After a car accident in Florida, you need to stop at the scene, check for injuries and call 911, exchange information with the other driver, report the crash to law enforcement, and see a doctor within 14 days so your Personal Injury Protection insurance will cover your medical bills. That 14-day deadline is the one people miss most often, and missing it can cost you thousands.
At the Scene: Stop and Check for Injuries
Check yourself and your passengers before doing anything else. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. If the vehicles are drivable and blocking traffic, move them to the shoulder or a nearby parking lot; sitting in an active lane invites a second crash. Turn on your hazards.
Florida law requires every driver involved in a crash to remain at the scene, provide name, address, registration number, and driver license if asked, and offer reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging transportation to a hospital when treatment appears necessary.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.062 – Duty to Give Information and Render Aid Driving off before you’ve done those things is a felony. More on that below.
Call 911 and Report the Crash
You are legally required to report any crash that causes an injury, a death, or property damage that appears to be at least $500. The report goes to the local police if the crash happened within city limits, or to the county sheriff or Florida Highway Patrol if it did not.2Justia Law. Florida Code 316.065 – Crashes; Reports; Penalties Calling 911 handles the reporting requirement and gets emergency medical help dispatched at the same time. Even in a minor fender-bender that clearly exceeds $500, insist on a police report. Insurers rely on it heavily, and you will want it later.
Exchange Information and Document the Scene
Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles publishes a Driver Exchange of Information form listing what each driver should collect: full name, address, phone numbers, driver license number, vehicle year and make, tag number, and insurance company with policy number.3Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver Exchange of Information Collect this from every driver involved, not just the one you think caused the crash. Get names and phone numbers from passengers and bystanders who saw what happened.
Use your phone. Photograph vehicle damage from several angles, skid marks, traffic signals, road conditions, and any visible injuries. A short video panning the full scene captures details still shots miss. Do not apologize or say the crash was your fault. A reflexive “I’m sorry” can be twisted into an admission of liability.
See a Doctor Within 14 Days
This is the deadline people blow most often, and it is unforgiving. Florida’s PIP statute requires that you receive initial medical services and care within 14 days of the crash. Miss that window and your PIP insurer owes you nothing for medical expenses, even if you later discover a herniated disc or soft-tissue injury that wasn’t obvious at the scene.4Online Sunshine. Florida Code 627.736 – Required Personal Injury Protection Benefits; Exclusions; Priority; Claims Adrenaline masks pain. Go to an emergency room or urgent care within a day or two even if you feel fine, and keep every receipt and record from that point forward.
How Florida’s No-Fault Insurance Pays
Florida is a no-fault state. Your own insurance pays your initial medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash.5Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code 627.730 – Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law The coverage that does this is Personal Injury Protection, and every Florida vehicle owner must carry at least $10,000 of it along with $10,000 in property damage liability.6Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
PIP does not pay everything. It covers 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost gross income, both subject to the $10,000 policy limit.4Online Sunshine. Florida Code 627.736 – Required Personal Injury Protection Benefits; Exclusions; Priority; Claims In a serious crash with an ER visit, imaging, and follow-up care, that $10,000 disappears fast.
Property Damage Is Separate
There is no no-fault protection for vehicle repairs. If the other driver caused the crash, you file against their property damage liability coverage. Every Florida driver must carry at least $10,000 in it.7Online Sunshine. Florida Code 324.022 – Property Damage Liability Insurance Required If repair costs exceed the other driver’s coverage, or the other driver was uninsured, your own collision coverage fills the gap if you carry it.
Check for Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Florida requires every policy that includes bodily injury liability to also include uninsured motorist coverage unless you rejected it in writing.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 627.727 – Uninsured and Underinsured Vehicle Coverage If you kept it, it covers you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or carries limits too low to cover your injuries. The statute also treats a driver as uninsured when their insurer has gone insolvent. Pull your declarations page now. If you opted out years ago and forgot, you will not have this safety net when you need it.
Filing Your Claim and Handling Adjusters
Notify your own insurer as soon as possible after the crash. PIP is first-party coverage; the claim goes to your company, not the other driver’s. Most insurers have 24-hour claims lines, and many let you start a claim through a mobile app. Have the police report number, the other driver’s information, and your scene photos ready.
Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you. Stick to the facts of what happened. Don’t speculate about your injuries or accept blame. Avoid signing medical authorizations that give the insurer blanket access to your entire medical history; they are only entitled to records related to the crash. If the other driver’s insurer contacts you, you are not required to give them a recorded statement.
Getting Your Crash Report
You can buy a copy of your crash report through the FLHSMV’s online Florida Crash Portal. The fee is $10 per report plus a $2 convenience fee, and the report is available for download within 48 hours.9Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Traffic Crash Reports You can also request a report in person at the nearest Florida Highway Patrol troop station where the crash occurred.
Get it early. The report contains the officer’s narrative, a diagram, witness information, and sometimes a preliminary fault determination. Errors happen, and catching them before the insurer builds its file around them is far easier than correcting the record later.
When You Can Sue Beyond PIP
Florida’s no-fault system shields drivers from most lawsuits for minor injuries. You can step outside it and sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if your injury falls into one of these categories:
- Permanent loss of an important bodily function.
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
- Death.
These categories come from the tort exemption statute and Florida courts read them strictly.10Florida Senate. Florida Code 627.737 – Tort Exemption; Limitation on Right to Damages; Punitive Damages A broken bone that heals fully may not qualify. Medical documentation of permanence is essential, which is another reason to see a doctor early and follow up consistently.
Comparative Fault and the 50% Bar
If you file suit, your own degree of fault matters. Florida uses a modified comparative fault system: if you are found more than 50% responsible for the crash, you recover nothing.11Florida Senate. Florida Code 768.81 – Comparative Fault At 50% or less, your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility. A driver awarded $100,000 but found 30% at fault would receive $70,000. The rule took effect in 2023 and replaced an older system that allowed recovery even when a plaintiff was mostly at fault.
You Have Two Years to File
You have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in Florida.12Online Sunshine. Florida Code 95.11 – Limitations Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property Miss this deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case no matter how strong the evidence. If you are still treating for injuries or negotiating with an insurer as the two-year mark approaches, talk to an attorney immediately. Filing suit preserves your rights even while settlement talks continue.
Why Leaving the Scene Backfires
Driving away from a crash you were involved in is a felony in Florida. The charge rises with the severity of the injuries, from a third-degree felony for a crash causing non-serious injury, to a first-degree felony with a four-year mandatory minimum prison sentence when someone dies. A hit-and-run conviction also brings a driver license revocation of at least three years in every case.13Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.027 – Crash Involving Death or Personal Injuries People sometimes panic and leave, thinking it will be hard to prove they were there. It almost always makes things worse.
Preserve Evidence and Consider an Attorney
Evidence loses value fast. Surveillance footage gets overwritten, witnesses forget details, and damaged vehicles get repaired or scrapped. Start a file, digital or physical, and keep every document related to the crash in it: medical bills and treatment records, pharmacy receipts, repair estimates, rental car invoices, screenshots of communication with insurers, and a written account of what happened while your memory is fresh.
Talking with a personal injury attorney is worth considering when your injuries are serious, fault is disputed, or your medical expenses are climbing past the $10,000 PIP limit. Most Florida accident attorneys work on contingency, charging nothing upfront and collecting a percentage of the recovery only if you win. Initial consultations are typically free. Getting advice early, before you give a recorded statement or accept a lowball settlement, tends to produce better outcomes than waiting until you feel stuck.