Florida Car Accident Lawyers
Florida roads produce some of the highest crash volumes in the country, and the injuries that come with serious collisions — fractured bones, spinal damage, traumatic brain injuries — can disrupt your income, your health, and your daily life for months or years. Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel, PLLC fights for Floridians injured in car accidents, and works to recover the full compensation their losses warrant.
If you were injured in a car accident, call our Florida car accident attorneys at (561) 655-2028 for a free consultation. If we take on your case, you pay nothing unless we win.
Florida's No-Fault Insurance System and Your Right to Sue
Florida operates under a no-fault insurance system, which changes how injury compensation works compared to most states. After a crash, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays first, regardless of who caused the collision. PIP covers 80% of your medical bills and 60% of lost wages, up to a combined limit of $10,000 — and you have 14 days from the crash to seek treatment or you lose access to that coverage entirely.
For injuries that exceed what PIP covers, or for pain and suffering damages, Florida requires your injuries to meet a specific threshold before you can pursue a case directly against the at-fault driver.
Personal Injury Protection: What It Covers and Where It Stops
PIP applies to you, your household relatives, and passengers without their own PIP coverage. Here is what it covers:
- 80% of reasonable medical expenses up to the $10,000 limit
- 60% of lost wages if your injuries prevent you from working
- $5,000 in death benefits
- Treatment from licensed physicians, chiropractors, dentists, and certain other providers
PIP does not cover pain and suffering, and the $10,000 cap runs out quickly with emergency room visits, imaging, and follow-up care. Once PIP is exhausted, you’re left covering the remainder out of pocket unless you have a separate case against the at-fault driver.
Note that medical benefits may be capped at $2,500 unless a qualified medical professional (such as an MD, DO, PA, or ARNP) diagnoses the victim with an Emergency Medical Condition (EMC) within 14 days of the accident.
Outside No-Fault: The Serious Injury Threshold
Florida Statute § 627.737 sets the bar for when you can pursue a case against the driver who caused the crash. Your injuries need to meet at least one of the following:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death
If your injuries meet that threshold, you can pursue damages beyond what PIP provides, including pain and suffering and full lost income. Injuries that seem serious but don’t fit the statute’s definitions can still be compensable through PIP, but they won’t support a broader case against the at-fault driver. An attorney at Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel can assess whether your injuries clear that bar based on your medical records and the specifics of your situation.
Injuries That Affect Case Value and Long-Term Recovery
In car crashes, the injuries that tend to produce the largest losses are the ones with lasting effects — permanent limitations, ongoing treatment needs, or reduced ability to work. Florida’s serious injury threshold is directly tied to permanency, so medical documentation of how an injury progresses over time carries significant weight in any case.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries range from concussions with full recovery to severe cognitive impairment that permanently limits a person’s ability to work and live independently. Symptoms like memory problems, mood changes, and difficulty concentrating are not always apparent at the crash scene, and delays in diagnosis can create gaps in medical records that insurance companies use to dispute the severity of the injury. Even if your symptoms seem mild, getting evaluated quickly after a crash creates the documentation needed to connect the injury to the collision.
Spinal Cord and Back Injuries
Herniated discs, vertebral fractures, and spinal cord damage are among the most expensive injuries to treat and among the most likely to qualify as permanent under Florida’s threshold statute. Spinal injuries frequently require surgery, extended physical therapy, and in serious cases, long-term personal care. Future medical costs in cases with significant spinal damage can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and those projected costs are recoverable as part of your damages.
Broken Bones and Soft Tissue Injuries
Insurance adjusters tend to treat fractures differently from soft tissue injuries, and the distinction affects how they value a case. Fractures are visible on imaging and harder to dispute; soft tissue injuries like whiplash or ligament damage are harder to capture on X-rays, which gives adjusters room to minimize them. Consistent medical treatment, detailed provider notes, and follow-up imaging where available are what build a record that survives that kind of pushback.
Injuries With Delayed Symptoms
Internal injuries, whiplash, and certain types of concussions may not produce obvious symptoms for hours or days after a crash. A gap between the date of the crash and the date you first sought treatment gives insurers an opening to argue that the injury wasn’t caused by the collision. Again, seeking medical attention as soon as possible protects your ability to connect your injuries to the crash.
