What to Do After a Car Accident in Louisville: Checklist and Free Glovebox Card

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Don’t move someone who may have a neck or back injury unless they’re in danger.
2. Get safe. Turn on your hazard lights. If no one is hurt and the cars can be driven, move them out of traffic. On an interstate, stay buckled in your car or get well away from traffic.
3. Call the police. Kentucky law requires drivers to notify police right away when a crash causes injury, death or a vehicle that can’t be driven (KRS 189.635(3)). In Louisville, call 911 for emergencies. For a non-emergency crash, LMPD’s 24-hour line is 502-574-LMPD (5673).
4. Get the officer’s name, agency and report number. You’ll need the report number to get your crash report and to start insurance claims.
5. Take photos and video of every vehicle, license plates, damage, the whole scene, skid marks, debris, traffic signals and signs, weather and road conditions, and your injuries.
6. Exchange information: names, phone numbers, insurance companies, policy numbers and plate numbers. Photograph the other driver’s license and insurance card if they agree.
7. Find witnesses. Get names and phone numbers. Note nearby businesses or homes that may have cameras.
8. Stick to the facts. Don’t argue, guess about speed or fault, or apologize. Saying “I’m sorry” can be used against you later.

1. See a doctor within a day or two, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline can hide pain, and some injuries, like concussions, show up later. A gap in treatment can also hurt an injury claim. Serious injuries belong at a Louisville trauma center.
2. Tell your own insurer about the crash. Kentucky’s PIP (no-fault) coverage usually pays the first $10,000 of medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, unless you rejected the no-fault limits. Benefits are overdue if not paid within 30 days of reasonable proof of the loss (KRS 304.39-210). Learn how Kentucky PIP works.
3. Get your crash report and check it for mistakes. See how to get a Louisville (LMPD) accident report, or our guides for Lexington and Kentucky State Police reports.
4. Start a file. Keep every medical bill, receipt, pay stub, doctor’s note, repair estimate and letter from an insurer. Write down what happened while it’s fresh.
5. Ask about video quickly. Business cameras and traffic cameras often record over footage within days or weeks. On Louisville interstates, see TRIMARC camera footage. Also see evidence to preserve after a crash.

• Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. Its adjuster works for its policyholder. You don’t have to give it a recorded statement.
• Your own insurer is different. Your policy probably requires you to cooperate, but you can still talk with a lawyer first.
• Don’t sign anything you don’t understand, especially a release or a broad medical authorization.
• Don’t accept a quick settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries. Once you sign a release, you usually can’t reopen the claim.
• Stay off social media about the crash and your injuries.
• Keep a call log: date, time, name and what was said.

Our Kentucky insurance company guides explain how to deal with State Farm, Progressive, GEICO, Kentucky Farm Bureau and Allstate, and our adjuster tactics guide covers what adjusters commonly say.

• No officer came. If damage is over $500 and no officer investigated, the drivers must file a written report with Kentucky State Police within 10 days (KRS 189.635(5)). See our KSP civilian report guide.
• Hit-and-run. Call 911 right away and write down anything you remember about the car. Your uninsured motorist coverage may help. See what to do after a hit-and-run.
• The other driver has little or no insurance. Kentucky’s minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 per person. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may make up the difference.
• You may be partly at fault. You can still recover in Kentucky. See what to do if you were partly at fault.
• A truck, rideshare or work vehicle was involved. More insurance policies and rules may apply. See our truck accident page.

From 2021 through 2025, 604 people were killed and 2,369 seriously injured in crashes in Louisville Metro, according to Louisville Metro Public Works’ Vision Zero data. Two of every three deaths happened between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. See the full Louisville car accident statistics report.