New Castle County Car Accident Lawyer

What should I do in the first 24 hours after a Delaware crash?

Get medical care first, even if you feel fine, and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Exchange information with the other driver, get witness contact details, and photograph the vehicles, scene, and any injuries. Report the crash to police when Delaware law requires it. Notify your own insurer, but hold off on a recorded statement or signing anything until you understand what’s being asked.

A vehicle blocking traffic should be reported immediately, and Delaware generally requires a police report when there’s an injury, a death, apparent damage of $2,000 or more, or a suspected impaired driver. That same 24-hour checklist applies the same way for a crash in Wilmington, Newark, or anywhere else in New Castle County. For the fuller step-by-step version — including Delaware’s reporting rules, PIP, and comparative-fault law — see our Delaware car accident guide.

Do I need a lawyer after a New Castle County car accident?

Not for every crash, and not always right away. It’s usually worth a conversation when you have an injury that needs ongoing treatment, the other driver’s insurer is disputing fault or pushing a fast settlement, more than one vehicle or company may be involved, the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, or someone was seriously hurt or killed. If none of those apply yet, it’s still reasonable to call and ask — a free case review is meant to tell you where you stand, not to sign you up for anything. And some situations genuinely don’t need a personal-injury lawyer at all: a minor fender-bender with no injury and a clean property-damage claim is often something you can handle directly with the insurer, and we’ll say so if that’s what your call sounds like.

Should you talk to the other driver’s insurance company first?

Probably, at some point — but not before you understand what’s being asked of you. An adjuster may call within a day or two, often before you know how serious an injury is. You can decline to give a recorded statement, decline to guess at fault, and decline a quick settlement offer without hurting a legitimate claim. Keep a note of who called, when, and what was said, and save any letters or emails they send. If an insurer is pressing you to settle fast or to describe the crash in a way that doesn’t feel right, that’s a reasonable moment to ask a lawyer what the call actually means for you.

What if the driver has no insurance, or not enough?

Each of these changes where a recovery might come from, not whether the crash was serious. If the at-fault driver had no insurance or too little to cover your losses, Delaware requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage as part of your own policy unless you rejected it in writing — so your policy, not theirs, may be what matters. Distraction and intoxication can be relevant to how a claim is evaluated, but proving them takes evidence: police reports, cell records, witness accounts, sometimes citations or criminal charges. None of that needs to be sorted out before your first conversation with us.

Can a passenger bring a claim?

Yes. You don’t need to have been driving to be seriously hurt in a crash, and the insurance questions look different depending on your role. A passenger may have a claim against more than one driver’s policy — the one they were riding in, the other vehicle’s, or both. A pedestrian or bicyclist struck by a car is dealing with a different set of coverage questions than two drivers in a collision, and our Delaware pedestrian and bicycle accident guide walks through those specifically. A motorcyclist often faces the added hurdle of bias about who was “really” at fault — see our page for Wilmington-area motorcycle accident cases. Whatever your role in the crash, the immediate steps are the same — get medical care, get the facts down, and be careful about what you agree to before you understand your situation.

What damages might be involved?

A car accident claim can touch medical care, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering, among other things — but what applies to your situation, and what any of it may be worth, depends on facts specific to your case and requires a review by an attorney. We won’t estimate a value here, and you should be skeptical of anyone who does before reviewing your records. Delaware’s comparative-fault rule can also reduce a recovery depending on how fault is split, and any claim you bring has a filing deadline, explained in Delaware’s car accident injury deadline.

How to preserve what will matter later

Insurance decisions often turn on details that are easy to lose track of in the days after a crash. It helps to keep, in one place:

• Photos of the vehicles, the scene, road and weather conditions, and visible injuries
• The police crash report, once it’s available, and the report number in the meantime
• Names and contact information for the other driver, passengers, and any witnesses
• Medical records, bills, and a simple log of appointments and missed work
• Copies of everything you send or receive from any insurance company, including claim numbers and adjuster names

You don’t need to have all of this before you call us. It’s useful context if you already have it, and we can tell you what else may be worth gathering. If your own policy has personal injury protection (PIP), those medical bills may be reimbursed separately from any liability claim — see how Delaware no-fault PIP works after a crash.

