Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Clermont?

A rear-end on US 27 at State Road 50 in the evening rush, a T-bone at Hancock Road and Hartwood Marsh Road, a car pulling out of a plaza on East Highway 50 near Citrus Tower Boulevard, a wrong-way or overnight crash on US 27 near Frank Jarrell Road. If you were just in a crash in Clermont, or nearby in Minneola, Groveland, Montverde, Four Corners, Horizon West or Winter Garden, and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Clermont-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. Clermont has a full hospital inside the city. Orlando Health South Lake Hospital at 1900 Don Wickham Drive, off Citrus Tower Boulevard between State Road 50 and Hartwood Marsh Road, has a 24-hour emergency room. It is not a state-designated trauma center, and Lake County does not have one, so the most seriously injured crash victims are usually taken east to Orlando Regional Medical Center in downtown Orlando, the Level I trauma center for the region, about 25 miles away by State Road 50 or the Turnpike and State Road 408. 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 Clermont

Inside city limits, the Clermont Police Department responds to crashes, and its traffic unit investigates the serious ones. Its headquarters is at 3600 South Highway 27, on US 27 south of State Road 50, and the records unit there handles crash report requests during business hours. The city lines are tangled here: Minneola, Groveland, Mascotte and Montverde each have their own police department, and the unincorporated pockets of south Lake County between the subdivisions, including much of the Four Corners area and the land along Hartwood Marsh Road and Hancock Road, are covered by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, so a crash on the far side of US 27, State Road 50 or County Road 455 may belong to a different agency. Across the Orange County line in Horizon West and Winter Garden it is the Orange County Sheriff's Office or the Winter Garden Police. On Florida's Turnpike, and often on US 27 outside the city, it is 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 Clermont crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: US 27, which runs north-south through the whole city from Minneola past the State Road 50 intersection, Citrus Tower Boulevard, Hartwood Marsh Road, Johns Lake Road, Wellness Way and Frank Jarrell Road to US 192 at Four Corners, lined with plazas and driveways in town and open and dark south of it, where the Florida Highway Patrol has investigated a string of fatal crashes, including one that closed the road near Frank Jarrell Road in 2025, State Road 50, which is West Highway 50 and East Highway 50, from Groveland east through downtown and the US 27 light to Hancock Road and the Turnpike interchange, the busiest east-west road in south Lake County, Hancock Road along the east side of the city from State Road 50 south past Johns Lake Road to Hartwood Marsh Road, Hartwood Marsh Road from US 27 east to Hancock Road, Citrus Tower Boulevard and Hooks Street, which carry hospital and shopping traffic parallel to 50, County Road 561 toward Minneola, County Road 455 toward Montverde, where fatal crashes have happened, and Florida's Turnpike through the north side of the city. On 27 and 50 the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes into a plaza, and lane changes around a car slowing to turn, and pedestrians have been struck crossing both roads at night. On the Turnpike and the open stretches of US 27 they are high speed with several vehicles. 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.