back pain, numbness, chest pain, or shortness of breath, treat it as urgent and get evaluated the same day. Portland has plenty of urgent care and hospital options, but the specific location matters less than getting timely documentation of symptoms and treatment.
Early medical diagnosis and notes can often become the foundation for proving that your injuries came from the crash, not from something else.
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Not every crash requires a long investigation, but when injuries are involved, or there’s any sign the other driver is impaired or uninsured, a police report can help anchor the facts.
Ask for an incident number and then request a copy of the report at the station or online. If the other driver was distracted, smelled of alcohol, admitted fault, or seemed unsteady, mention those observations calmly to the responding officer.
A recent Northeast Portland example shows why this matters. Fox 12 reported that two people were seriously injured and an intoxicated driver faced DUII charges after a crash between a car and an SUV in NE Portland on January 17, 2026.
In cases like that, the criminal investigation and the injury claim can move on different tracks, and the initial police response often becomes a key piece of evidence for insurance negotiations.
If you can, take photos and short videos before vehicles move:
Exchange information, driver’s license, insurance card, phone number, address, and plate number. If there are witnesses, get their names and contact information. Don’t rely on “the police will talk to them.” Witnesses disappear quickly. If you notice nearby cameras, like storefront cameras in the Pearl District or gas station cameras along 82nd Avenue, make a note.
Remember, surveillance video often gets overwritten in days, sometimes hours.
Oregon has its own reporting rule that surprises people because it’s separate from a police report. Oregon DMV explains that drivers involved in a collision must submit an Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report to DMV within 72 hours when the collision meets reporting criteria, and you still must file even if law enforcement also files a report.
ORS 811.725 describes the offense of failing to report an accident required to be reported under ORS 811.720 and not submitting the report within 72 hours.
The DMV highlights common triggers, like when damage is over $2,500 or when a vehicle is towed from the scene, and it repeats the 72-hour expectation.
If you miss the 72-hour window, DMV says to submit as soon as possible.
You generally should notify your own insurer promptly, even if the other driver clearly caused the crash.
Your policy may require timely notice, and Oregon coverage like Personal Injury Protection can help with early medical bills. At the same time, you want to be careful about how you communicate. Stick to the basic facts at first. Where it happened, when it happened, who was involved, and that you’re seeking medical evaluation. Avoid guessing about speed, distance, or what you “could have done.”
Don’t agree to a recorded statement until you feel medically stable and you understand the scope of your injuries. Recorded statements often become a tool to lock you into wording before you know what’s going on physically.
Also, be cautious about signing broad medical authorizations. Insurance companies may request releases that allow them to comb through years of records. In a real injury case, you can provide records that relate to your crash injury without giving an insurer unrestricted access to your medical history.
Here in Oregon, the statute of limitations for injury claims is typically two years.
Two years sounds like a lot of time, but waiting usually hurts you long before the deadline. Witnesses forget, dashcam footage can get deleted, and businesses overwrite camera recordings. Vehicles get repaired or totaled. Medical providers move records.
The earlier you build your documentation, the less room an insurer has to dispute what happened and how badly you were affected.
Insurers judge injury claims by consistency. If you tell the ER your pain is a 7 out of 10, and then you disappear for six weeks, the insurer will argue you weren’t really hurt, or that something else caused the symptoms.
Consistent treatment doesn’t mean you have to become a full-time patient. It means you follow through on reasonable recommendations, attend follow-ups, and don’t ignore symptoms that interfere with daily life. Save all receipts for things like co-pays, prescriptions, physical therapy sessions, mileage to and from appointments, and any medical devices or modifications.
Keep a simple weekly journal of your physical limitations, what you couldn’t do, what hurt, what improved, and what didn’t.
This isn’t about drama; it’s to show the practical impact of the injury in a way that a claims adjuster, and if necessary, a jury, can understand.
Certain injuries appear repeatedly in Portland crashes because of how collisions occur here:
If you have concussion symptoms, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, sleep disruption, or brain fog, take them seriously. People often try to “tough it out” and then later struggle to connect symptoms to the crash because they didn’t document early.
Insurance companies often use the same playbook.
They push early settlements. If you settle before you know the full course of your recovery, you may end up paying future medical bills out of pocket. They argue treatment is “excessive.” They may question why you received physical therapy or why you followed up with a specific specialist.
They may shift blame, claiming you stopped suddenly on SE Powell or you “should’ve avoided” the crash.
This is where your documentation matters. Photos, witness statements, consistent treatment, and a clear timeline reduce the insurer’s ability to rewrite the story.
Context can strengthen your claim because it helps explain why the crash occurred and why you couldn’t avoid it. Portland has specific driving challenges: tight downtown merges, short on-ramps, frequent lane shifts in construction zones, bridge approaches where lanes narrow or merge, and corridors with heavy pedestrian and bike traffic.
If the crash happened near the Burnside Bridge approach during evening rain, or in the tight lanes near the Rose Quarter, those details can support your account of visibility, braking distance, and traffic flow.
If a driver was speeding or distracted in a known congested zone, it can reinforce a finding of negligence.
You don’t need a lawyer for every fender bender, but if you have injuries, missed work, a disputed fault situation, or an insurer that won’t act reasonably, legal help can change the outcome.
Your lawyer can preserve evidence quickly, request camera footage before it’s overwritten, coordinate medical documentation, and handle insurer communication so you don’t get trapped by a recorded statement or a misleading question. They can also evaluate whether additional insurance coverage applies, including uninsured or underinsured coverage when appropriate.
Just as importantly, they can value future damages realistically when your injury affects your ability to work, sleep, or function the way you did before.
Sometimes, yes. Oregon DMV says drivers must submit the Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report within 72 hours when reporting is required, even if law enforcement also filed a report.
For most injury claims, Oregon’s statute of limitations is two years under ORS 12.110.
That’s common in vehicle accidents. Get evaluated as soon as symptoms appear and be consistent with treatment. Early documentation helps connect the injury to the crash.
You can provide basic facts, but recorded statements are risky if you’re still in pain or unsure about details. Consider getting advice first, especially if injuries are significant or fault is disputed.
At Dozier Law Group, we understand that Portland crashes happen every day, and the steps you take early can help keep a bad day from becoming a long-term financial problem. If your case involves serious injuries or difficult insurance tactics, getting help sooner usually gives you more options, not fewer.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
