Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Miami Gardens?

A chain-reaction crash on the Palmetto Expressway near NW 27th Avenue, a rear-end on Miami Gardens Drive at Red Road, a left turn across NW 27th Avenue on a game night at Hard Rock Stadium. If you were just in a crash in Miami Gardens and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Miami 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. Miami Gardens has no hospital inside the city, but Jackson North Medical Center on NW 170th Street in North Miami Beach, just east of the city line, has a 24-hour emergency room and is where many Miami Gardens crashes end up. The closest trauma center is HCA Florida Aventura Hospital on Biscayne Boulevard, a Level II trauma center, and the most serious injuries go to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Level I trauma center for Miami-Dade County. 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 Miami Gardens

Inside city limits, the Miami Gardens Police Department responds to crashes, and its Records Unit at 18605 NW 27th Avenue handles crash reports. On the Palmetto Expressway, Florida's Turnpike and I-95, including the Golden Glades interchange on the city's eastern edge, it is usually the Florida Highway Patrol. In the unincorporated pockets around the city it can be the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. Ask the officer or trooper 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 Miami Gardens crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: NW 27th Avenue (State Road 817) from the Palmetto Expressway north past Miami Gardens Drive, which has been one of the county's deadliest road sections in recent years, Miami Gardens Drive (NW 183rd Street, State Road 860) from Red Road east to NW 2nd Avenue, the Palmetto Expressway (State Road 826) through the south side of the city, Florida's Turnpike, NW 2nd Avenue (US 441), NW 47th Avenue, Red Road (NW 57th Avenue) and NW 199th Street around Hard Rock Stadium. NW 27th Avenue and Miami Gardens Drive are wide, fast and full of driveways, bus stops and people crossing on foot, and many crashes here are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across traffic, motorcycles and scooters, and drivers who left the scene. 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.