What to Do in the First 48 Hours After a Car Accident in Minnesota

You’re sitting at a red light on Snelling Avenue, maybe thinking about what’s for dinner, when—BAM. The car behind you didn’t stop in time.

Your hands are gripping the steering wheel. Your heart’s pounding so hard you can hear it. And you’re thinking, “What the hell just happened?”

I’m going to walk you through exactly what you need to do next, because honestly, most people have no idea. And the choices you make in the next couple of days matter way more than you’d think.

Right After It Happens

Take a Breath

Seriously. Just breathe for a second. Your whole body just got jolted, and right now you’re running on pure adrenaline. Check yourself—anything bleeding? Can you move everything? Then check on anyone else in your car and the other driver.

If something feels really wrong, if someone’s hurt, or if the damage looks bad, call 911. Don’t mess around. In Minnesota, you’re supposed to call the cops if anyone’s injured or if the damage looks like it’ll cost more than a grand to fix. When in doubt, make the call.

Pull Out Your Phone

If you can get out of your car safely, start taking pictures of everything. And I mean everything:

Your car from every angle. Their car. The street. The intersection. Skid marks, if there are any. The traffic light. That dent in your bumper. The scratch on your door. The way the cars are sitting.

I know this feels weird when you’re shaken up, but trust me—your memory of this moment will get fuzzy fast, and these photos are gold when you’re dealing with insurance later.

Get the other driver’s info: name, phone number, insurance company, policy number, license plate. If there are people standing around who saw what happened, grab their numbers too. Witnesses can save your ass if the other driver decides to tell a different story later.

The Police Report Thing

Even if this feels like a small fender bender, get a police report. Minnesota law says you have to report it if there’s injury or serious damage, but here’s the thing—you might not know how serious it is yet. That little bump could turn into a $3,000 repair job.

If the cops don’t show up at the scene (which happens sometimes with minor accidents), you’ve got 10 days to file a report yourself with the state. Don’t blow this off. Insurance companies want that report.

The Next Few Hours: This Is Where People Screw Up

Most people go home, sit on the couch, and think, “Well, I feel okay. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”

Don’t be like most people.

Why You Can’t Wait This Out

Here’s what nobody tells you: your body is lying to you right now. All that adrenaline pumping through your system? It’s basically nature’s painkiller. You could have a decent whiplash injury brewing and not feel a damn thing for the next 12 hours.

Then tomorrow morning, you wake up and can’t turn your head. Or three days from now, your lower back starts screaming at you. And when you finally drag yourself to a doctor a week later, the insurance company goes, “Hmm, interesting that you waited so long. Are you sure this is from the accident?”

Getting checked out within 24 hours creates a paper trail. It connects your injuries to the crash, period. No questions, no arguments later.

Where Should You Actually Go?

If you’re in serious pain, if you’re dizzy, if anything feels numb or tingly, if you can’t move something—go to the ER. Don’t mess around.

But if you’re in that weird space where you feel shaken up but not emergency-room-level hurt? That’s when you should see someone who actually specializes in car accident injuries. For most people, that means a chiropractor.

Here’s why: the ER is great at finding broken bones and serious trauma. They’ll X-ray you, make sure nothing’s fractured, and send you home with some ibuprofen. What they won’t catch is the soft tissue damage, the muscle strains, the way your spine got torqued when you got hit. That stuff doesn’t show up on an X-ray.

We see this stuff every single day. Someone gets rear-ended, goes to the ER, gets told they’re “fine,” and then shows up at our office three days later, barely able to move. The ER wasn’t wrong—there was no fracture. But “no broken bones” doesn’t mean you’re not injured.

At our office, we’ll actually examine your neck, your back, your shoulders—all the places that take the hit in a car crash. We’ll document what we find, which matters for insurance. And we can start treating you right away instead of telling you to wait and see.

The “I’ll Wait and See How I Feel” Trap

I get it. You don’t want to overreact. You don’t want to be dramatic. You’re thinking maybe you just need a hot shower and a good night’s sleep.
But here’s what happens when you wait: inflammation starts building up. Scar tissue starts forming. That stiff neck you’re ignoring? It’s getting stiffer. And the longer you wait, the longer it takes to fix.
Plus—and this is the part that really sucks—insurance companies are looking for any reason to deny your claim. If you wait two weeks before seeing anyone, they’ll absolutely use that against you. “If you were really hurt, why didn’t you get treatment right away?”

What’s Actually Happening Inside Your Body

The Adrenaline Trick

Right after the crash, your body dumps a massive amount of adrenaline into your bloodstream. It’s your fight-or-flight response kicking in. Your heart races, your pupils dilate, and—this is the important part—your pain receptors get dialed way down.

It’s like your body’s saying, “We’ll deal with the pain later. Right now, we need to survive.”

So you feel weirdly okay. Maybe a little shaky, but not in pain. This lasts for a few hours, sometimes longer. Then the adrenaline wears off, and suddenly you’re feeling everything your body was hiding from you.