New Castle County, Wilmington, and Newark

Murphy & Landon’s office is in Wilmington, and most of the crashes we hear about happen on New Castle County roads — I-95, I-495, Route 202 and Concord Pike, Route 4 near Newark and the University of Delaware, and the local streets of Wilmington, Newark, Bear, Middletown, and New Castle itself. County and city roads are patrolled by different agencies, and a report from a New Castle County Police crash on Route 40 gets requested differently than one from Wilmington Police or Newark Police — a detail worth mentioning to us early rather than sorting out on your own. Beyond that, the first-24-hours steps above and the questions in this guide apply the same way regardless of which New Castle County town the crash happened in.

When is this not the right page — or the right call?

This page is written for someone who was hurt, or is asking on behalf of someone who was hurt, in a New Castle County car accident and wants to know what to do next. If you’re looking for recent local crash news rather than help with an injury claim, see our local accident coverage instead. And not every crash calls for a personal-injury lawyer: if there’s no injury and the disagreement is only about vehicle repair costs, that’s usually a property-damage conversation with the insurer, not a case for us. A serious or long-term injury is a different situation — our serious injury guide covers what changes when the harm is significant. If you’re not sure which category your situation falls into, that’s exactly what a free case review is for.

What happens in a free case review?

You tell us what happened, in your own words, and share whatever you have — a crash report, photos, insurance correspondence, medical records. We listen, ask the questions that fill in the gaps, and tell you plainly whether it looks like something Murphy & Landon can help with. There’s no cost for that first conversation, and no obligation to hire us afterward. If we do take your case, our fee arrangement — including whether it’s contingency-based — is explained to you in writing before any work begins; specific terms are confirmed case by case.

Call 302-472-8100 or use our contact page to arrange a free case review. We’ll tell you straight.

Related reading

• Delaware car accident guide — the fuller first-day checklist, including PIP and reporting rules
• Delaware car accident injury deadline
• How Delaware no-fault PIP works after a crash
• Delaware pedestrian and bicycle accident guide
• Wilmington & Delaware bicycle accident lawyers
• Wilmington-area motorcycle accident lawyers
• Serious injury guide for Delaware families
• Auto accidents practice area overview
• Personal injury — for broader injury claims beyond auto accidents
• Insurance bad faith — if an insurer’s handling of your claim is itself a concern
• Wrongful death — for families coping with a fatal crash
• Recent Delaware crash coverage

This page provides general information about Delaware law and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines can change, and a review of your specific situation is required before anyone can tell you how they apply to you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer after a car accident in New Castle County?

Not always right away, and not for every crash. A conversation is usually worth having when you have an injury that needs ongoing treatment, the insurer is disputing fault or pushing a fast settlement, more than one vehicle or company is involved, the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, or someone was seriously hurt or killed. A free case review can tell you plainly where your situation stands, with no obligation either way.

Should I talk to the other driver's insurance company before I talk to a lawyer?

You can be polite and give basic facts, but you do not have to give a recorded statement or accept an early settlement offer before you understand your injuries and your options. What makes sense depends on your coverage and the facts of the crash.

What if the other driver didn't have insurance, or didn't have enough?

Delaware requires drivers to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage unless it's rejected in writing, so your own policy may be the source of recovery. Whether it applies, and how much is available, depends on your policy and the crash.

I was a passenger, not the driver. Do I still have a claim?

Passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists can all be injured by someone else's driving, and each has different insurance and liability questions than the driver of the car. A passenger may even have claims against more than one driver's policy. A case review can walk through what applies to your situation specifically.

Do you handle cases in Wilmington and Newark, not just 'Delaware' generally?

Yes. We represent injured people throughout New Castle County, including Wilmington and Newark, as well as the rest of Delaware. Our office is in Wilmington.

What does a free case review actually involve, and is every case a fit?

You tell us what happened and share whatever information you have — a crash report, photos, insurance letters, medical records. We listen, explain what may be useful to gather, and tell you plainly whether Murphy & Landon may be able to help. You do not need every document before you call, and you are not agreeing to hire us by talking to us. Not every crash needs, or is a fit for, a personal-injury lawyer — a minor fender-bender with no injury and a straightforward property-damage claim is often something you can resolve directly with an insurer, and we'll tell you if that's what your situation looks like.