What Not to Do After a Car Accident in Massachusetts (2026)

Reviewed by Chris Murphy, Esq., Scalli Murphy Law, P.C. · Updated July 2026

What Not to Do After a Car Accident in Massachusetts (2026)

The minutes and days following a car collision are some of the most consequential for your legal claim. The choices you make during this period can mean the difference between a fair settlement and a fraction of what you deserve, or no recovery at all. Unfortunately, insurance companies count on people making mistakes that damage their own cases.

This guide covers the 10 most costly mistakes Massachusetts drivers make after a crash, along with the specific state laws you need to know. If you want a step-by-step guide to what you should do, read our companion article on what to do after a car collision in Massachusetts.

Mistake #1: Not Calling the Police

Failing to call the police is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes after a collision. Some drivers skip calling 911 because the crash seems minor, because the other driver asks them not to, or because they are worried about traffic citations. This is a serious error.

A police report creates an official, contemporaneous record of the collision that documents the location, time, road conditions, witness statements, and the responding officer’s observations about fault. Without a police report, your claim relies entirely on your word against the other driver’s. Insurance companies know this, and they use the lack of a police report to dispute liability or minimize your claim.

If you need a police report after a collision, our guide on how to get a police report in Massachusetts explains the process. Even if the other driver tells you at the scene that they accept responsibility, there is no guarantee they will say the same thing when their insurance company calls them the next day.

Mistake #2: Admitting Fault or Apologizing

It is natural to say “I’m sorry” after a collision, even if the crash was not your fault. Massachusetts has a benevolent gestures statute, M.G.L. c. 233, Section 23D, that prevents expressions of sympathy from being used as evidence of fault. However, this protection has important limits.

The statute only covers pure expressions of sympathy such as “I’m sorry you’re hurt.” It does not protect factual admissions embedded within an apology, such as “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you” or “I should have stopped sooner.” Statements like these can be used against you in court and in insurance negotiations.

Because Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence rule under M.G.L. c. 231, Section 85, even partial fault can reduce your compensation. If you are found more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. An offhand admission at the scene can be the difference between receiving full compensation and losing your claim entirely.

What to do instead: Check on the other driver’s welfare. Exchange information. Do not discuss fault, and do not apologize for the collision.

Mistake #3: Failing to Document the Scene

Physical evidence at a collision scene disappears fast. Skid marks fade within days. Debris is cleared within hours. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours. Under the legal framework established in Keene v. Brigham & Women’s Hospital, 439 Mass. 223 (2003), the duty to preserve evidence arises when litigation is “possible,” not just probable, which means both sides have an obligation to preserve relevant evidence early.

If you are physically able, use your phone to photograph and video record the following:

All vehicles involved, including close-ups of damage from multiple angles
Skid marks, debris, and broken glass on the road
Traffic signals, stop signs, and road markings
Weather and road conditions
Any visible injuries to yourself or passengers
The other driver’s license plate, insurance card, and driver’s license

This documentation becomes critical if the other driver later changes their story about how the collision occurred. If you suffered brain injury symptoms or back injuries, photographs of the collision severity can help connect your injuries to the crash.

Mistake #4: Not Collecting Witness Information

Independent witnesses can make or break a personal injury claim. An uninvolved bystander who saw the other driver run a red light or fail to yield carries far more weight with insurance adjusters and juries than the statements of the drivers themselves. Yet many people leave the scene without speaking to a single witness.

Get the name, phone number, and email address of anyone who saw the collision. Ask them briefly what they observed and write it down or record it on your phone. Witnesses leave the scene quickly, and tracking them down later is often impossible. If there are nearby businesses, ask whether they have exterior surveillance cameras. Your attorney can send a preservation letter to prevent footage from being deleted.

Mistake #5: Not Seeking Immediate Medical Treatment

Delaying medical treatment is one of the most effective ways to destroy your own claim. Insurance companies look for gaps between the date of the collision and the first medical visit, and they use those gaps to argue that your injuries were not caused by the crash or were not serious enough to require treatment.