What Actually Got Hurt

Whiplash is the big one. Your head weighs about 10-12 pounds, and when you get hit from behind, it whips forward and then snaps back. All those muscles and ligaments in your neck get stretched and strained. You won’t feel it right away, but tomorrow? Tomorrow’s going to be painful.

Your back and shoulders probably took a beating too, especially if you were tensed up (which you were, even if you don’t remember it). The seatbelt does its job keeping you in the seat, but it also puts a ton of force across your chest and shoulder.

Concussions are sneaky. You might not have even realized you hit your head, but the impact alone can cause your brain to bounce around inside your skull. If you start feeling foggy, getting headaches, or having trouble concentrating over the next few days, that’s a concussion.

Your spine might be out of alignment from the impact. This can cause pain that shoots down your arms or legs, or just a deep ache in your back that won’t quit.

Your 48-Hour Game Plan

Day One: Get Evaluated

Within 24 hours, get yourself to someone who knows what they’re looking at. A thorough exam should include:

Talking through exactly what happened and how you’re feeling. A physical exam of your neck, back, and shoulders. Testing your reflexes and nerve function. Checking how well you can move. Maybe some X-rays if needed.

This isn’t just about finding out what’s wrong—it’s about documenting it. You need a record of your injuries that’s dated right after the accident.

Start Treatment Right Away

Don’t wait for the insurance company to approve everything before you start getting treated. A lot of chiropractors who work with accident cases will bill your insurance directly or work out payment later. The important thing is getting treatment started.

Early treatment usually means gentle adjustments to get your spine back where it should be, soft tissue work to calm down the inflammation, ice or heat depending on what you need, and some exercises to keep you from getting stiff.

Actually Do What You’re Told

If your chiropractor or doctor says Come back in three days, come back in three days. Don’t skip appointments because you’re feeling a little better. Insurance companies track this stuff, and if you stop showing up, they assume you’re fine.

Write Everything Down

Keep a notebook or use your phone—I don’t care. But write down how you’re feeling every day for at least the first couple of weeks.

What hurts? How bad? What makes it worse? What makes it better? Can you sleep? Are you taking anything for the pain? How’s your mood?

This helps us understand what’s going on with you, and it’s solid evidence if you need it later.

Call Your Insurance

You need to report the accident to your insurance company within a day. Minnesota’s a no-fault state, which basically means your own insurance pays for your medical bills through your PIP coverage, regardless of who caused the crash.

When you talk to them, stick to the facts. “I was stopped at a red light and got hit from behind.” Don’t start guessing about injuries or saying things like “I think I’m fine.” You don’t know yet.

Don’t Sign Anything

The other driver’s insurance company might call you super quick. They’ll be friendly. They’ll want to help. They’ll ask you to give a recorded statement or sign some forms.

Don’t. Just don’t. They don’t work for you. They work for their company, and their job is to pay out as little as possible.

You don’t know the full extent of your injuries yet. Some stuff doesn’t show up for weeks. If you settle now, you’re stuck with whatever medical bills come up later.

Don’t Do These Things

Don’t Ignore Weird Symptoms

Even small stuff—a headache that won’t quit, a stiff shoulder, some tingling in your hand—get it checked. What seems minor now can turn into a chronic problem.

Don’t Post on Facebook

I know you want to tell everyone what happened. Don’t. Insurance adjusters will absolutely look at your social media. That photo of you smiling at your kid’s soccer game this weekend? They’ll use it to say you’re not really hurt.

Just stay off social media until this is done.

Don’t Try to Be Tough

Look, I get it. Nobody wants to be the person who makes a big deal out of everything. But car accidents cause real injuries. This isn’t being dramatic—it’s taking care of yourself.

Don’t Worry About the Bill

If you’re avoiding getting checked out because you’re worried about money, stop. Your insurance is supposed to cover this. And chiropractors who work with accident cases know how to deal with insurance. We can usually work directly with them.

Why You Should See a Chiropractor

Emergency rooms are for emergencies. If you’re seriously hurt, absolutely go. But for the vast majority of car accident injuries—the whiplash, the back pain, the soft tissue damage—that’s exactly what we specialize in.

We’re trained to find the injuries that don’t show up on X-rays. We focus on actually healing the problem, not just covering up the pain with medication. And research backs this up: people who get chiropractic care early after an accident recover faster and have less chronic pain down the road.

Conclusion

What you do in these first 48 hours matters. A lot. Get evaluated, start treatment, document everything. Don’t wait to see if it gets worse. Don’t assume you’re fine because you feel okay right now.

If you just got in an accident here in St. Paul, call us. We’ll get you in fast, figure out what’s going on, and start helping you heal. We deal with insurance companies all the time, so you don’t have to stress about that part.

Your body just went through something traumatic. Don’t ignore it.

Got hit? Call Twin Cities Chiropractic. We’ll see you fast, work with your insurance, and help you actually recover instead of just managing pain.