Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Melbourne?

A rear-end on Wickham Road at Eau Gallie Boulevard in the afternoon rush, a T-bone on US 1 at Parkway Drive, a pedestrian struck crossing New Haven Avenue downtown after the bars close, a pileup on Interstate 95 near the US 192 interchange. If you were just in a crash in Melbourne, or nearby in Palm Bay, West Melbourne, Viera, Suntree, Indialantic, Satellite Beach or Rockledge, and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Melbourne-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. Melbourne has the trauma center for the whole county inside the city. Holmes Regional Medical Center on Hickory Street, just west of US 1 and south of US 192 near downtown, is a hospital of more than 500 beds with a 24-hour emergency department, and it is the state-designated Level II trauma center for Brevard County, the only one on the Space Coast. That means the most seriously injured crash victims from Melbourne, Palm Bay, Viera and the beachside towns are brought here rather than flown to Orlando. There are also freestanding emergency rooms and hospital ERs in Viera and Palm Bay for less serious injuries. 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 Melbourne

Inside city limits, the Melbourne Police Department responds to crashes, and its traffic homicide investigators handle the serious ones. Its headquarters is the Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center at 250 West NASA Boulevard, the new building that opened in 2024 just west of US 1 near the airport, and the records division there handles crash report requests during business hours, with a public records option on the city website and a non-emergency line at 321-608-6731. The city lines are tangled here: Palm Bay, West Melbourne, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Indian Harbour Beach and Satellite Beach each have their own police department, and Viera, Suntree, the Wickham Road corridor north of Pineda Causeway and the unincorporated pockets between the subdivisions are covered by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, so a crash on the far side of Wickham Road, Minton Road, Palm Bay Road or the causeways may belong to a different agency. On Interstate 95, and often on US 192 and Wickham Road outside the city, it is 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 Melbourne crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: US 1, which is Harbor City Boulevard through the city from the Pineda Causeway south past Eau Gallie Boulevard, the airport and downtown toward Palm Bay, a wide, fast road lined with plazas, car lots and driveways, where a driver was killed at Parkway Drive in May 2026 and where a man was killed in a hit-and-run between New Haven Avenue and Strawbridge Avenue downtown, Wickham Road from Sarno Road north past Eau Gallie Boulevard, Lake Washington Road and the Business Center Boulevard offices toward Suntree and Viera, where an 83-year-old was killed at Business Center Boulevard in November 2023 and a driver died at Capron Trail in August 2026, US 192, which is New Haven Avenue from downtown west past Babcock Street, Dairy Road and Wickham Road to Interstate 95, Babcock Street from University Boulevard south toward Palm Bay, Eau Gallie Boulevard from the interstate to the causeway, Apollo Boulevard, Sarno Road, Palm Bay Road and Hollywood Boulevard along the Palm Bay line, and Interstate 95 along the west side of the city with exits at Eau Gallie Boulevard, US 192 and Palm Bay Road, where a fatal crash shut the northbound lanes near US 192 in July 2024. On US 1, Wickham and Babcock 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, and pedestrians have been struck crossing at night. On Interstate 95 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.