You Hit a Person

The worst moment behind the wheel — handled in the right order

The worst moment a driver can have: the legal duties at the scene (aid first — it’s the law), the calls that come next, how your liability coverage works for you now, and why this is the one page where “get a lawyer” is step-adjacent.

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At the scene: aid, 911, information — in that order

Same day: your insurer, in facts only

This week: the SR-1, and a lawyer before detailed statements

The short answer

First, the scene, where the law is explicit: stop, call 911, and render reasonable assistance to the injured — including arranging medical transport — while providing your name, address, registration and license; those duties are Vehicle Code section 20003, and meeting them is both the law and the only version of this you will be able to live with. Then the aftermath, in order: notify your insurer the same day (your liability coverage is now doing its most important job — defending and paying on your behalf), file the SR-1 with the DMV within 10 days, and speak with an attorney before giving detailed statements to anyone else — with injuries involved, that is not evasive, it is standard. Say nothing speculative about fault at the scene or after; describe what happened only in facts.

The California facts underneath this page

Every legal statement here comes from the statutes and DMV guidance linked at the foot of the page — the same verified pool behind all of our guides.

After an accident with injury or death, California requires the driver to stop and provide their name, current address, vehicle registration number, the owner’s name and address, and injured occupants’ names — show their license on request — and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including transporting or arranging transport to medical care when needed or requested (Vehicle Code section 20003).
Separate from any insurance claim, California requires the DRIVER to report an accident to the DMV within 10 days — on the SR-1 form — when it caused damage over $1,000 to any one person’s property, or any bodily injury, or death (Vehicle Code section 16000). Your insurer’s claim does not satisfy this; the report is yours to file.

From our office

These calls are the heaviest we take, and we answer them differently — slower, no scripts. What we actually do: confirm the scene duties were met, get the claim opened with facts only, calendar the SR-1, and say plainly when it is time for a lawyer, which with injuries is essentially always. Nobody plans to need this page. If you are on it now: the injured person first, then the order above, and call us for any piece of it.

What is not the same at every company

California law sets the floor. Everything below it is written into individual policies and differs between companies, so the honest answer is where to find your answer — not an average.

Whether your insurer provides defense counsel and how to activate it: Ask your claims adjuster directly — the duty to defend is standard in liability coverage, and understanding who your lawyer is and when they engage is the most important logistics question of the claim.
How your limits stand against the potential claim: Your declarations page, read today with your adjuster and any personal attorney. If exposure could exceed limits, that conversation needs to happen early and explicitly.

Talk it through with a person

We are an independent California brokerage — situations like this one are our ordinary daily work, in English and Spanish. If this page is hypothetical for you today, act on its one prevention lesson: a two-minute quote prices real liability limits — the coverage this scenario tests hardest.

Start a quote online, call (619) 363-4466, or text us and describe your week — we will tell you what actually applies to it.

Where this comes from

Every legal statement on this page traces to one of these, verified against the primary source. Everything company-specific is flagged as such above — where the honest answer is your own policy, we say so instead of guessing.

California Vehicle Code section 20003
The information a driver must provide after an injury accident and the duty to render reasonable assistance, including arranging medical transport.
California Vehicle Code section 16000
The driver’s own 10-day DMV reporting duty for accidents with over $1,000 damage to any one person’s property, bodily injury, or death.

This page explains California rules in plain language. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe any particular insurance company’s procedures. The terms of your own policy and any notice you have received control your situation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The pedestrian came out of nowhere — it might not even be my fault. Does that change what I do?

Not at the scene, and not in the sequence: the aid and information duties apply to involvement, not fault, and the SR-1 applies to injury regardless of cause. Fault in pedestrian and cyclist cases is genuinely more contested than people assume — crosswalk status, lighting, visibility and behavior all get weighed by the investigation — which is exactly why your job is facts and duties, not conclusions in either direction. Let the record you create be one that any later review reads as careful and complete; both your defense and your conscience are served by the same conduct.

Will my insurance actually cover this? The injuries could be serious.

This is what liability coverage IS — bodily injury liability pays for injuries you cause up to your limits, and your insurer typically defends the claim on your behalf as part of it. Two honest notes: serious pedestrian injuries are where policy limits get tested, which is why the how-much-coverage conversation on this site keeps pointing at real exposure rather than minimums — and if a claim could exceed your limits, tell your insurer and your attorney that concern explicitly; managing that boundary is part of the defense. Cooperate fully with your own insurer throughout — that cooperation is a policy condition and your best asset.

Related Insurance Services

How much coverage do you need?The SR-1 report you owe the DMV What an accident does to your rate

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Auto World Insurance Services (Yako Enterprises Inc.) is a licensed California insurance broker, CA Insurance Broker License #6005606. Rates shown are estimates only and vary based on driving record, vehicle, location, coverage selections, and other factors. Quotes do not guarantee coverage or final pricing. All coverage is subject to underwriting approval by the issuing insurance carrier. Not all applicants will qualify. This is general information only, not legal, financial, or professional advice. For legal questions regarding DUI, SR-22, or license reinstatement, consult a qualified attorney. See our Privacy Policy for information on how we handle your data.