What to Do After a Car Accident in Vermont

A crash in Vermont comes with a specific set of rules that differ from the state next door. The first moves after any collision (check for injuries and call for help) are the same everywhere and are covered on the national hub this page belongs to. What follows is the part that is actually about Vermont: the deadlines and dollar thresholds that decide what you can recover and how long you have to act. In 2024, 59 people died on Vermont roads, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.¹ Behind that figure is the far larger number of crashes that end in injury and property claims, and the rules below govern each of them.

The crash report you are required to file

Vermont law puts a reporting duty on you, the driver, that is separate from anything the police do. Under 23 V.S.A. § 1129, a reportable "crash" means your vehicle actually made physical contact with a person or object, and if that crash injures someone or causes total property damage of $3,000 or more, the operator has to send a written report to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 72 hours.² The form is the DMV's Operator Crash Report (VA-004), and you file it whether or not police came to the scene, even if the only thing hit was a parked car.³ Failing to report can bring a civil penalty, so treat 72 hours as a hard clock.

A police-investigated report is a different document. The Vermont DMV's Driver Improvement and Driver Control unit handles requests for crash reports, including those written up by the Vermont State Police.⁴ For how to pull your report, see thatcarhitme.com's Vermont crash report page.

Vermont is an at-fault state

Vermont handles crashes on a tort (at-fault) basis, so the driver who caused the collision, through their insurer, is the one who pays.⁵ There is no mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) here, and no statute forces your own policy to carry medical payments coverage. In practice that means your health insurance, or an optional MedPay add-on if you bought one, usually pays your treatment up front, and you recover those costs from the at-fault driver's insurer as part of the claim.

Every registered vehicle has to carry liability limits of at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 per crash when more than one person is hurt, and $10,000 for property damage. That 25/50/10 minimum comes from 23 V.S.A. § 800.⁶ These are floors, not targets, and in a serious wreck they run out fast. The one place Vermont writes a MedPay floor into statute is rideshare: a transportation network company must carry $5,000 in medical payments coverage while a driver is on the app, under 23 V.S.A. § 750.⁷

Uninsured and underinsured coverage you may already have

Because the minimums are low and some drivers carry nothing at all, the coverage that most often saves a Vermont claim is your own uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) protection. Vermont requires it on every auto policy unless you reject it in writing, at limits of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, and matching your liability limits whenever those are higher, under 23 V.S.A. § 941.⁸ If the at-fault driver has no insurance, took off, or carries too little to cover your injuries, this is the coverage that responds. Pull your own declarations page early and find out what you have.

How fault is split

Vermont uses modified comparative negligence. Under 12 V.S.A. § 1036, you can still recover as long as your share of the fault is "not greater than" the other side's, meaning 50 percent or less, and your award is then reduced by your own percentage.⁹ Cross into 51 percent and you recover nothing. A $100,000 award with 30 percent of the fault on you becomes $70,000. That single rule is why what you say at the scene matters so much. An offhand apology can be read later as accepting a slice of blame you do not actually own.

The deadline that ends your claim

You generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Vermont, set by 12 V.S.A. § 512(4).¹⁰ Claims for damage to your vehicle and other personal property carry the same three-year deadline under § 512(5).¹⁰ The clock can pause in narrow situations, for a plaintiff who was a minor or legally incapacitated when the crash happened, or for stretches when the defendant was absent from Vermont, but do not plan around an extension. Insurers track the date too, and settlement offers tend to shrink as it gets close.

Damages and who else can be liable

Vermont does not cap compensatory or punitive damages in an ordinary injury suit against a private driver. The only statutory cap sits on claims against the State of Vermont itself: $500,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence, under 12 V.S.A. § 5601.¹¹ For a normal crash between private motorists, no dollar ceiling limits what a jury can award.

Impaired driving shows up in a large share of Vermont's fatal crashes, and the law reaches past the driver. Under Vermont's dram shop act, 7 V.S.A. § 501, a person injured by an intoxicated individual can sue a licensee that sold or furnished alcohol to a minor, to a visibly intoxicated patron, or after legal serving hours.¹² Punitive damages stay available in DUI-caused injury cases, with no statutory cap.

Distracted driving and motorcycle rules that shape fault

Vermont bans handheld device use for all drivers, and it is primary enforcement, so an officer can stop you for that alone. A first offense carries a civil penalty of $100 to $200, rising to $250 to $500 for a second or later offense within two years, under 23 V.S.A. § 1095b, with higher penalties in marked work and school zones.¹³ A cited phone violation on the other driver is strong evidence of fault.

Motorcyclists face a universal helmet requirement. Every operator and every passenger has to wear headgear that meets the federal safety standard, with a narrow exception for occupants of fully enclosed autocycles, under 23 V.S.A. § 1256.¹⁴ Riders on a bike with no windshield also have to wear glasses, goggles, or a face shield under 23 V.S.A. § 1257.¹⁵ Vermont does not permit lane splitting, though two motorcycles may share a single lane.

Getting help and protecting the vehicle claim

If your car was repaired but is now worth less on paper, that lost resale value is its own claim; the details live on thatcarhitme.com's Vermont diminished value guide. And when injuries are real, coverage is in dispute, or the three-year clock is closing, talking to a Vermont attorney early is the right call. You can start at thatcarhitme.com's legal directory.

The numbers and deadlines above are what make a Vermont claim a Vermont claim. Write down the date of the crash, file your § 1129 report inside 72 hours, confirm whether you carry UM/UIM, and keep the three-year limit in view from the first day.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Fatality Facts 2024: State by state. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state

2. 23 V.S.A. § 1129, Crashes; reports. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01129

3. Vermont DMV, Operator Crash Report (Form VA-004). https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VA-004-Operator_Crash_Report.pdf

4. Vermont DMV, Crashes. https://dmv.vermont.gov/enforcement-and-safety/laws/crashes

5. Vermont DMV, Insurance Requirements. https://dmv.vermont.gov/enforcement-and-safety/laws/insurance

6. 23 V.S.A. § 800, Maintenance of financial responsibility. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/011/00800

7. 23 V.S.A. § 750, Transportation network companies; insurance. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/010/00750

8. 23 V.S.A. § 941, Insurance against uninsured, underinsured, or unknown motorists. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/011/00941

9. 12 V.S.A. § 1036, Comparative negligence. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/027/01036

10. 12 V.S.A. § 512, Injury to person or property. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/023/00512

11. 12 V.S.A. § 5601, Liability of State. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/189/05601

12. 7 V.S.A. § 501, Civil action for damages. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/07/017/00501

13. 23 V.S.A. § 1095b, Handheld use of portable electronic devices prohibited. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01095b

14. 23 V.S.A. § 1256, Motorcycles; headgear. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01256

15. 23 V.S.A. § 1257, Motorcycles; eye protection. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01257