Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Hialeah Gardens?

A rear-end on Okeechobee Road near the Palmetto ramps in the evening rush, a T-bone at NW 103rd Street and NW 87th Avenue, a chain reaction on the Palmetto Expressway between Okeechobee and NW 103rd. If you were just in a crash in Hialeah Gardens, or nearby in Hialeah, Miami Lakes or Medley, and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Hialeah Gardens-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. Hialeah Gardens does not have its own hospital, but the closest 24-hour emergency room is minutes away. Palmetto General Hospital at 2001 West 68th Street in Hialeah, just off the Palmetto, is the full hospital most people in Hialeah Gardens end up at. The most serious crashes in this part of Miami-Dade County are brought to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the county's Level I trauma center. 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 Hialeah Gardens

Inside city limits, the Hialeah Gardens Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters and Records Bureau are at 10301 NW 87th Avenue, and the records office is open weekdays during business hours. The city line with Hialeah runs close to many of the busiest intersections, and Hialeah has its own large police department, so a crash on the Hialeah side of Okeechobee Road or West 76th Street may belong to Hialeah Police instead. Medley also has its own police department. On the Palmetto Expressway, which is State Road 826, and on Florida's Turnpike it is usually 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 Hialeah Gardens crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Okeechobee Road, which is US-27, from the Palmetto northwest past NW 103rd Street and NW 116th Way toward Medley, a wide, fast road with heavy truck traffic from the warehouses and a long line of plazas and driveways on both sides, NW 103rd Street from the Palmetto west through the heart of the city, where the traffic from the shopping centers and the schools meets the through traffic headed to Hialeah, NW 87th Avenue, the main north-south road through Hialeah Gardens, especially at NW 103rd Street and at Okeechobee Road, NW 138th Street on the north side of the city, and the Palmetto Expressway itself between Okeechobee Road and NW 103rd Street, where the ramps feed into some of the most crowded lanes in the county. On Okeechobee Road the crashes are rear-ends behind a truck slowing to turn, left turns across several lanes into a plaza, and sideswipes in the merge lanes near the Palmetto. On NW 103rd Street and NW 87th Avenue they are rear-ends at the lights and T-bones at the intersections. On the Palmetto they are high speed with several vehicles, and the Palmetto has seen wrong-way and rollover crashes in this stretch. 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.