A rear-end shunt at traffic lights, a collision while turning, a scrape in a car park: accidents happen in seconds. What you do in the next few minutes secures evidence that is hard to find later.
Aleksander Sigal is a Fachanwalt für Verkehrsrecht – a certified traffic lawyer – in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, and he advises you personally in English. If you were driving a rental car, a company car or a vehicle registered abroad, this page covers your situation too.
At the scene: step by step
- Make the scene safe. Switch on your hazard lights, put on the hi-vis vest and set up the warning triangle at a safe distance.
- Help the injured. Give first aid and call 112 if anyone is hurt. Helping is a legal duty, whoever was at fault.
- Stay at the scene. Everyone involved must wait and allow their identity and role to be recorded. Leaving too early can lead to criminal proceedings for leaving the scene of an accident (unerlaubtes Entfernen vom Unfallort), even after a scrape with a parked car.
- Exchange details. Note the name and address of the driver and the registered keeper, the number plate and the insurer.
- Secure evidence. Photograph the vehicles where they came to rest, the damage, debris, traffic lights and signs. Ask witnesses for their names and phone numbers.
- Do not admit fault. “Sorry, my fault” does not bind your insurer, but it can be used against you later. Do not sign statements drafted by the other party, especially in German.
Should you call the police?
If only vehicles are damaged and everyone exchanges details, calling the police is not compulsory. It is still advisable if anyone is injured, the circumstances are disputed, you suspect alcohol, someone wants to leave or a vehicle is registered abroad. Rental and company car agreements often require a police report. You must give the police your personal details but need not comment on what happened.
The European Accident Statement
The European Accident Statement (Europäischer Unfallbericht) has the same layout in every language, so you can fill in an English version while the other driver uses a German one. It records the facts; it does not decide who was at fault. Tick only what applies and sign only if you agree with the sketch.
In the days after: report, assessment, doctor
Report the accident to your own insurer even if it was not your fault; most policies require this within a week. You can identify the other driver's insurer from the number plate through the Zentralruf der Autoversicherer, the insurers' central information service. Notify that insurer in text form, by letter or email, within two weeks (§ 119 VVG). A short notice is enough.
Have the damage assessed by an independent vehicle assessor (Kfz-Sachverständiger) of your choice. Only for obviously minor damage is a garage estimate sufficient; courts usually draw that line at repair costs of around €700 to €750. You do not have to accept the insurer's offer to send its own assessor. The settlement process is explained on our page on insurance claims after an accident.
See a doctor promptly if you feel any pain. Neck and back pain often appears only the next day, and without early medical records a claim for pain and suffering compensation is hard to prove.
Who is liable? Operating risk and the liability split
German law has a feature that surprises many drivers from abroad: the keeper of a motor vehicle is liable for damage caused by its operation even without fault (§ 7 StVG). This is called operating risk (Betriebsgefahr). When two motor vehicles collide, the court weighs how much each side contributed through driving errors and operating risk (§ 17 StVG).
The result is the liability split (Haftungsquote). At 100:0 you recover your full loss. At 70:30 you recover 70 per cent, and your liability insurer pays 30 per cent of the other side's loss. Only a driver who proves the accident was completely unavoidable escapes liability altogether.
In typical situations, the courts start from a presumption of fault (Anscheinsbeweis), which specific facts can rebut:
| Situation | The presumption points first to … |
|---|---|
| Rear-end collision | the driver behind |
| Changing lanes | the driver who changed lanes |
| Turning, pulling out of a driveway | the driver turning or pulling out |
| Reversing | the driver reversing |
| Opening a car door | the person getting out |
Contributory fault also reduces claims by passengers who were not wearing a seat belt (§ 254 BGB, § 9 StVG).
What you can claim
If the accident was not your fault, you claim directly against the other driver's motor liability insurer (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung, § 115 VVG), in particular for:
- Vehicle damage: repair costs or, for a write-off, replacement value minus residual value, plus any loss in market value
- Assessor's fees for the expert of your choice
- Mobility: a hire car or compensation for loss of use (Nutzungsausfall)
- Incidental costs: towing, re-registration, a flat-rate sum for phone calls and postage
- Personal injury: pain and suffering damages (Schmerzensgeld), medical costs, loss of earnings, loss of ability to run your household
- Legal fees for pursuing these claims
Insurers often cut individual items; how to respond is explained on our page on settling vehicle damage claims.
Who pays the lawyer?
If the accident was not your fault, legal fees are part of your loss and the other driver's insurer must pay them under the statutory fee scale. As a rule, you pay nothing yourself. If liability is shared, the other side pays only in proportion; legal expenses insurance with traffic cover (Verkehrsrechtsschutz) can pay the rest, minus any excess. We handle the cover request for you. See fees and legal expenses insurance.
Deadlines and limitation
- Your own insurer: most policies require notice within one week.
- The other driver's insurer: notice in text form within two weeks (§ 119 VVG).
- Limitation: claims become time-barred after three years, counted from the end of the year in which the claim arose and you knew, or without gross negligence should have known, of the damage and who was liable (§§ 195, 199(1) BGB). Once the claim is notified to the insurer, the clock stops until it decides in text form (§ 115(2) VVG).
Rental cars, foreign vehicles, cyclists and e-scooters
Accident in a rental car
Inform the rental company straight away and follow the accident instructions in your agreement. The claim for damage to the rental car belongs to the rental company as owner; what you may owe it depends on your contract and its excess. Your own losses – injury, damaged belongings, extra travel costs – you claim from the other driver's insurer like any other accident victim.
Foreign-registered vehicle
If the other vehicle is registered abroad, you do not have to pursue your claim abroad. For accidents in Germany, the German Green Card Bureau (Deutsches Büro Grüne Karte) appoints an insurer here, which handles the claim as if the vehicle were insured in Germany. If you are driving a car registered abroad, claims against you run through the same system.
Cyclists and e-scooters
A bicycle carries no operating risk under the Road Traffic Act, so a driver who collides with a cyclist often bears part of the loss even if the cyclist made the mistake. Children under ten are generally not liable for collisions with motor vehicles in moving traffic unless they acted deliberately (§ 828 BGB).
E-scooters must be insured, as shown by their insurance plate. For a long time, their keeper was only liable if fault was proven. Since a change in the law in autumn 2026, the keeper's strict liability under § 7 StVG applies to e-scooters too; for earlier accidents the old rules remain. If the other driver fled and cannot be traced, a statutory fund (Verkehrsopferhilfe) may pay in some cases, mainly for injury – see hit and run.
Dealing with a German insurer
Insurers write in German, using terms such as Wiederbeschaffungswert (replacement value) or Abfindungserklärung (settlement and release). Do not sign anything you have not fully understood: a settlement and release usually ends all further claims, including for injuries that show up later. You do not need to stay in Germany for the claim to proceed; most of it is handled in writing.
Aleksander Sigal reviews liability, quantifies every item, handles the correspondence and explains each step to you in English. Call 030 86 20 12 40 or use our contact options.
This article gives a general overview of German law (as of October 2026) and does not replace advice on your individual case.