Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Dade City?

A semi crash on US 301 on the south side of town, a rear-end on State Road 52 heading out to I-75, a T-bone on Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills. If you were just in a crash in Dade City or Zephyrhills and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the east Pasco 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. AdventHealth Dade City on Fort King Road has a 24-hour emergency room, and AdventHealth Zephyrhills on Gall Boulevard has one too, so most people in east Pasco are only a few minutes from an ER. Neither is a trauma center. The nearest trauma centers are in Tampa, Tampa General Hospital, a Level I trauma center, and St. Joseph's Hospital, a Level II, and HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital in Hudson on the west side of the county, also a Level II, so the most serious crashes on US 301 and I-75 are usually flown out. 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 Dade City

Inside Dade City limits, the Dade City Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters and records clerk are at 38020 Meridian Avenue downtown, and records requests go through the records clerk by phone or email. Zephyrhills has its own department, the Zephyrhills Police Department, for crashes inside that city. Everything in between and around the two cities, San Antonio, St. Leo, Wesley Chapel, Lacoochee, Trilby and the unincorporated stretches of US 301 and State Road 52, is the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, and on I-75 it is the Florida Highway Patrol, which also works many of the serious crashes on the state and US highways in the county. Ask the officer, deputy or trooper 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 Dade City crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: US 301 from Dade City south through Zephyrhills, where it becomes Gall Boulevard, the US 98 bypass around the south and west sides of Dade City where US 98 and US 301 run together and State Road 52 ends, State Road 52 west from Dade City through San Antonio to the I-75 interchange, Fort King Road, Clinton Avenue, and State Road 54 and Eiland Boulevard in Zephyrhills. Dade City sits where semis on US 301 and US 98, commuters heading for I-75, and farm traffic all cross paths on roads that were laid out for a much smaller town, and many of the crashes are trucks turning across traffic, rear-ends at the lights on Gall Boulevard, drivers who ran a stop sign on a county road, and motorcycles. Photos of the intersection, the signs, the skid marks and the lane markings matter, because these crashes often turn into arguments about who pulled out, who had the right of way and how fast the other driver was going.

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.