Many collision injuries do not produce immediate symptoms. Whiplash often takes 24 to 48 hours to fully manifest. Concussions can go unrecognized for days. Internal bleeding, herniated discs, and soft tissue injuries may not become apparent until swelling develops or adrenaline wears off. Even a simple notation of “I’m fine” in an emergency room record, made while adrenaline is masking your pain, can be used by insurance adjusters to undermine your claim months later.

What to do instead: Go to the emergency room or an urgent care facility on the day of the collision, even if you believe your injuries are minor. Follow up with your primary care physician within 48 hours. Follow all treatment recommendations from your doctors. Medical records that show a consistent course of treatment beginning immediately after the collision are among the strongest pieces of evidence in a personal injury case.

Massachusetts requires injured claimants to meet a $2,000 tort threshold under M.G.L. c. 231, Section 6D before pursuing pain and suffering damages against the at-fault driver. Delaying treatment not only creates gaps that insurers exploit; it can also leave you short of the threshold that unlocks your right to full compensation.

Mistake #6: Failing to File a Crash Report

Many Massachusetts drivers do not realize that filing a crash report is a legal requirement, not an optional step. Under M.G.L. c. 90, Section 26, you must file a crash report with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles within five days if the collision resulted in more than $1,000 in property damage or any personal injury.

The penalty for failing to file is serious: suspension of your driver’s license. Beyond the legal penalty, failing to file creates problems for your claim. The crash report is an important piece of documentation that your insurance company and your attorney will need. Even if police responded to the scene and filed their own report, you are still required to file your own operator report separately.

With thousands of collisions occurring on Massachusetts roads each year, the crash report system helps establish an official record of each incident. Do not assume that the police report alone satisfies this requirement; it does not.

Mistake #7: Giving a Recorded Statement to the Other Driver’s Insurer

Within days of a collision, the other driver’s insurance company will almost certainly contact you and ask for a recorded statement. The adjuster will sound friendly, concerned, and professional. They may tell you the statement is “required” or “routine.” It is neither.

You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. Massachusetts is a two-party consent state, which means they cannot record your conversation without your permission. You are under no obligation to grant that permission.

Recorded statements are not designed to help you. They are designed to help the insurance company minimize or deny your claim. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that lead you into statements that can be used against you:

“How are you feeling today?” (If you say “fine” or “okay,” that statement appears in their file as evidence that you were not seriously injured.)
“Can you describe exactly what happened?” (Leading you to make factual admissions about speed, attention, or lane position that can be used to shift fault.)
“Have you ever had back pain before?” (Fishing for pre-existing conditions to blame your injuries on prior health issues.)

Insurance companies also frequently request blanket medical authorization forms that give them access to your entire medical history, not just records related to the collision. They comb through years of prior records looking for any pre-existing condition they can use to reduce your claim. Never sign a blanket medical release. Learn more about common insurance company tactics in Massachusetts.

Mistake #8: Posting on Social Media

Social media has become one of the most powerful tools insurance companies use to undermine injury claims. A large share of disputed claims now involve social media evidence. If you have an active injury claim, assume that the insurance company is monitoring every public post, photo, and check-in on your Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other accounts.

A photo of you at a birthday party, a check-in at a restaurant, or a post about a weekend outing can be taken completely out of context. An insurance adjuster will argue that if you can smile in a photo or attend a social gathering, your injuries cannot be as serious as you claim. Even posts that seem harmless, such as “feeling grateful today” or “getting back to normal,” can be weaponized against you.

Defense attorneys can also subpoena your social media records during litigation, including deleted posts and private messages. Courts have increasingly allowed this discovery, particularly when the plaintiff claims emotional distress or significant lifestyle limitations.

What to do instead: Do not post anything about the collision, your injuries, your treatment, your activities, or your legal case on any platform. Ask family and friends not to tag you in photos or posts. Adjust your privacy settings but understand that privacy settings do not prevent subpoenas. The safest approach is to stay off social media entirely until your claim is resolved.

