Reporting thresholds, fault standards, minimum coverage, and filing deadlines are set state by state. Find the rules that actually apply where your crash happened.
Car accident law is state law. Each state sets its own crash reporting threshold, its own negligence rule for shared fault, its own minimum insurance requirements, and its own deadline for filing a lawsuit. Two identical crashes on opposite sides of a state line can produce very different outcomes.
Each guide is built from that state’s own statutes, agency publications, and crash data, and carries its own review date and reviewer.
When you are legally required to report a crash, the injury and property damage thresholds that trigger it, which agency receives the report, and how long you have.
Whether the state uses pure comparative, modified comparative at 50 or 51 percent, or contributory negligence, and what a shared fault finding does to recovery.
The liability limits drivers must carry, whether personal injury protection or uninsured motorist coverage is required or merely offered, and what that means in practice.
The statute of limitations for injury and property claims, shorter notice periods for claims against public bodies, and the events that can pause the clock.
Crash figures for the state’s major cities and highest-risk corridors, drawn from the state crash file alongside the federal datasets.
Where to obtain a crash report, which department regulates insurers, and where to file a complaint if a claim is mishandled.
These are the differences that most often surprise people. The specific figures for your state are set out in that state’s own guide.
| Rule | Why it differs | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Crash reporting threshold | Each state sets its own dollar and injury trigger | Whether you are legally required to file a report |
| Negligence rule | States chose different approaches to shared fault | Whether a partial share reduces or ends your claim |
| Insurance system | Some states use no-fault, most use at-fault | Whose policy pays your medical costs first |
| Statute of limitations | Set by each state legislature | The date after which a claim can no longer be filed |
Each of these is true somewhere and wrong somewhere else. That is the whole reason these guides exist.
They generally do not. The law of the state where the crash happened usually governs the claim, even if you live and are insured elsewhere.
No-fault describes who pays your initial medical costs, not who caused the crash. Fault still matters for vehicle damage and for injury claims above the state threshold.
Limitation periods vary widely between states and between claim types, and claims against a city, county, or state body often carry far shorter notice periods.
State minimums are frequently well below the cost of a serious injury. When they run out, the shortfall falls on your own coverage or on you.
Below a state’s reporting threshold it often is not. Filing anyway is usually still the better choice, because it creates an independent record.
In most states a partial share reduces recovery rather than ending it. A small number of jurisdictions are far stricter, which is why the state rule matters.
Guides are published progressively and each one is dated when it goes live. States without a live guide are listed here so you can see the full coverage plan. If you need a specific state sooner, tell us and we will prioritize it.
Generally the law of the state where the crash happened governs the claim, including its negligence rule and its filing deadline. Your own policy still applies wherever you are, but the rules of the road and of the claim are set by the state you were driving in.
In a no-fault state your own personal injury protection coverage pays your initial medical costs regardless of who caused the crash, and the right to sue is restricted unless the injury crosses a defined threshold. In an at-fault state you claim against the driver who caused it.
Limitation periods are set by each state legislature and vary by claim type. Claims against a city, county, or state body frequently carry a much shorter notice period, sometimes measured in months. Confirm the date that applies to you early rather than late.
Frequently not. Minimum liability limits in many states are well below the cost of a serious injury, and once they are exhausted the shortfall falls to your own underinsured motorist coverage or to you personally.
Not in every state, and not for every crash. Each state sets an injury and property damage threshold that triggers a mandatory report. Reporting anyway is usually the better choice because it creates an independent record of what happened.
Guides are released progressively and each carries its publication and review date. If the state you need is not live yet, send us a question and we will tell you where it sits and prioritize it where we can.
Each state guide is built from that state’s own statutes, transportation and insurance department publications, and crash files, alongside the federal datasets listed here. Every guide names its sources and carries its own review date.
Spotted something wrong or out of date? We correct errors and log the change. See our correction policy and editorial standards.
Tell us where the crash happened and where you live, and we will point you to the deadlines and coverage rules that actually govern your claim. General information only, not legal advice.
