Florida · Injured in a crash

What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida

You were just in a crash. Your hands are shaking, your neck is tight, and somebody is asking for your insurance card. This is the order to do things in, written for the person sitting in the car right now, not for a lawyer's office.

1. Get safe, then call 911

If the car still moves and you are on a highway, get it to the shoulder. Turn on the hazards. If anyone is injured or the cars cannot be moved, stay put and call 911 from where you are.

Call 911 even for a "small" crash. In Florida you are required to report a crash if anyone is injured or the damage looks like more than $500, and after a few days almost every crash looks like more than $500. The police report is also the first piece of paper every insurance company will ask for. Do not let the other driver talk you out of calling.

2. Say as little as possible about fault

Check on the other people. Be polite. Then stop talking about what happened.

Do not say "I'm sorry." Do not say "I didn't see you." Do not say "I'm fine." You do not know how you are yet, and anything you say at the scene can show up later in the other driver's insurance file. Give the officer the facts you are sure of and leave it there.

3. Get these before you leave the scene

Use your phone. Photos and a two-minute video are better than anything you will write down later.

• The other driver's license, plate, insurance card, and phone number. Photograph all four.
• All the cars, from all sides, close up and from far enough back to show the road.
• Skid marks, debris, traffic signs, the traffic light if there was one, and the weather.
• Names and numbers of anyone who saw it. Witnesses disappear fast.
• The officer's name and the crash report number.

If you cannot move around because you are injured, ask a passenger or a bystander to take the photos for you.

4. See a doctor within 14 days, no matter how you feel

This is the one Florida rule that catches people. Florida is a no-fault state, and your own car insurance carries Personal Injury Protection, usually $10,000, that pays your first medical bills no matter who caused the crash. To use it, you must get medical care within 14 days of the accident. Miss the window and that coverage is gone.

Adrenaline hides injuries. Neck, back, and shoulder pain often show up two or three days later, and concussions can take longer. Go to urgent care, the ER, your own doctor, or a chiropractor within a few days, tell them you were in a car accident, and describe every ache, even the ones that seem minor. Then keep going to your appointments. Gaps in treatment are the first thing an insurance adjuster looks for.

5. Report it to your own insurance company

Call your own insurer within a day or two and give them the basics: when, where, who was involved, the crash report number. That is what your policy requires and it opens your PIP claim.

Stick to facts. You do not have to give a recorded statement about how you feel or whose fault it was, and it is fine to say you would rather wait until you have seen a doctor.

6. Do not talk to the other driver's insurance company yet

The other driver's insurer may call you within hours. They are friendly. They are also trained to close your claim for as little as possible, and the recorded statement they ask for is the tool they use to do it.

You are not required to give them a statement. You can say, "I am still getting treatment and I am not ready to discuss it," and hang up. Do not accept a quick check. The first offer is almost always made before anyone knows how injured you are.

7. Keep everything

Start a folder on your phone or in a drawer. Crash report, photos, every medical bill and visit summary, receipts for prescriptions and rides, pay stubs if you missed work, and a short note each day about how you feel and what you could not do. Small, boring records are what turn "my back is sore" into a claim that gets paid.

8. Know the clock

Florida changed its law in 2023. For most car accident injury claims you now have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit, down from four. Two years sounds like a long time. Between treatment, records, and negotiating with an insurer, it is not.

Florida also changed how fault is shared. If you are found to be more than half responsible for the crash, you recover nothing. That is one more reason to keep your comments at the scene short and let the evidence speak.

9. When to talk to a lawyer

Not every fender bender needs a lawyer. If nobody was injured and the only damage is to the cars, your insurance companies will usually sort it out.

Talk to one when any of these is true: you were injured and you are still treating after a week or two; the other driver's insurer is pushing you to settle; there is a dispute about who caused it; the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, or it was a hit and run; a commercial vehicle, rideshare, or motorcycle was involved; or you missed work.

Personal injury lawyers in Florida work on contingency, which means no fee unless they recover money for you, and the first conversation is free. Talking to one costs you nothing. Waiting can cost you the case.

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.