Florida's Comparative Fault Law and What It Means for Your Recovery
Florida follows a modified comparative fault rule under Florida Statute § 768.81. Two thresholds control what you can recover:
- 51% or more at fault — you recover nothing
- 50% or below at fault — your damages are reduced by your fault percentage, so a 20% fault finding on a $100,000 verdict produces an $80,000 recovery
Insurance adjusters use comparative fault aggressively, and statements made in initial conversations with an insurer are a common source of fault assignment problems. Saying you were distracted, going slightly over the speed limit, or didn’t see the other driver coming can be used to push your percentage up. Fault assignment in Florida crashes is hardly ever straightforward, and the at-fault driver’s insurer has a financial incentive to put as much responsibility onto you as possible.
Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel builds the fault picture from the evidence — crash reconstruction analysis, traffic camera footage, witness accounts, and police reports — to counter fault arguments before they have a chance to reduce your recovery.
The Car Accident Case Process in Florida
Car accident cases in Florida progress through a sequence of stages, and what happens in the period immediately after a crash has a direct effect on what’s recoverable later. Here is how the process generally unfolds:
- Crash occurs — you seek medical attention and law enforcement files a report
- PIP claim is submitted to your own insurer and treatment begins
- Attorney is retained and investigation begins — evidence is preserved, witnesses are contacted, and records are gathered
- Medical treatment continues until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), the point at which your condition has stabilized
- A demand package is prepared and sent to the at-fault driver’s insurer
- Negotiation takes place — most cases resolve without going to trial
- If a reasonable resolution isn’t reached, the case proceeds to litigation
Steps to Take at the Scene and in the Days After
What you do in the hours and days after a crash affects the strength of your case. Here are the steps that protect your position:
- Call law enforcement — a police report creates an official record of the crash
- Get medical attention, even if you don’t feel seriously injured
- Photograph the scene, vehicle damage, road conditions, and any visible injuries
- Get contact information from witnesses before they leave
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer without speaking to an attorney first
- Keep records of every medical appointment, prescription, and expense connected to your injuries
The Investigation Behind a Strong Case
Evidence gathered in the period immediately after a crash is what builds the foundation for a strong case. Traffic camera footage gets overwritten. Skid marks fade. Witnesses become harder to locate. The investigation Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel conducts covers:
- Official crash and police reports
- Traffic and surveillance camera footage
- Any Available Vehicle black box (EDR) data showing speed and braking before impact
- Cell phone records where distracted driving is suspected
- Witness statements
- Expert analysis of crash reconstruction where fault is disputed
Dealing With Insurance Companies After a Florida Car Crash
Insurance adjusters are paid to resolve cases for as little as possible, and the tactics they use in the earliest conversations with injury victims are designed with that in mind.
You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Florida law does not obligate you to do so, and declining to give one does not hurt your case.
Recorded Statements and Why They Create Risk
Adjusters ask open-ended questions designed to get you to minimize your injuries or describe the crash in ways that suggest shared fault. Phrases like “I didn’t see them coming” or “I was just going a little fast” can be used against you. Injuries that haven’t fully developed yet may lead you to say you feel “okay” or “not that bad,” creating a record that conflicts with your later medical diagnosis. Once an attorney from Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel is involved, all communication with the insurer runs through the firm — adjusters can no longer contact you directly.
Types of Damages in a Florida Car Accident Case
Florida car accident cases can produce two categories of damages: economic and non-economic. In cases where the at-fault driver’s conduct was particularly reckless (driving under the influence, for example) punitive damages may also be available, though they require a higher evidentiary standard and court approval to pursue.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the calculable financial losses tied to your injuries:
- Past medical expenses — under HB 837, which took effect in March 2023, the amount recoverable at trial is limited to what was actually paid by you, your health insurer, or Medicare/Medicaid, rather than the full amount billed by the provider. For unpaid bills, the recoverable amount is tied to what a health insurer or Medicare would have paid, which can be significantly lower than the original bill.
