In Washington, insurers often look for gaps: delayed reporting, missing documentation, or inconsistencies between early statements and later medical findings. With crush injuries, those gaps are especially risky because symptoms can evolve after the initial incident.
What to do first (practical steps):
- Get medical care immediately—and follow treatment instructions. Your medical records become the backbone of your claim.
- Report the incident promptly through your workplace process (if it happened at work) and request copies of any report or incident log.
- Document the scene while it’s still available: photos of the area, equipment condition, warning signs, and any safety devices that were present or missing.
- Write down the timeline while it’s fresh: what you were doing, how long it took before help arrived, and what you observed.
If you’re worried about saying the wrong thing to an adjuster or employer, that’s normal—your early communications can impact how they frame fault.


