The rearend.com online intake questionnaire is built for a San Diego rear-end accident attorney. It asks about crash details, injuries, treatment, and insurance information. Most people finish it in a few minutes. It is not a legal consultation itself. It is the step that decides how fast a legal team member can review your case and follow up.

Key Takeaways

Time to complete: Most people finish the online intake questionnaire in under ten minutes. It walks through crash facts in a guided sequence, not open-ended essay questions.
Documents matter: Photos, a CHP or police report number, and any medical paperwork you already have can speed up your submission.
Follow-up window: A member of the legal team aims to reach out soon after you submit, to confirm details and discuss next steps.
No upfront cost: Submitting the questionnaire is free. So is the case evaluation that follows. Representation is usually offered on a contingency basis. That means no fee unless you recover compensation.
Not a guarantee: Completing the form starts a review process. It does not confirm that a claim will be accepted, or what it may be worth.

At a Glance: What the Intake Questionnaire Covers

Intake Element	What to Expect
Time to complete	Roughly 5-10 minutes online
Crash details requested	Date, location, how the impact happened, vehicles involved
Injury questions	Whether you sought treatment, type of injury, ongoing symptoms
Insurance info requested	Your policy and the at-fault driver’s insurer if known
Helpful documents	Photos, police/CHP report number, medical records, correspondence
Typical follow-up time	Legal team aims to follow up soon after submission
Cost to submit	Free; contingency-based fee structure if you proceed
Where it fits	First step, before the case evaluation call

What Is the Rearend.com Online Intake Questionnaire?

It’s the digital form rearend.com uses to gather the basic facts of your San Diego rear-end crash. You fill it out before anyone calls you. Think of it as a simple way to hand over what you already know. That way a legal team member won’t have to ask you to repeat yourself later.

You fill it out on your own time, at your own pace, from a phone or computer. There’s no attorney on the line yet. There’s no pressure to make decisions, and nothing to sign. If you’re still unsure whether you even have a claim, that’s okay. This step doesn’t require you to know the answer. The San Diego case evaluation process that follows is where those bigger questions get answered. The intake form is simply the door you walk through first.

San Diego drivers face conditions that make rear-end crashes common. Heavy traffic clogs I-5 and I-805 during commute hours. Beach traffic causes sudden slowdowns in summer. Stop-and-go patterns are common near Balboa Park and downtown. The questionnaire is built with these local patterns in mind. It asks about road type and traffic conditions, not just highway driving.

1. Basic Crash Details You’ll Be Asked to Provide

The first section covers the who, what, when, and where of the collision. Expect to answer where in San Diego County the crash happened. You’ll also give the approximate date and time, and a short description of how the impact occurred.

Whether you were stopped, slowing, or moving when hit from behind
The number of vehicles involved, since chain-reaction crashes change how liability gets sorted out
Whether a police or CHP report was filed at the scene
Basic contact and vehicle information for the other driver, if you have it

In a rear-end crash, blame often falls on the driver who hit you from behind. Drivers are expected to keep a safe following distance. But that assumption isn’t automatic in every case, according to a discussion of California rear-end liability evidence. That’s part of why these details matter from the very first form you fill out.

2. Injury and Medical Treatment Questions

This section asks whether you were injured, whether you saw a doctor, and what treatment you’ve had since the crash. It also asks about ongoing symptoms. Injuries like whiplash or soft tissue damage can take a day or two to show up fully.

You’ll likely see questions about:

Whether you were treated at the scene, in an ER, or by your own doctor afterward
The type of injury, such as neck pain, back pain, or headaches
Whether treatment is ongoing or has concluded
Any prior injuries to the same area of your body, which insurers sometimes raise later

Answer as accurately as you can, even if your treatment history feels incomplete. A gap in care, or an injury that’s still developing, doesn’t disqualify your submission. It simply gives the legal team useful context for the follow-up call.

3. Insurance Information the Form Requests

You’ll be asked for your own auto insurance details. If you have them, you’ll also give the at-fault driver’s insurance information. This helps the legal team understand what coverage may be available to pay for your damages.

California requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. That minimum can matter a lot. If the at-fault driver only carries the state floor, and your medical bills run higher, this becomes important fast. That’s one reason insurance details are asked early, not left for later. If you don’t know the other driver’s insurer yet, that’s fine. You can still submit what you have.

4. Documents That Help Speed Up Attorney Matching

You don’t need every document ready before you start. But having a few on hand can shorten the back-and-forth later. Gathering these ahead of time is one of the more practical things you can do in the first days after a crash.

Photos of vehicle damage from multiple angles, plus the accident scene if you took any
Police or CHP report number, even if you don’t have the full report yet
Medical records or bills from any treatment you’ve already received
Insurance correspondence, including any early settlement offers or claim numbers
Dashcam footage, if you or a nearby vehicle had one running, since video can help support a claim alongside other evidence

None of these are required to submit the form. But a legal team member reviewing a submission with photos and a report number attached can generally move faster. That’s compared to one working from crash details alone.

How Fast Does Follow-Up Happen After You Submit?

A member of the legal team works to reach out soon after your submission. They’ll call or email to confirm the details you entered and discuss what comes next. That call is a conversation, not a commitment on either side.

During that follow-up, expect questions that fill in gaps from your written answers. You’ll also get an explanation of what a case evaluation actually involves. If you want more detail on what that evaluation covers once you’re past intake, check the San Diego attorney expectations guide. It walks through that stage specifically. This article stops at the digital front door. That one covers what happens once you’re through it.

5. What Happens Immediately After You Submit the Form

Once you hit submit, your answers go to a legal team member for initial review. They’ll cross-check the crash details against any documents you attached. They’ll flag anything that needs clarification and prepare questions for the follow-up call.

This isn’t an automated approval or denial. It’s a human review step, meant to figure out whether your situation looks like a fit. That happens before anyone spends time on a longer conversation. Insurance adjusters often move quickly to settle claims for less than they may be worth. That’s part of why a fast, organized intake process matters, especially if you haven’t hired an attorney yet.

Does Filling Out the Questionnaire Cost Anything?

No. Submitting the intake questionnaire is free. So is the case evaluation that follows. If you move forward with representation, the arrangement is generally structured on a contingency basis. That means there’s no fee unless you recover compensation.

Want a clearer sense of how contingency fees work before you get that far? The rear-end accident lawyer cost and fees guide breaks down what that arrangement generally looks like in practice.

Getting Ready Before You Start the Questionnaire

A little prep work makes the intake form faster to complete. It also makes it easier for a legal team member to review. Consider pulling these together before you sit down to fill it out:

The date, time, and general location of the crash, even if you’re estimating
Any photos already on your phone from the scene or your vehicle
Your insurance policy number and the name of your carrier
The other driver’s information, if you exchanged it
A rough timeline of any medical care you’ve had so far

Still in the early hours after a crash, and not sure what to do next? The first 72 hours guide covers the steps that come before intake. That includes documenting the scene and deciding whether to seek medical care right away.

Once your vehicle needs attention, sorting out repairs is a separate track from your injury claim. You can compare options through trusted local auto body shops whenever that becomes relevant to your situation.

Start the Intake Process Today

You don’t need every answer figured out to take the first step. If you were hit from behind anywhere in San Diego County, the online intake questionnaire is built for you. It takes what you know right now and turns it into a fast, organized starting point. Start my claim to begin the process. Or, if you’d rather get a sense of the numbers first, you can calculate an estimate of what your potential claim could be worth before you submit anything. Either way, the sooner you start, the sooner a legal team member can reach out and help you figure out what comes next.