Make a first-days plan

By Jacob Alford

How do I decide what to handle first?

Put health and immediate deadlines first, then stop avoidable losses and organize the claim. A useful order is:

1. Safety, emergency care, and the clinical instructions you received.
2. Court papers, government-claim issues, or any document with a stated deadline.
3. The vehicle’s location, storage charges, and evidence that may be lost.
4. Required insurance notices and possible medical or transportation benefits.
5. Accurate records of expenses, missed work, symptoms, and communications.
6. Review of anything you are asked to sign, record, or accept.

The loudest caller is not necessarily the most urgent task. Jacob Alford’s first-days planning explanation at InjuredTexan.com distinguishes an adjuster’s deadline, a court deadline, an enrollment deadline and a towing deadline: they can mean different things. Record who gave the date and what it supposedly controls; get it checked rather than guessing.

If you are served with a lawsuit about the wreck, send every page promptly to your auto insurer for the date of the wreck, even if you have since changed companies. Confirm receipt and ask who will handle your defense. Your policy determines the available coverage; TDI’s auto-insurance guide explains that most policies cover attorneys’ fees when you are sued because of an accident.

Have a lawyer promptly check the response deadline for the court named in your papers. Sending papers to an insurer does not file your answer with the court. See Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 99 for district and county court answer requirements.

You can ask a lawyer a focused question before you decide whether to hire one. Bring the document or message that is worrying you. You do not need to finish this guide before seeking help.

What can someone help me organize while I recover?

A trusted person can help collect and sort information, but helping with paperwork does not automatically authorize them to sign or settle for you. Give them a specific task: locate the car, keep receipts, photograph a document, make a contact list, or help you reach the treating office.

Use one folder for the wreck, with separate sections for health, vehicle, work, insurance, and legal documents. Keep originals. A short dated log is more useful than a polished story written weeks later.

Ask the person to record your words accurately and distinguish their own observations. If you cannot manage decisions because of an injury, or the injured person is a child, ask your lawyer who has authority before anyone signs. If there is disagreement about who has authority, identify it early rather than letting a helpful relative become an accidental decision-maker.

How do I track several claims from the same wreck?

Give each claim its own line, even when the same insurer handles more than one. A collision claim, bodily-injury claim, PIP claim, health-insurance bill, and UM/UIM claim may have different claim numbers, adjusters, documents, and requirements.

For each, record the company, whose policy it is, coverage or claim type, claim number, contact, last request, date received, stated due date, and next action. Do not label every person “the insurance.” That shortcut causes confusion when one person is discussing your car and another is asking you to release an injury claim.

Keep payments separate too. Record what the payment and accompanying documents say it covers. Read the check, letter, electronic acceptance and release together before accepting a payment. Keep a separate record for each claim and payment.

What if health coverage is about to end while care is continuing?

Contact the plan administrator and explore replacement or continuation coverage before the old coverage ends. Do not assume the injury claim will replace health insurance or that every enrollment window is the same.

Loss of job-based coverage can qualify you for a Marketplace special enrollment period. HealthCare.gov describes a 60-day application window after that loss; the new plan’s start date can still leave a gap. COBRA may allow continuation of qualifying employer coverage, usually at your expense. Ask about another employer or family plan too, because its special-enrollment timing can differ. HealthCare.gov loss-of-coverage guidance; U.S. Department of Labor COBRA FAQ.

Save the coverage-end notice and ask each option about the effective date, premium, treating providers, medications, and ongoing treatment. Medicare enrollment has separate rules; do not assume COBRA stops its clock. Medicare on COBRA.

What if bankruptcy, benefit status or another legal restriction could affect who may accept money?

Raise it before accepting, directing, or spending settlement money. Tell the lawyer handling the injury claim about any current or recent bankruptcy, public benefits, guardianship, child claim, estate, or other restriction on decision-making.

A potential personal-injury claim can be a bankruptcy asset even before a lawsuit is filed or a settlement amount is known. The federal property schedule specifically asks about claims against others. Do not assume an exemption means there is nothing to disclose. Official Bankruptcy Schedule A/B, item 33.

Benefits can present a different issue. SSI treatment of a settlement can depend on the payment’s purpose, exclusions, expenses, and lawful planning; not all benefits use the same rules. Do not move money to another person or create a trust from an online template to try to solve it. Coordinate with the appropriate adviser before acceptance. Social Security Administration settlement guidance.

Attorney reviewed by Jacob Alford · November 11, 2026