Short Answer

Gather identifying and insurance information, photographs, witness details, the crash report information, medical records, repair documents, and all communications about the accident. Preserve anything that may show how the crash happened and how it affected you. In North Carolina, evidence about your own conduct is also important because contributory negligence may become a defense.

Information to Collect at the Accident Scene

If you are still at the scene, focus first on safety and contacting emergency services when appropriate. Do not put yourself or anyone else in danger to take photographs or collect information.

North Carolina law requires drivers involved in certain crashes to stop and provide identifying information. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166 generally requires drivers to provide their name, address, driver’s license number, and vehicle license plate number and to provide reasonable assistance to an injured person when applicable.

When it is safe and possible, collect or photograph:

• Each driver’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.
• Driver’s license information.
• License plate numbers and vehicle identification details.
• The name of each vehicle’s registered owner if different from the driver.
• Insurance company names and policy information.
• The make, model, color, and apparent condition of each vehicle.
• The names and contact details of passengers.
• The investigating agency, officer’s name, and crash report or incident number.

A photograph of a driver’s license or insurance card can reduce transcription errors, but ask permission and protect the images as personal information.

Photograph the Vehicles and Surrounding Scene

Photographs and videos can preserve conditions that disappear soon after a Durham motor vehicle accident. Take both wide views and close views when you can do so safely.

Useful images may show:

• Damage to every involved vehicle, not only your own.
• The final resting positions of the vehicles.
• License plates and identifying markings.
• Traffic signals, stop signs, lane markings, and nearby intersections.
• Skid marks, debris, fluid, damaged barriers, or tire tracks.
• Weather, lighting, visibility, and road conditions.
• Nearby businesses, homes, buses, or vehicles that may have cameras.
• Visible physical injuries, with follow-up photographs showing changes over time.

Do not edit the original files. Keep the originals with their date, time, and location information when available. Back them up rather than relying on a single phone.

Identify Witnesses Before They Become Difficult to Find

Ask witnesses for their names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and a brief description of what they observed. A witness who saw the traffic signal, vehicle movement, or events before impact may have information that does not appear in the crash report.

Also write down where each witness was standing or driving. If someone recorded the accident, ask that person to preserve the original recording. Avoid coaching witnesses or asking them to change their account.

Obtain the North Carolina Crash Report

Keep the report number and the investigating agency’s information so you can request the completed DMV-349 crash report. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1, law enforcement investigates reportable crashes and prepares a written report containing information about the people, vehicles, conditions, and apparent causes involved.

Review the report for driver and insurance information, witnesses, citations, contributing circumstances, road conditions, and diagrams. Ask whether a supplemental report was prepared. A crash report is an important starting point, but it may be incomplete or contain mistakes. Preserve your own photographs, notes, and witness information rather than relying on the report alone.

Keep Medical and Injury Documentation Organized

If you believe you need medical attention, seek it and follow the instructions of your medical providers. Keep a record of when symptoms began and describe them accurately without exaggeration or guesswork.

Create one folder for:

• Medical visit summaries and discharge instructions.
• Medical bills and receipts.
• Prescription records.
• Health insurance explanations of benefits.
• Names and contact information for medical providers.
• Travel and other accident-related out-of-pocket expenses.
• Notes about symptoms and how they affect ordinary activities.

A consistent timeline can help connect the collision, reported symptoms, treatment, and resulting expenses. It can also make it easier to identify missing records later.

Document Vehicle Damage and Financial Losses

Save photographs of the vehicle before repairs, repair estimates, towing and storage invoices, rental vehicle records, and communications about whether the vehicle can be repaired. Do not dispose of or significantly alter a damaged vehicle before its condition has been fully documented. In a serious or disputed crash, the vehicle itself may contain important physical or electronic information.

If the accident affects your work, preserve pay records, work schedules, missed-work notes, and written confirmation from your employer. Keep receipts for reasonable expenses connected to the accident. These documents may matter if the facts support a claim for lost income, property damage, medical expenses, or other losses.

Save Insurance and Claim Communications

Keep copies of your insurance declarations page, claim numbers, adjuster contact information, letters, emails, text messages, estimates, denial letters, and settlement paperwork. Write down the date and substance of telephone conversations.

Be accurate when communicating with an insurer. Do not guess about speed, distance, injuries, or events you do not remember. Before signing a medical authorization, release, or settlement document, make sure you understand its scope and effect. The wording of the document and the surrounding facts matter.

Preserve Digital Evidence Quickly

Some evidence may be overwritten or deleted within a short period. Save dashcam footage, photographs, navigation history, relevant text messages, and vehicle-app data without altering the originals. Note nearby traffic cameras, business surveillance systems, doorbell cameras, or transit vehicles that may have recorded the collision.

For a crash involving a commercial vehicle, rideshare vehicle, or government vehicle, additional records may exist, and different procedures or deadlines may apply. Prompt preservation requests may be needed before routine data deletion occurs.

Why Information About Your Own Driving Matters in North Carolina

Evidence should show both what the other driver did and why your actions were reasonable. North Carolina allows contributory negligence as a defense. If the defense proves that an injured person’s own negligence helped cause the collision or injury, it can create serious problems for the claim. The party raising that defense generally carries the burden of proving it.

Preserve facts about your speed, lane position, use of signals, attention to traffic, braking, and efforts to avoid the collision. Neutral evidence such as photographs, vehicle data, and independent witnesses may help address a later fault dispute.

Create a Simple Accident Timeline

As soon as practical, write a factual timeline covering where you were traveling, what you observed, how the collision occurred, what happened immediately afterward, when symptoms appeared, and whom you contacted. Separate what you personally remember from what another person told you.

Date each entry and avoid filling gaps with assumptions. A contemporaneous record may be more useful than trying to reconstruct events months later.

Do Not Let Evidence Gathering Hide a Filing Deadline

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 provides a three-year period for many North Carolina personal injury and property-damage actions, although exceptions and different rules can apply. Negotiating with an insurance company or waiting for records does not automatically extend the deadline for filing a lawsuit.

Claims involving death, minors, government entities, work-related crashes, or other unusual circumstances may follow different rules. Gathering information early helps preserve options, but it does not replace a timely legal review.

How This Applies to the Available Facts

The available information confirms only that a person was involved in a motor vehicle accident and is interested in speaking with an attorney. It does not identify the injuries, fault dispute, insurance coverage, or vehicle damage. The most useful next step is therefore to assemble a complete accident file rather than assuming which issue will control the claim.

That file should begin with the crash report information, photographs, driver and witness details, insurance communications, medical documentation, repair records, and a written timeline. Any dashcam or surveillance footage should be preserved promptly. An attorney can then evaluate what additional records may be needed based on the vehicles involved, the location of the crash, and whether anyone disputes fault.

When Wallace Pierce Law May Be Able to Help

Wallace Pierce Law may be able to review a Durham motor vehicle accident, identify missing evidence, obtain available reports, organize medical and financial documentation, and communicate with insurers. The firm can also examine possible fault arguments, contributory negligence concerns, insurance issues, and applicable deadlines.

What information matters most depends on the specific crash. An early review may help identify evidence that should be requested or preserved before it becomes unavailable, without promising any particular result.

Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney in Durham

If your question involves injuries, insurance, fault, medical documentation, settlement paperwork, or a possible deadline, speaking with a licensed North Carolina attorney can help clarify your options. Call 919-313-2737 to discuss what happened and what steps may make sense next.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about North Carolina personal injury law based on the single question stated above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not medical advice, tax advice, or insurance policy interpretation. Laws, procedures, and local practice can change and may vary by county. If there may be a deadline, act promptly and speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.