Mistake #9: Signing a Release or Accepting a Quick Settlement

Insurance companies frequently make settlement offers within days or weeks of a collision, often before the injured person has even completed initial medical treatment. These offers are designed to close the claim cheaply, before you understand the full extent of your injuries.

The problem with accepting an early offer is that once you sign a release, you cannot reopen your claim, even if you later discover injuries that require surgery, long-term rehabilitation, or ongoing care. A rear-end collision that initially seems like a minor fender-bender can result in herniated discs or chronic pain that takes months to diagnose fully.

Consider the average car collision settlement values in Massachusetts: according to published settlement-data compilations, the overall average is approximately $50,000, and claims that exceed the tort threshold average $77,447. Reported minor injury claims settle for $6,965 to $25,000, while severe injury cases can exceed $600,000. If an insurance company offers you $3,000 within two weeks of a crash, they are almost certainly offering a fraction of what your claim is worth.

What to do instead: Do not accept any settlement or sign any release until your medical treatment is complete and your attorney has evaluated the full extent of your damages. An experienced attorney can calculate the value of your claim based on your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future treatment needs.

Mistake #10: Not Hiring an Attorney

Many collision victims try to handle their claim without legal representation, believing the process is straightforward or that attorney fees will eat into their recovery. The data tells a different story: studies by the Insurance Research Council have found that claimants represented by an attorney receive, on average, settlements roughly 3.5 times larger than those who handle claims on their own, even after accounting for attorney fees.

A personal injury attorney handles your claim on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no upfront cost and no fee unless you recover compensation. Your attorney manages all communications with the insurance company, preserves critical evidence, calculates the true value of your claim, and fights for the maximum recovery.

Without an attorney, you are negotiating against a professional adjuster whose job is to pay you as little as possible. You may not know about the three-year statute of limitations under M.G.L. c. 260, Section 2A. You may not realize that PIP coverage under M.G.L. c. 90, Sections 34A and 34M provides up to $8,000 in benefits, with its own two-year deadline to sue on unpaid PIP claims. You may not understand how comparative negligence could reduce your recovery or how to protect against insurance company delay tactics designed to push you past the filing deadline.

Whether your collision occurred in Boston, Somerville, Lynn, or anywhere else in Massachusetts, an experienced attorney levels the playing field.

Massachusetts Laws Every Collision Victim Should Know

Understanding these key statutes helps you avoid the mistakes described above and protects your rights throughout the claims process.

Statute	What It Requires
M.G.L. c. 90, Section 26	File a crash report within 5 days if over $1,000 in damage or any injury
M.G.L. c. 260, Section 2A	3-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims
M.G.L. c. 90, Sections 34A and 34M	PIP provides up to $8,000 in benefits; 2-year window to sue on unpaid PIP claims
M.G.L. c. 231, Section 85	Modified comparative negligence; no recovery if more than 50% at fault
M.G.L. c. 231, Section 6D	$2,000 tort threshold for pain and suffering claims
M.G.L. c. 233, Section 23D	Benevolent gestures (pure sympathy) inadmissible as evidence of fault

For a deeper explanation of how Massachusetts no-fault insurance works and how these statutes interact with your claim, visit our detailed guide.

Insurance Company Tactics That Exploit These Mistakes

Insurance companies have entire departments dedicated to minimizing claim payouts. Understanding their playbook helps you avoid falling into their traps.

Fast lowball offers: Adjusters make quick settlement offers before your injuries are fully diagnosed, hoping you will accept a fraction of your claim’s value before you understand what you are entitled to.

Shifting blame with recorded statements: Adjusters use your own words from recorded statements to argue that you were partially or fully at fault. Under Massachusetts comparative negligence rules, even a small percentage of fault reduces your recovery.

Blanket medical authorization requests: By gaining access to your full medical history, adjusters search for any pre-existing condition they can use to argue your injuries were not caused by the collision.

Deliberate delays near the statute of limitations: Some insurers intentionally drag out negotiations until the three-year deadline approaches, then deny the claim when you have little time to file suit. This is why tracking your statute of limitations deadline is critical.

