Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Jupiter?

A rear-end on Indiantown Road at the I-95 ramps in the morning rush, a T-bone at Indiantown Road and Central Boulevard, a car pulling out from a stop sign at Central Boulevard and University Boulevard in Abacoa. If you were just in a crash in Jupiter, or nearby in Tequesta, Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter Farms or Hobe Sound, and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Jupiter-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. Jupiter has a full hospital inside the town. Jupiter Medical Center at 1210 South Old Dixie Highway has a 24-hour emergency room and a separate pediatric emergency department. It is not a designated trauma center, so the most seriously injured crash victims from the north end of the county are usually taken south to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, the Level I trauma center for the north half of Palm Beach County. Delray Medical Center is the Level I center for the south half. 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 Jupiter

Inside town limits, the Jupiter Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters and records section are on Military Trail just south of Indiantown Road, and the records section handles crash report requests during business hours. The lines here are close together: Tequesta, Juno Beach and Palm Beach Gardens each have their own police department, and Jupiter Farms, Jupiter Inlet Colony's surroundings and the other unincorporated areas west and north of town are covered by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, so a crash on the far side of Donald Ross Road, Indiantown Road west of the Turnpike or the Loxahatchee River may belong to a different agency. Across the county line, Hobe Sound is covered by the Martin County Sheriff's Office. On I-95 and 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 Jupiter crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Indiantown Road, which is State Road 706, from the Turnpike and I-95 interchanges east past Central Boulevard, Military Trail and Alternate A1A to US 1 and the beach, the town's main east-west artery, where the intersection at Central Boulevard ranks among the most crash-prone in Palm Beach County and where fatal crashes have happened out toward Jupiter Farms, Central Boulevard from Indiantown Road south through Abacoa to Donald Ross Road, where the stop-sign crossings at University Boulevard and a 45 mile per hour limit have produced a string of crashes and near misses, Military Trail from Indiantown Road south to Donald Ross Road and on into Palm Beach Gardens, where the intersections at PGA Boulevard and Northlake Boulevard are two of the worst in the county, US 1, which is Federal Highway, through town and across the Jupiter Inlet bridge into Tequesta, Alternate A1A, which is State Road 811, Donald Ross Road, Island Way, Frederick Small Road, and the I-95 ramps at Indiantown Road and Donald Ross Road. Indiantown Road carries beach traffic, commuters and everyone coming off the interstate through a long line of signals and plazas, so the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across traffic into the shopping centers, and pull-outs from side streets and driveways, while on I-95 and the Turnpike they are high speed with several vehicles. Photos of the intersection, the signals, the sight lines and the lane markings matter, because these crashes often turn into arguments about who had the light or who had the right of way.

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.