Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Kendall?

A rear-end on Kendall Drive at the Turnpike ramps in the evening rush, a T-bone at SW 88th Street and SW 117th Avenue, a chain reaction on US-1 near Dadeland. If you were just in a crash in Kendall, or nearby in Westchester or The Hammocks, and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Kendall-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. Kendall has two of the biggest hospitals in Miami-Dade County. Baptist Hospital of Miami at 8900 North Kendall Drive has a 24-hour emergency room right on Kendall Drive, and HCA Florida Kendall Hospital at 11750 SW 40th Street, in the Bird Road and Westchester area, is a state-designated Level I trauma center, one of only two trauma centers in the county. The most serious crashes from Kendall, Westchester and The Hammocks are brought there. 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 Kendall

Kendall is not a city. It is unincorporated Miami-Dade County, so there is no Kendall police department. Crashes are handled by the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, formerly the Miami-Dade Police Department, out of its Kendall District Station at 7707 SW 117th Avenue. Westchester falls under the Midwest District and The Hammocks has its own Hammocks District, so the station that handles your crash depends on which side of the district line you were on. Crash report requests go through the Sheriff's Office records bureau, not the district station, so ask the officer at the scene which district wrote the report and get the report number. On Florida's Turnpike, the Palmetto Expressway and the Don Shula Expressway it is usually the Florida Highway Patrol.

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 Kendall crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Kendall Drive, which is SW 88th Street, from US-1 at Dadeland west past the Palmetto, the Turnpike and SW 117th Avenue to The Hammocks, one of the most crowded roads in the county for its entire length, US-1 from Dadeland south toward Pinecrest, where the traffic from the Metrorail garages and the mall merges with six lanes of through traffic, SW 117th Avenue, SW 107th Avenue and SW 137th Avenue, the north-south roads that connect Kendall Drive to Bird Road, Coral Way and Sunset Drive, Bird Road through Westchester, and the Turnpike and Palmetto ramps at Kendall Drive, where cars coming off the expressways meet a solid line of traffic. On Kendall Drive the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes into a plaza, and lane changes around a car slowing to turn, over and over, from the morning rush until late at night. On the Turnpike and the Palmetto they are high speed with several vehicles. 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.