After a Crash in Delaware — Official Resources
This is general information, not legal advice.
Delaware requires notifying the nearest police agency when a crash causes injury or death, and reporting crashes on public highways involving significant property damage (21 Del. C. §4203). Delaware also mandates Personal Injury Protection — at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident under 21 Del. C. §2118 — paying medical bills and lost earnings regardless of fault. But here is what separates Delaware from true no-fault states: there is no threshold on your right to sue. PIP pays first and you keep full tort rights against the at-fault driver, with no minimum medical bill to clear. PIP covers expenses incurred within two years of the crash. Free help: Community Legal Aid Society (New Castle 302-575-0660, Kent 302-674-8500, Sussex 302-856-0038), Legal Services Corporation of Delaware at 1-888-225-0582, and the Insurance Department at 1-800-282-8611.
Delaware gets described as a no-fault state, and that is only half right. It does force everyone to carry PIP, so your own insurer pays your medical bills first regardless of blame. What it does not do is what actual no-fault states do — put a wall between you and a lawsuit. There is no dollar threshold and no injury threshold to clear before you can pursue the driver who hit you. That combination is unusual and it is the first thing worth understanding here. The first-steps checklist covers saving your dashcam clip before the camera loops.
Your own PIP pays first — and you still keep the right to sue
Every vehicle registered in Delaware must carry PIP of at least $15,000 for any one person and $30,000 for all persons injured in one accident, per the Delaware DMV. It covers medical expenses, lost earnings, and related costs without regard to who caused the crash, and it reaches household members and, in some circumstances, pedestrians struck by a Delaware-insured vehicle.
The deadline that matters: PIP covers reasonable and necessary expenses incurred within two years of the accident date. Treatment that starts late, or drags past that window, falls outside the coverage. Open the claim and start treatment early rather than waiting to see whether something resolves on its own.
And the good news that most guides bury: unlike Florida, Michigan, or New York, Delaware imposes no lawsuit threshold. You do not need to clear a dollar figure or prove a permanent injury before pursuing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering. Delaware follows a modified comparative rule, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and barred only if you are more than half responsible.
Report the crash
Call police. Under Title 21, Chapter 42, you must notify the nearest police agency by the quickest means when a crash causes injury or death, and report crashes on public highways involving significant apparent property damage. Calling 911 and waiting for an officer satisfies the duty.
A note on the number. Secondary sources commonly state the driver reporting threshold as $2,000 in property damage. The statute itself sets a separate figure for when police agencies must investigate and complete the Uniform Traffic Collision Report — and that one is unusual: it started at $1,000 and increases by $100 every January 1, capped at $1,500. Two different duties, two different numbers, and no version of this is worth guessing at from the roadside. If there is any injury, or damage that looks like it could be four figures, call it in.
Get the crash report
Delaware has no single statewide portal. Request the report from whichever agency worked the scene — Delaware State Police for state highways, or the municipal department if it happened inside a town or city.
Fees are set locally and vary more than in most states: some Delaware departments charge around $25 for a crash report, with photographs priced separately per image and fatal-crash reports costing considerably more. Ask what the total will be when you call. Most agencies release reports only to people named on them, plus insurers and attorneys, so bring identification and the report number if the officer gave you one.
Hit-and-run
Call police immediately — injury or death triggers the reporting duty regardless of whether the other driver stayed, and with nobody to exchange information with, the officer’s report is the only record.
Delaware’s PIP structure works in your favor here: your own coverage pays medical bills and lost earnings whether or not the driver is ever identified, so open that claim now and start treatment inside the two-year window rather than waiting on the investigation. Save your clip and note the time and location while they’re exact. Delaware also requires insurers to provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matching your liability limits unless you rejected it in writing — so check your policy before assuming you have none, and read its hit-and-run notice deadline, which is usually far shorter than two years.
Find a lawyer
The Delaware State Bar Association runs the state’s Lawyer Referral Service, which schedules a 30-minute meeting with an attorney for a reduced fee. The Delaware courts’ legal assistance page links to it, and the DSBA sorts requests by subject — crash claims fall under its Cars & Motor Vehicles category rather than the general Accidents and Injuries one, which covers non-vehicle incidents.
One warning worth stating plainly: searching for “Delaware County Bar Association” will land you in Pennsylvania. Delaware County is a Philadelphia suburb, not part of this state. Make sure you are contacting the Delaware State Bar Association.
Free legal help
Delaware’s civil legal aid runs through three organizations, listed on the state courts’ own page:
Community Legal Aid Society serves people with low incomes, people with disabilities, and anyone age 60 or over — New Castle County 302-575-0660, Kent County 302-674-8500, Sussex County 302-856-0038. Legal Services Corporation of Delaware handles civil matters for low-income Delawareans at 302-478-8680 or 1-888-225-0582. Delaware Volunteer Legal Services is a volunteer-attorney organization covering a range of civil areas.
Insurance problems
The Consumer Services Division of the Insurance Commissioner’s office will obtain information and explanations from an insurance company on your behalf. Call 1-800-282-8611 in Delaware or (302) 674-7310, or email consumer@delaware.gov.
They ask that you contact the insurance company, agent, or adjuster first, and they say plainly that the department cannot act as your lawyer or give legal advice. Given that Delaware puts no threshold on suing, the line between an insurance problem and a legal one is worth knowing: they can press a carrier on how it handled your claim, and the lawyer referral above handles the rest.
Uninsured when it happened? That means no PIP — which in Delaware is the harder problem, because PIP is the piece that pays first regardless of fault. Your right to sue the at-fault driver is unaffected by your own coverage gap, so get treatment documented and call Community Legal Aid Society early.
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Dashwatcher is a dashcam company, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for a licensed attorney. Reporting rules, deadlines, and programs differ by state and change over time; verify everything with the official source before you rely on it. Links go to government agencies, bar associations, and nonprofits. Dashwatcher receives no payment from any organization listed.
From the team at Dashwatcher.
Last verified: August 4, 2026