Using “I’m fine” statements: If you told the EMT, the ER nurse, or anyone at the scene that you were “fine” or “okay,” expect the insurance company to use that statement to argue your injuries were not serious.

Victims of distracted driving collisions, drunk driving crashes, and truck collisions should be especially vigilant about these tactics, as the stakes in these cases are often high enough that insurers fight aggressively to limit exposure.

How to Protect Your Claim From Day One

Avoiding the 10 mistakes above puts you in a strong position. Here is a summary of the key protective steps:

Call 911 and insist on a police report, regardless of how minor the collision seems.
Say nothing about fault. Exchange information only.
Photograph and video everything at the scene.
Get witness contact information before they leave.
Seek medical treatment immediately, the same day if at all possible.
File your crash report with the RMV within five days.
Decline recorded statements from the other driver’s insurance company.
Stay off social media until your claim is fully resolved.
Do not sign any release or accept any settlement without attorney review.
Contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and maximize your recovery.

If your vehicle was severely damaged, our guide on what happens when your car is totaled covers the additional issues you will face. And if the other driver was uninsured, understanding your options after a collision with an uninsured driver is essential.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company after a car accident in Massachusetts?

No. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company, and doing so almost always hurts your claim. Massachusetts is a two-party consent state, meaning they cannot record you without your permission. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask leading questions designed to minimize your injuries or shift blame onto you. Even innocent statements like “I’m doing okay” can be used later to argue that your injuries were not serious. You should speak with a personal injury attorney before communicating with the other driver’s insurer.

How long do I have to file a crash report in Massachusetts?

Under M.G.L. c. 90, Section 26, you must file a crash report with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles within five days if the collision resulted in more than $1,000 in property damage or any personal injury. Failing to file within this window can result in suspension of your driver’s license. The crash report creates an official record that supports your insurance claim and any future legal action. Even if police responded to the scene and filed their own report, you are still required to file your own operator report separately.

Can posting on social media hurt my car accident claim in Massachusetts?

Yes. Insurance companies routinely monitor social media accounts of people who have filed injury claims. A large share of disputed claims now involve social media evidence. A photo of you smiling at a family gathering, a check-in at a gym, or even a casual post saying you are feeling better can be taken out of context and used to argue that your injuries are not as serious as you claim. Defense attorneys can also subpoena your social media records during litigation. The safest approach is to avoid posting anything about the collision, your injuries, your activities, or your legal case on any social media platform until your claim is fully resolved.

What is the statute of limitations for a car accident claim in Massachusetts?

Under M.G.L. c. 260, Section 2A, you have three years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit in Massachusetts. If you miss this deadline, your claim is permanently barred regardless of how strong your case may be. One common insurance company tactic is to drag out negotiations until the deadline is close, then deny the claim when you have little time to file suit. Limited exceptions exist for minors, whose three-year period begins when they turn 18, and for individuals who are mentally incapacitated. Because evidence deteriorates and witnesses become harder to locate over time, consulting with an attorney as early as possible is strongly recommended.

About the Author

Christopher Murphy, Esq. is the Managing Partner of Scalli Murphy Law with offices in Everett and Danvers, Massachusetts. Attorney Murphy has represented personal injury victims across Massachusetts since 1999 and has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in Personal Injury. He has helped thousands of clients and families recover compensation after car collisions, motorcycle crashes, premises liability incidents, wrongful death cases, and other personal injury claims.

Contact Scalli Murphy Law

If you have been injured in a collision and are unsure what steps to take next, Scalli Murphy Law can evaluate your case, identify mistakes that may have already been made, and fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. We handle all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no cost to you unless we recover on your behalf.

Call 617-387-7000 or 1-833-933-HURT for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we recover for you.

Everett Office: 537 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149
Danvers Office: 1 Webb Street, Danvers, MA 01923

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This article provides general information about Massachusetts law and is not legal advice. Every case is different. For advice about your specific situation, contact Scalli Murphy Law, P.C. at 617-387-7000 for a free consultation.

What Not to Do After Car Accident Massachusetts – 10 Costly Mistakes