Miami Car Accident Lawyers

After a car accident in Miami or anywhere in South Florida, what you do in the first two weeks shapes the rest of your claim. You have 14 days to get medical treatment or you lose access to your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, the at-fault driver's insurer will likely ask you for a recorded statement that can be used against you, and depending on your injuries you may have grounds to step outside Florida's no-fault system and sue the driver who hit you. The car accident lawyers at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have handled motor vehicle cases across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, and Lee Counties since 1976. We deal with the insurers, make sure your medical bills get paid while you recover, and pursue a claim against the at-fault driver when your injuries are serious enough to step outside Florida's no-fault system.

Florida's car accident rules changed substantially in March 2023, when HB 837 took effect. The deadline to file most injury lawsuits dropped from four years to two, the comparative fault rule now bars recovery entirely for anyone found more than 50 percent at fault, and the way medical bills can be shown to a jury has tightened. The sections below cover how the current system works, what your PIP coverage pays for, and when you can pursue a claim against the at-fault driver.

Florida is a no-fault state, which means your own auto insurance pays your initial medical bills and a portion of your lost wages after a crash—regardless of who caused it. The legal framework lives in Florida Statute § 627.736, often called the PIP statute. Every motor vehicle registered in Florida must carry at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection coverage and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability coverage.

PIP coverage pays 80 percent of reasonable and necessary medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages, up to the $10,000 policy limit. There is also a $5,000 death benefit. All three categories draw from the same $10,000 cap. The 20 percent medical co-payment and the 40 percent wage loss gap are yours unless you have additional Med Pay or health insurance to fill them in.

The single most important deadline in any Florida car accident claim is the 14-day rule under § 627.736(1)(a). You must receive initial medical treatment from a qualified provider—a physician, dentist, hospital, urgent care, or chiropractor—within 14 days of the accident. Miss that window and you forfeit PIP entirely. Show up at day 15, even with a serious back injury, and the carrier will deny the claim. If your initial provider does not diagnose an “emergency medical condition,” your PIP benefits are capped at $2,500 instead of $10,000.

If you were injured in a rear-end accident or any other crash in South Florida, the Miami car accident lawyers at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada can review your PIP claim and your potential third-party claim at no cost.

You can step outside Florida’s no-fault system and pursue a tort claim against the at-fault driver when your injuries meet the permanency threshold in Florida Statute § 627.737(2). The threshold requires one of four things: significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Without one of those, your recovery is generally limited to economic damages—your medical bills, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses—and you cannot recover for pain and suffering, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life.

In practice, the second prong—”permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability”—is the most commonly litigated. Soft tissue injuries, herniated discs, joint injuries, and traumatic brain injuries can all meet the threshold with the right medical evidence. The opinion typically comes from a licensed physician—though Florida law allows certain other qualified providers in specific injury contexts—and is most often issued after the injured person reaches maximum medical improvement. Insurance carriers and defense lawyers fight permanency findings aggressively because the threshold is what unlocks the larger non-economic damages category.

The permanency threshold does not apply to property damage claims or to economic damages—those can be pursued without proving permanency, though they are typically pursued together with the bodily injury claim.

Call (877) 448-8585 to talk with one of our attorneys about whether your injuries meet Florida’s permanency threshold. The consultation is free, and we do not charge fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Florida’s tort reform bill HB 837, signed into law on March 24, 2023, changed three things that matter for every car accident case filed since then: the comparative fault rule, the statute of limitations, and the way medical bills can be presented at trial.

The comparative fault change is the most consequential. Florida moved from a pure comparative fault state to a modified comparative fault state under § 768.81(6). Before HB 837, a driver who was 60 percent at fault for a crash could still recover 40 percent of their damages. After HB 837, any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing—the entire claim is barred. If your fault is exactly 50 percent or less, you can still recover, with your damages reduced by your fault percentage. Medical malpractice claims are exempt under § 768.81(5) and remain under the pure comparative fault standard.

The statute of limitations under § 95.11 was reduced from 4 years to 2 years for negligence-based claims, including car accidents, that accrued on or after March 24, 2023. Cases that accrued before that date remain under the old 4-year deadline. Missing the 2-year deadline is now one of the most common ways otherwise valid claims are permanently lost.

HB 837 also changed how medical bills are presented to a jury under § 768.0427. Only the amount actually paid for past medical care is admissible. Future and unpaid bills are calculated using formulas tied to insurance reimbursement rates or Medicare/Medicaid schedules. Letters of protection from medical providers must be disclosed and are regulated. These changes have measurably reduced the value of medical damages in car accident cases that go to trial.

The Miami car accident lawyers at our firm handle every category of motor vehicle cases under Florida law. The legal framework is the same, but the practical issues differ by accident type.

Rear-end collisions are governed by Florida’s rear-end presumption—under settled case law, the rear driver is presumed negligent, though the presumption is rebuttable with evidence of mechanical failure, abrupt unexpected stops, or comparative fault by the front driver. Intersection crashes typically turn on right-of-way under §§ 316.121–316.123 and witness statements. Head-on collisions often involve impaired driving, drowsy driving, or wrong-way driving on highways like I-95, the Palmetto Expressway, and the Turnpike.

Drunk driving accidents open up additional theories of liability, including dram shop claims under § 768.125 and punitive damages under § 768.72. Hit-and-run crashes trigger your own Uninsured Motorist coverage under § 627.727 if the at-fault driver cannot be identified. Phantom vehicle claims—where another vehicle caused the crash but never made contact—also fall under UM coverage with specific corroboration requirements.

Multi-vehicle crashes on Florida’s interstates and toll roads typically involve multiple insurance policies, multiple PIP claims, and disputed fault percentages. These cases are where the post-HB 837 comparative fault rule matters most: a small shift in fault apportionment can be the difference between full recovery and zero recovery.

Florida’s mandatory minimum auto insurance is $10,000 in PIP and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability—there is no required bodily injury liability coverage. That means many at-fault Florida drivers have no insurance to compensate you for serious injuries. Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage, governed by § 627.727, fills this gap. UM covers you when the at-fault driver has no insurance; UIM covers you when their policy is exhausted.

Insurers are required to offer UM/UIM coverage equal to your bodily injury liability limits, but you can reject it in writing. If you did not sign a written rejection of UM coverage, § 627.727 generally presumes you have UM coverage at the same limits as your bodily injury liability coverage. Whether that coverage is stacked or non-stacked depends on the specific election forms in your policy file. UM/UIM is one of the most under-utilized protections in Florida auto law—and one of the most important when you are dealing with a serious injury and an uninsured at-fault driver.

After a Miami car accident, the steps that protect your claim happen in the first few hours and days. Call the police and make sure a crash report is filed under § 316.066. Get the other driver’s insurance information. Photograph the vehicles, the scene, and any visible injuries. Get to a doctor within 14 days—sooner if you are hurt. Notify your own PIP carrier promptly. Consider talking to an attorney before giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.

Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has represented car accident victims across South Florida since 1976, and our attorneys have recovered over $220 million in verdicts and settlements across our personal injury practice—including substantial recoveries in serious motor vehicle injury cases. (Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.) We handle all auto accident claims on contingency—there are no fees unless we recover compensation for you, and the initial consultation is always free.

We represent injured drivers and passengers from crashes on I-95, the Palmetto Expressway, the Turnpike, Dixie Highway, and U.S. 1, and from intersections across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, and Lee Counties. To talk with one of our Miami car accident attorneys, call (877) 448-8585 or contact us online. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we work with clients in English, Spanish, and Creole.