Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Clearwater?

A rear-end on Gulf to Bay Boulevard at Belcher in the evening rush, a T-bone on Drew Street, a chain reaction on US 19 at the Sunset Point overpass. If you were just in a crash in Clearwater or Largo and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Clearwater-specific details, and links to the full guides.

It costs nothing to find out

If you are reading this and thinking you cannot afford a lawyer, read this part first. Personal injury lawyers do not charge you to talk, do not charge by the hour, and do not charge anything unless they recover money for you. The fee comes out of the recovery at the end, never out of your pocket. The first conversation is free. Call Clyne is free too: we ask you a few questions and connect you with a licensed Florida attorney who looks at your case at no cost. Nobody will ask you for money. Read How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost.

First, the two things that matter most in Florida

See a doctor within 14 days. Florida is a no-fault state, and your own policy's Personal Injury Protection pays your first medical bills no matter who caused the crash, but only if you get treatment within 14 days. In Clearwater the closest full hospital is Morton Plant Hospital at 300 Pinellas Street, just south of downtown near the bay, which has a 24-hour emergency room. Morton Plant is not a designated trauma center, so the most serious crashes in north Pinellas are flown or driven to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg, a Level II trauma center, or across the Courtney Campbell Causeway to Tampa General Hospital, the region's Level I trauma center. Urgent care or your own doctor counts too. Read the 14-day rule guide.

Do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. They will call fast and sound friendly. You are not required to talk to them. Read what to say when they call.

Getting your crash report in Clearwater

Inside city limits, the Clearwater Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters is at 645 Pierce Street, downtown a block off Court Street, and crash reports can be requested through the department's records unit there. In Largo it is the Largo Police Department, whose Records Section is at 201 Highland Avenue and asks you to call ahead so the report is ready when you arrive. In the unincorporated areas between the two cities and out toward the beaches it is usually the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, and on US 19 and the Courtney Campbell Causeway it is often the Florida Highway Patrol. Ask the officer at the scene which agency wrote the report and get the report number.

Florida crash reports are available online through the state's Florida Crash Portal, usually within about ten days, and from the responding agency's records unit. For the first 60 days the report is only available to the people involved, their insurers and their lawyers, so have your license and the report number ready.

Roads where Clearwater crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Gulf to Bay Boulevard, which is State Road 60, from US 19 west to the Memorial Causeway, and above all the intersection at Belcher Road, which has drawn so many crashes that the county has studied banning left turns there, Drew Street, which runs parallel one block north and has the worst crash rate per car in the city, US 19 itself, with its overpasses and frontage roads from Gulf to Bay up through Sunset Point and Countryside, Missouri Avenue and Court Street downtown, State Road 580, Myrtle Avenue, Coachman Road and Belcher Road from end to end. In Largo, East Bay Drive and West Bay Drive carry the same kind of heavy, stop-and-go traffic. On the beach, the causeway and Gulf Boulevard are slow and full of pedestrians, cyclists and tourists looking for parking, and those crashes tend to be low speed but with people outside of cars. On US 19 and Gulf to Bay the roads are wide and fast, and the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes of traffic, and drivers changing lanes to get around a turning car. Photos of the intersection, the signals and the lane markings matter, because these crashes often turn into arguments about who had the light or who changed lanes.

What to do in the first 48 hours

• Call 911 and get a report, even for a "small" crash.
• Photograph both cars, both licenses, both insurance cards, and the scene.
• See a doctor within 14 days. Sooner is better.
• Report the crash to your own insurer. Facts only.
• Do not accept a quick check or sign anything from the other driver's insurer.
• Keep every bill, receipt and visit summary.

The full step-by-step list is in What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida.

Know the Florida clock

For most car accident injury claims in Florida you have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit, and if you are found more than half at fault you recover nothing. Both changed in 2023. Details in How Long Do You Have to File in Florida.

When to talk to a lawyer

Not every fender bender needs one. Talk to a lawyer when you were injured and are still treating after a week or two, when the other driver was uninsured or fled, when fault is being disputed, or when you missed work. Florida personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means no fee unless they recover money for you, and the first conversation is free. More in Do I Need a Lawyer If It Wasn't My Fault and How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost.

More Florida towns and the full set of guides: Car accidents in Florida.

Call Clyne is a lawyer referral service, not a law firm. Stephen Clyne is not an attorney. This article is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. Talk to a licensed Florida attorney about your situation.