Guide · Injury · Chicago

What to Do After a Car Accident in Chicago

Seven steps that protect your health and your claim, with the Illinois law behind each one.

By Lincoln Square Law · 8-minute read

A crash compresses a dozen decisions into the first hour, and most people make them while shaken, in traffic, and without anyone explaining what matters. The choices made in that hour and in the following week tend to decide two things: how well you recover, and whether the evidence of what happened still exists when an insurer finally takes the claim seriously. What follows is the order we would ask a family member to follow, and the reasons the law gives for each step.

1. Stop, check for injuries, and call 911

Illinois law requires every driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone to stop at the scene, or as close to it as safely possible, and remain there until the driver has exchanged information and given reasonable assistance to anyone hurt (625 ILCS 5/11-401 and 5/11-403). Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a felony. Even when the other driver seems apologetic and suggests settling it privately, stay.

Call 911 if anyone is hurt or if the vehicles cannot be moved safely. When no officer comes to the scene, the Vehicle Code still requires you to notify the local police by the fastest available means (625 ILCS 5/11-407). In Chicago, police response to a crash without obvious injuries can be slow. Waiting is worth it, because the officer’s report becomes the first neutral account of the scene, and insurers read it before they read anything you send them.

2. Understand the crash report and get the report number

Separate from the police notification, each driver in a crash involving death, bodily injury, or property damage over $1,500 (or $500 if any vehicle involved is uninsured) must file a written crash report within ten days (625 ILCS 5/11-406). If an officer completed a report at the scene, ask for the report number before you leave. You will need it to request the report later, and your own insurer will ask for it in the first call.

Read the report as soon as it is available. Officers work quickly and sometimes record the wrong street, the wrong direction of travel, or a statement no one remembers making. An error that goes uncorrected for months starts to look like a fact. If something is wrong, ask the reporting agency how it handles supplemental information, and keep a copy of whatever you submit.

3. Document the scene before it disappears

Photograph the vehicles from several angles, the damage up close, the positions of the cars before they are moved if that can be done safely, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, signs, lane markings, weather, and your visible injuries. Take a wide photo that shows where the crash happened in relation to the nearest intersection. Photograph the other driver’s license, insurance card, and plate rather than copying them by hand.

Witnesses matter more than most people expect. Get names and phone numbers before they leave, even from people who say they did not see much. Look around for cameras on storefronts, doorbells, CTA buses, and rideshare vehicles, and write down where they are. Many private systems overwrite footage within days. A lawyer can send preservation letters promptly. Illinois recognizes that a party who is on notice and fails to preserve relevant evidence can face consequences for its loss (Boyd v. Travelers Insurance Co., 166 Ill. 2d 188 (1995)), but that only helps if the request goes out before the footage is gone.

4. Get medical care the same day, and follow through

Adrenaline hides pain. Concussions, soft-tissue injuries, and some internal injuries often announce themselves hours or days later. Go to an emergency room, an urgent care clinic, or your own physician the same day, and tell the provider every symptom, including the ones that seem minor. Medical records created close to the crash carry weight because no one can argue they were written for a lawsuit.

Then keep your appointments. Gaps in treatment are the defense’s favorite argument: if you stopped going to physical therapy for six weeks, the insurer will say you had recovered or that something else caused the later problems. If cost or insurance is the obstacle, tell your providers and your lawyer. Many providers will treat under a lien, and the Health Care Services Lien Act limits the total that providers can take from a recovery (770 ILCS 23/10). Under Illinois law, an injured person may seek the reasonable value of necessary medical services, and the billed amounts can be introduced as evidence of that value (Wills v. Foster, 229 Ill. 2d 393 (2008)).

5. Report to your own insurer, and be careful with the other one

Your policy almost certainly requires prompt notice of a crash and cooperation with your own insurer. Report the basic facts: when, where, the vehicles involved, and that you are getting medical care. Do not guess at speeds, distances, or who was at fault, and do not describe your injuries as minor before a doctor has examined you.

The other driver’s insurer is a different matter. You have no contractual duty to give that company a recorded statement, and an early statement is usually taken to find a sentence that can be used later. Illinois uses modified comparative fault: if you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing, and at 50 percent or less your damages are reduced by your share (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). A casual “I didn’t see them” or “I’m fine” can move that percentage. Politely decline the recorded statement and ask the adjuster to put questions in writing.

Check your own coverage while you are at it. Illinois requires liability coverage of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per crash, and $20,000 for property damage (625 ILCS 5/7-203 and 5/7-601), and every auto policy must include uninsured motorist coverage (215 ILCS 5/143a). Underinsured motorist coverage (215 ILCS 5/143a-2) matters when the other driver carries only the minimum and your injuries are serious. Medical payments coverage on your own policy may help with early bills regardless of fault.

6. Know your deadlines, including the short ones

The general limitations period for a personal injury claim in Illinois is two years from the injury (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Property damage claims have a longer period, but the injury clock is the one that controls most cases. Several situations shorten it sharply.

• A city, county, park district, or other local public entity. Suits against local public entities and their employees generally must be filed within one year under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)).
• A CTA bus or train. Claims against the Chicago Transit Authority are governed by their own statute, section 41 of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act (70 ILCS 3605/41), which requires suit within one year and has long required a written notice within six months. Illinois courts have enforced those requirements strictly (Curtis v. Chicago Transit Authority, 341 Ill. App. 3d 573 (2003)). Regional transit governance was restructured by legislation enacted in late 2025, so confirm the current text for your date of injury.
• A bar or restaurant that served the at-fault driver. A claim under the Dram Shop Act must be brought within one year (235 ILCS 5/6-21).
• A child injured in the crash. A minor’s own claim is generally tolled until age 18 (735 ILCS 5/13-211), but related claims, such as a parent’s claim for the child’s medical expenses, may not be.

Missing a deadline ends the claim no matter how clear the other driver’s fault was, which is why the date of the crash should be on a calendar the week it happens.

7. Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything

Early settlement offers tend to arrive before the full extent of an injury is known, and a signed release ends the claim permanently. Before signing a release, a medical authorization, or a property damage settlement that includes release language, have it reviewed. A lawyer can also identify coverage you may not know about, handle the insurers, preserve evidence, and track the deadlines above while you focus on treatment.

When you call, it helps to have the crash report number, the photographs, the names of witnesses, the insurance information for everyone involved, your own policy’s declarations page, and a list of the medical providers you have seen. Those documents let counsel give you a concrete assessment in the first conversation rather than a general one.

A note for families who are unsure about calling

People sometimes hesitate because the crash felt minor, because they do not want to seem litigious, or because they are worried about immigration status or cost. Illinois courts compensate injured people regardless of immigration status, and a consultation about an injury claim does not commit you to anything. The earlier the facts are organized, the more options you keep.