In the days after an accident, the biggest risk is not only the injury—it’s missing evidence while you’re focused on recovery.
If you can, prioritize these actions:
- Get the medical record trail started immediately (ER visit, imaging, diagnosis, and discharge instructions). Your early documentation matters for causation.
- Save crash details: date/time, direction of travel, weather/road conditions, traffic signals, and what you remember about the impact.
- Photograph what you can safely access: vehicle position, visible hazards, and any conditions on the roadway.
- Write down witnesses while memories are fresh—names, contact info, and what they observed.
Michigan’s personal injury timelines and insurance practices make early organization critical. A paralysis claim often depends on linking the mechanism of injury to the medical findings.
Legal help can take over the “paperwork and proof” so you don’t have to balance appointments, mobility limitations, and insurer follow-ups.


