If you’re able, take these steps right away—because the evidence you preserve early can make a major difference later:
- Get medical care promptly (even if you think symptoms are minor). Documenting injuries in the first days after a collision helps connect treatment to the crash.
- Request your crash/incident report and keep a copy.
- Photograph what you can safely: vehicle damage, deployed/non-deployed airbag indicators, and any visible restraint-related damage.
- Preserve repair paperwork from the body shop—especially invoices listing airbag or sensor components replaced.
- Write down your timeline while it’s fresh: what happened in the collision, what you felt, and when symptoms started.
- If you received a recall notice, keep it with the vehicle identification (VIN) info so counsel can verify whether it matches your vehicle and timeframe.
If you already missed some of this, don’t assume your claim is over. A lawyer can still evaluate what records exist and what can be requested.


