A crash during vacation to Virginia Beach puts you in an unfamiliar city with your doctor at home, your insurance agent unfamiliar with Virginia’s rules, and every decision needing to happen in the days before you head back.
Virginia Beach is one of the most visited destinations on the East Coast, and out-of-state drivers contending with beach traffic, unfamiliar intersections, and resort-area congestion are involved in crashes here regularly. Taking the right steps before you leave Virginia Beach protects your ability to recover compensation once you’re back home.
At the Scene
Call 911 and Stay
Virginia Code § 46.2-894 requires any driver, regardless of fault, to stop and remain at the scene of a crash that results in property damage or personal injury and provide contact and vehicle information to law enforcement, so call 911 and give the responding officer a complete account of what happened.
Ask the officer for the crash report number before leaving, as the full crash report is the foundational document for your insurance claim and any civil proceedings that follow, and you’ll need the number to request a copy later.
Don’t Admit Fault
Avoid statements about fault at the scene: apologies, explanations of what you were doing, or speculations about the cause. Statements made immediately after a crash can be noted by officers or recorded by bystanders and used later in the claims process, so limit your statements to a factual account of what happened.
Document the Scene
Take photos before anything is moved:
- Both vehicles from multiple angles
- The resting position of each car
- Skid marks, debris, and road conditions
- Nearby traffic signals, stop signs, and speed limit signs
- Any visible injuries
Collect the following before anyone leaves:
- The other driver’s name, license number, and insurance card (photograph both documents directly rather than writing down the information)
- Contact details from any witnesses present
Witness accounts of how the crash happened can become relevant if the other driver later disputes the facts.
Get Medical Attention Before You Leave Virginia Beach
Go to a Virginia Beach emergency room or urgent care center the same day, even if your injuries feel minor, as adrenaline after a crash can mask soft tissue injuries, concussions, and spinal damage that don’t produce clear symptoms for hours or days.
Before You Leave the Facility
- Ask the physician to note the crash as the cause of your injuries
- Get copies of all records, imaging results, and discharge paperwork
- Request a written care plan to bring to your own physician at home
A medical record that starts on the date of the crash and runs through your at-home follow-up care is the primary record for your injury claim, and insurance adjusters examine gaps in the treatment timeline as part of evaluating injury severity.
If You Were Driving a Rental Car
Notify the rental company as soon as possible, as rental agreements carry reporting requirements and delayed notification can create complications with coverage.
Your Three Coverage Sources
- Your personal auto insurance policy, which may extend to rental vehicles depending on your coverage terms
- A collision damage waiver purchased from the rental company at the time of booking
- Credit card rental coverage, which varies by card issuer
Contact your own insurance company first to confirm your policy’s rental coverage before the rental company’s adjuster reaches out, so you have a clear baseline when competing coverage questions arise.
Handling Insurance From Out of State
Notify Your Own Insurance Company First
Report the crash to your own insurance company regardless of fault since Virginia is an at-fault state where the driver responsible for the crash bears responsibility for the resulting damages, and your insurance company needs to know about the collision whether you plan to submit a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability coverage or draw on your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Have the following ready when you call:
- The crash report number
- The other driver’s name and insurance information
- The name and address of the medical facility where you were treated
Submitting a Claim Against the At-Fault Driver
You have the right to submit a claim directly against the at-fault driver’s liability coverage, and out-of-state injury cases in Virginia typically include lost wages from your home-state job, ongoing treatment with your home-state physicians, and travel expenses tied to the crash, all of which need to be documented and accounted for in the claim.
For a complete picture of how the settlement process unfolds from claim submission through resolution, this breakdown of car accident settlements covers what to expect at each stage.
On Recorded Statements
If the at-fault driver’s insurance company contacts you and asks for a recorded statement, decline until you’ve spoken with an attorney. Recorded statements taken at the beginning of the process are routinely used to limit settlement value, and you’re not required to give one before retaining representation.
If the At-Fault Driver Was Arrested for DUI
Under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher is unlawful. A DUI arrest creates documented evidence of impaired driving that strengthens your civil injury case, and a conviction or guilty plea in the criminal case is admissible in a civil proceeding and removes any factual dispute about negligence. CDC
Track the criminal case through Virginia Beach General District Court, where DUI charges are heard at the misdemeanor level. A case number from the crash report gives you access to the public court docket, and a local Virginia attorney can monitor the case and retrieve relevant documents while you’re back home.
Retain a Local Attorney Before You Head Home
Retaining a Virginia Beach attorney before you leave gives your case a local representative who can handle time-sensitive work while you recover at home. Physical evidence is time-sensitive: surveillance footage from nearby businesses is regularly overwritten within 30 to 60 days, and witnesses become harder to reach as time passes.
Personal injury cases in Virginia carry a two-year deadline under Code of Virginia § 8.01-243 from the date of the crash, but the practical window for preserving evidence is far shorter. A local attorney can:
- Request and review the full crash report
- Identify and contact witnesses before they become unreachable
- Subpoena surveillance footage before it’s overwritten
- Manage all correspondence with the at-fault driver’s insurance company
Retaining local counsel before you leave means the work of preserving evidence and building your case starts before you board your flight home.
Vacation Losses You Can Recover
A car crash during vacation creates losses that a standard at-home crash doesn’t: prepaid trip costs, travel disruption expenses, and ongoing treatment that continues after you return home. All of the following may be recoverable, and documentation for each should be gathered before you leave Virginia Beach:
- Medical bills and records from treatment in Virginia Beach
- Transportation costs tied to the crash, including a replacement rental vehicle if yours was disabled
- Prepaid trip expenses you weren’t able to use, including hotel nights, excursion deposits, and event tickets
- Lost wages from work missed after you return home
- Ongoing treatment costs once you resume care with your own physician
- Pain and suffering related to the injuries
Records gathered close to the date of the crash are more complete and easier to substantiate than documentation assembled weeks later from memory.
Events
