Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Doral?

A rear-end on NW 36th Street in the morning rush, a T-bone at NW 41st Street and NW 87th Avenue, a chain reaction on the Dolphin Expressway at the NW 107th Avenue ramps. If you were just in a crash in Doral and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Doral-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. Doral does not have a full hospital inside city limits, but it does have a 24-hour emergency room: Baptist Health Doral Emergency Care at 9500 NW 58th Street, open every day including weekends and holidays. The most serious crashes in this part of Miami-Dade are taken by ambulance to one of the county's two Level I trauma centers, HCA Florida Kendall Hospital at 11750 SW 40th Street, south of Doral off the Turnpike, or the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital at 1800 NW 10th Avenue near downtown Miami. 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 Doral

Inside city limits, the Doral Police Department responds to crashes. The department says accident reports can be requested in person at the Doral Government Center, 8401 NW 53rd Terrace, first floor, at the City Clerk's Office, or through the city's online public records system. In the unincorporated areas around Doral, the report may come from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, and on the Dolphin Expressway, the Palmetto Expressway and Florida's Turnpike 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 Doral crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: NW 36th Street, the main east-west commercial strip, from the Palmetto Expressway west to NW 107th Avenue, where warehouse trucks, airport traffic and shoppers share the same six lanes, NW 41st Street through the business parks and shopping centers, NW 87th Avenue, which carries traffic from the Dolphin Expressway up through the city, and NW 107th Avenue, which runs the length of the west side past the big residential developments. Then there are the two expressways. The Dolphin Expressway, State Road 836, runs along the south edge of Doral and its ramps at NW 87th Avenue and NW 107th Avenue back up onto the surface streets every weekday. The Palmetto Expressway, State Road 826, runs along the east edge and its interchange with NW 36th Street is one of the busiest in the county. Doral has a lot of commercial trucks because of the cargo warehouses around the airport, and crashes with trucks tend to be more serious and more complicated, because the trucking company and its insurer get involved right away. On the surface streets the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across heavy traffic into the plazas, 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.