- Future medical expenses — projected costs for ongoing treatment, additional surgery, or long-term care
- Lost wages from time missed at work during recovery
- Diminished earning capacity if your injuries permanently reduce what you’re able to earn
- Property damage to your vehicle and personal belongings
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for losses that don’t come with a bill:
- Physical pain and suffering, both past and ongoing
- Emotional distress and psychological effects of the crash and recovery
- Loss of enjoyment of life — activities, hobbies, and routines you can no longer do
- Loss of consortium, which a spouse can pursue for the impact the injuries have had on your relationship
Florida places no cap on non-economic damages in car accident cases, which means the full extent of your suffering and life impact can be presented to a jury.
Florida's Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Cases
The personal injury statute of limitations under Florida Statute § 95.11 gives injury victims two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. Getting an attorney involved as soon as possible after a crash gives your case the best chance of success, since witnesses are still reachable and camera footage hasn’t been overwritten. Also gaps in your medical record that insurers use to dispute causation are less likely to develop.
Exceptions and Special Circumstances
A few situations alter the standard two-year window:
- Crashes with a government vehicle or government-owned property require a notice of claim within three years, but the process for pursuing the case is more compressed and has additional procedural requirements
- Wrongful death cases arising from car accidents carry a two-year deadline running from the date of death, which may be different from the crash date
- Minors injured in a crash are subject to tolling, but Florida’s seven-year absolute cap on tolling applies to most negligence cases — meaning the lawsuit has to be filed within seven years of the crash date regardless of the victim’s age at the time. A child injured at age 12 has until age 19, not two years after turning 18.
If you’re unsure whether a deadline applies to your specific situation, getting advice from our car accident lawyers sooner rather than later is the safest course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you still recover damages if the other driver had no insurance?
Yes. Florida requires drivers to carry PIP and property damage liability coverage, but uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is optional. If you have UM coverage on your own policy, it can compensate you for damages the at-fault driver’s insurance would have covered. If you don’t have UM coverage, your options are more limited but may still include a direct case against the at-fault driver depending on their assets.
Can you still recover if you were partially at fault for the crash?
Florida’s modified comparative fault rule allows you to recover damages as long as your share of fault is 50% or below. For example, a fault finding of 20% on a $200,000 case produces a $160,000 recovery; a finding of 51% produces nothing. How fault is assigned — and who does the assigning — is one of the most contested parts of any crash case.
How long does a Florida car accident case typically take to resolve?
Cases that settle before litigation can resolve in several months to over a year, depending on how long treatment takes to reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and how quickly the insurer responds to the demand. Cases that proceed to trial take longer, sometimes two to three years from the date of filing. Rushing a resolution before you’ve reached MMI risks settling for less than your future medical costs warrant.
Do you pay anything upfront to hire Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel?
No. We handle car accident cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning attorney fees come out of the recovery at the end of the case. If there is no recovery, there is no fee. Out-of-pocket costs like filing fees and expert witness fees are advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the settlement or verdict.
Should you accept the insurance company’s first settlement offer?
Initial offers from insurance companies are typically low relative to what a case is worth, and they’re made before the full picture of your medical expenses and long-term losses is clear. Accepting a settlement releases the insurer from any future liability, including medical bills that haven’t come in yet. An attorney can evaluate whether an offer reflects the actual value of your case before you agree to anything.
Does calling the police after a crash help your case?
A police report creates a contemporaneous official record of the crash — who was involved, the location, vehicle positions, and any citations issued. Without a report, the details of what happened come down to your account versus the other driver’s, and that dispute is harder to resolve in your favor. In Florida, crashes with injuries, fatalities, or property damage over $500 are required to be reported.
Working With Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel
Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel, PLLC has represented the injured in Florida for decades, handling car accident cases from initial investigation through trial when necessary. Our car accident attorneys have taken cases to verdict and have the litigation experience to back up their negotiating position and insurance companies are less likely to lowball a firm they know will take a case to trial.
Working with us on a car accident case means:
- No upfront costs: We work on contingency and only collect a fee if your case generates a payout.
- Direct access to your attorney throughout the case, not just a case manager or paralegal
- A thorough investigation from the start, including evidence preservation in the critical period after the crash
- Preparation of a demand package that accounts for future damages, not just bills already received
- Representation through litigation if the insurer’s offer doesn’t reflect what your case is
If you’ve been injured in a Florida car crash, contact Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel at (561) 655-2028 for a free consultation. Let us fight for your future and the compensation you deserve.
