What to do first

Move to a safer nearby place when it is safe to do so, but do not drive an unsafe vehicle or move an injured person unnecessarily. Getting a photograph is never worth another collision.

Stop, check whether anyone needs help, and fulfill the duties that apply before leaving. Moving a drivable car out of a lane is different from leaving the scene. Texas has a specific prompt-movement rule for qualifying metropolitan-freeway crashes when every involved vehicle can be driven normally and safely. That is not an instruction to move every wreck or to drive while hurt or disoriented. If you are unsure, tell the emergency dispatcher what is blocking the road and follow instructions. Texas Transportation Code §§550.021–550.023; TxDOT collision guidance.

Use emergency services for danger signs. For other symptoms or uncertainty about an injury, contact a healthcare professional promptly for the right level of care. A guide cannot examine you, and the absence of visible damage does not decide whether you are injured.

After a possible concussion, emergency warning signs include a worsening headache that will not go away, repeated vomiting, seizures, weakness, new slurred speech, unusual confusion, loss of consciousness, or trouble waking. Call 911 or seek emergency care immediately for these signs. Children may also have inconsolable crying or refuse to nurse or eat. CDC symptom and danger-sign guidance.

Texas requires immediate notice to the appropriate law-enforcement agency when a crash results in injury or death, or a vehicle cannot be driven normally and safely. Call 911 for an emergency. Otherwise, use the proper agency’s reporting route and ask what it needs. Texas Transportation Code §550.026.

Do not confuse your notification duty with the officer’s duty to prepare and file a crash report. The apparent $1,000-damage threshold in the officer-report statute is not a general permission for a driver to skip reporting an injury crash. §550.062.

Put health and immediate deadlines first, then stop avoidable losses and organize the claim.

The loudest caller is not necessarily the most urgent task. An adjuster’s deadline, a court deadline, an enrollment deadline, and a towing deadline can mean different things. Record who gave the date and what it supposedly controls; get it checked rather than guessing.