Hialeah Car Accident Lawyers

Reviewed by Ronald David Rodman, a Florida car accident attorney and Partner at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A. Last updated September 18, 2026.

A car accident in Hialeah is governed by Florida's no-fault insurance law and decided in the courts of Miami-Dade County. A claim worth $50,000 or less belongs in Miami-Dade County Court. A larger claim goes to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit under Florida Statute § 34.01(1)(c)3.

• Where cases are filed: Florida Statute § 47.011 permits suit against a Florida resident in the county where the cause of action accrued, which for a crash on Hialeah's streets is Miami-Dade County.
• The local courthouse: The Hialeah District Court at 11 East 6th Street is a branch of the Miami-Dade County Court that handles county court matters, small claims, and traffic violations.
• First layer of coverage: Personal injury protection under Florida Statute § 627.736 pays medical benefits only if initial care is received within 14 days of the crash.
• Suing the at-fault driver: Damages for pain and suffering require an injury that meets the permanency threshold in Florida Statute § 627.737(2).
• The crash report: Florida Statute § 316.066(4) bars using statements a driver made to the investigating officer for the crash report as evidence in a civil trial.
• Fault rule: A claimant found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing under Florida Statute § 768.81(6).
• Filing deadline: Two years from the crash under Florida Statute § 95.11(5)(a), for claims accruing after March 24, 2023.

The car accident attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada represent Hialeah drivers, passengers, and families across Miami-Dade County from the firm's office on West Flagler Street in Miami.

In Hialeah, most residents speak a language other than English at home. The U.S. Census Bureau puts that share at 92.6 percent of residents age 5 and older for 2020 through 2024. After a crash here, an injured driver may describe what happened in Spanish at the scene, answer an adjuster's questions in English, and explain symptoms to a doctor in whichever language comes first. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has represented thousands of injured people across Miami-Dade County since 1976. We handle Hialeah claims in English, Spanish, and Creole. Our well regarded car accident practice in Miami takes these cases from the first call through trial, including checking that recorded statements and medical records say what the client actually said.

A Hialeah car accident lawsuit is ordinarily filed in Miami-Dade County. Which court hears it depends on the amount in dispute. Florida Statute § 34.01(1)(c)3. caps county court jurisdiction at $50,000 for actions filed on or after January 1, 2023. A claim involving a serious injury, lost income, or future medical care will often exceed that figure and belong in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The Hialeah District Court at 11 East 6th Street is a branch of the county court. The Clerk of the Court lists county court matters, small claims, and traffic and parking violations among the matters it handles there. A traffic citation from the crash is a separate proceeding from the injury claim.

The courthouse sits near the city's main approaches. Okeechobee Road carries traffic northwest into Hialeah. NW 74th Street, reached from the Palmetto Expressway, becomes West 21st Street inside the city. Those are the same routes the Eleventh Judicial Circuit gives for reaching the courthouse.

Miami-Dade County had 60,000 reported traffic crashes in 2024, which killed 272 people and injured 29,359, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' Traffic Crash Facts Annual Report. A lawsuit arising from any of them must be filed within two years under Florida Statute § 95.11(5)(a), for claims accruing after March 24, 2023.

The Partners at the firm speak Spanish. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada advances all the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless we recover for you.

The injured person's own personal injury protection coverage pays first, not necessarily whoever caused the crash. Florida Statute § 627.736 sets that coverage at $10,000 for medical and disability benefits, paying 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost income. The full amount is available only where a qualifying provider finds an emergency medical condition, and reimbursement is otherwise limited to $2,500. Medical benefits depend on initial care within 14 days of the crash. The Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law remains in force in the 2026 Florida Statutes. Florida's no-fault insurance rules apply to Hialeah drivers as they do statewide.

The at-fault driver owes damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience only where the injury meets Florida Statute § 627.737(2). The injury must include 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. Economic losses beyond what personal injury protection paid, such as the medical bills and wages it left uncovered, can be recovered from the at-fault driver without meeting that threshold.

When the other driver carries little or no insurance, the injured person's own uninsured motorist coverage may pay. Florida Statute § 627.727(1) requires that coverage on every auto liability policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing. Florida Statute § 627.727(7) applies the same permanency categories before that carrier owes noneconomic damages. Whether a signed rejection exists is a question worth answering before accepting that uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is unavailable.

Comparative fault applies on top of all of this. A claimant assigned more than half the fault for a Hialeah crash recovers nothing under Florida Statute § 768.81(6). Any lower share comes off the award as a percentage.

A Florida crash report is useful for finding evidence, but its statements cannot carry a case at trial. Florida Statute § 316.066(4) provides that a crash report made by a person involved, and any statement that person makes to the officer to complete it, may not be used as evidence in a civil trial. The report still lists witnesses and each driver's insurer under Florida Statute § 316.066(1)(b), and those names lead to evidence that can be used.

That evidence usually comes from the scene and the vehicles. Photographs of the damage and final resting positions, event data recorder downloads, and surveillance video from businesses along Okeechobee Road or West 21st Street can establish speed, position, and timing. The report's witness list is worth acting on quickly, since witnesses become harder to reach as time passes.

The medical record carries the other half of the claim. It has to connect the injury to the crash. In a threshold case, it also has to support a physician's opinion on permanency. In a city where many patients describe symptoms in Spanish, the record is only as accurate as the translation behind it. A mismatch between an emergency room note and later treatment records can become a point of attack for the defense.

We talk with clients in the language they are most comfortable using. We also read the documents they have signed in the language they were written in. If an adjuster took a recorded statement in English from a client who thinks in Spanish, we compare it against what the client says happened. When an intake note at the hospital reads differently from the client's own account, we find out why before the defense does.

We also move early on the evidence that disappears first. That means requesting the crash report as soon as it is filed, contacting businesses about camera footage before it is recorded over, and collecting the declarations pages for every household policy. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has represented many thousands of injured drivers and passengers across Miami-Dade County since 1976 and has recovered more than $220 million for clients.

See a doctor within 14 days, even if the pain seems manageable, since personal injury protection medical benefits depend on it. If you are more comfortable in Spanish, ask for an interpreter at medical visits and describe every symptom, including the ones that seem minor.

Buy the crash report through the Florida Crash Portal once it is filed, and read how it describes your position and speed. Photograph both vehicles before repairs. Write down the names of businesses near the crash and ask them in writing to keep any video. Do not sign anything from the other driver's insurer that you cannot read in full. Do not give that insurer a recorded statement before you understand what it will be used for.

• Homestead car accident claims are filed in the same Miami-Dade courts and follow the same no-fault rules, at the other end of the county.
• Uber accident claims can reach at least $1 million in coverage while the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride, under Florida Statute § 627.748(7)(c)1.a.
• Motorcycle accident claims are decided under the same Florida fault rule, and the state recorded 598 motorcycle fatalities in 2024.

If you were hurt in a crash in Hialeah, call us in English, Spanish, or Creole and we will tell you which deadlines apply and what coverages may be available. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada zealously represents Hialeah car accident victims on contingency, so you pay no fee unless we recover. Reach us at (305) 448-8585 or schedule a free consultation with our car accident attorneys.