Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Florida City?

A rear-end on US-1 where the Turnpike traffic pours onto Dixie Highway, a left turn gone wrong on Palm Drive by the outlet stores, a crash on Krome Avenue at the end of a long shift in the fields. If you were just in a crash in Florida City and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Florida City-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. Florida City has no hospital of its own. The closest 24-hour emergency room is Baptist Health Homestead Hospital on Baptist Way, a few minutes north in Homestead, and Jackson South Medical Center on SW 152nd Street is the Level II trauma center for south Miami-Dade. A clinic in town, an 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 Florida City

Inside city limits, the Florida City Police Department responds to crashes. Its station is on West Palm Drive. On Florida's Turnpike, on US-1 south of town toward Key Largo, and often on Krome Avenue, it is usually the Florida Highway Patrol who writes the report. In the unincorporated areas around the city, it is the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. 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 Florida City crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: US-1 (South Dixie Highway) through town and south on the long two-lane run toward Key Largo, Palm Drive (State Road 9336) between the Turnpike and Krome Avenue, Krome Avenue north toward Homestead and the Redland, the end of Florida's Turnpike where it drops onto US-1, and Card Sound Road. Florida City is the last stop before the Keys and the Everglades, so the roads mix tourists, work trucks, farm traffic and people who do not know the area. Many crashes here are rear-ends in stop-and-go traffic on US-1 or turns across traffic on Palm Drive. Photos of the road, the other vehicle and its plate matter a great deal, especially when the other driver is from out of town.

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.