Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in New Port Richey?

A rear-end on US 19 at Main Street in the afternoon rush, a left turn pulled out in front of traffic on Little Road at Ridge Road, a pedestrian struck crossing six lanes of US 19 at night near Marine Parkway. If you were just in a crash in New Port Richey, Port Richey, Trinity, Holiday, Hudson or anywhere else in west Pasco County and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the New Port Richey-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. New Port Richey has a full hospital inside the city. Morton Plant North Bay Hospital at 6600 Madison Street, a few blocks from downtown, has a 24-hour emergency room, and HCA Florida Trinity Hospital at 9330 State Road 54 in Trinity covers the east side of the area. Neither is a designated Level I trauma center, so the most seriously injured crash victims from Pasco County are usually flown or driven south to Tampa General Hospital, the region's Level I trauma center, or to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, a Level II 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 New Port Richey

Inside city limits, the New Port Richey Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters and records section are at 6739 Adams Street, downtown next to City Hall, and the records section handles crash report requests in person on weekdays and through the city's online public records portal. The city is small and the lines are confusing: Port Richey, just north on US 19, has its own police department, and Trinity, Holiday, Elfers and most of the area east of Little Road and south of the Pithlachascotee River are unincorporated and covered by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, whose main office is at 8700 Citizen Drive and whose District 1 office is on Little Road. On US 19, State Road 54 and the other state roads it is often the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Patrol investigates most of the serious and fatal crashes on 19. 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 New Port Richey crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: US 19 itself, from Trouble Creek Road and Marine Parkway north through Main Street, Gulf Drive and Ridge Road to the Port Richey line, a six-lane highway with long gaps between the signals, a reputation as one of the most dangerous roads in the Tampa Bay area for pedestrians, and left turns out of every plaza and car lot, the intersection of US 19 and Main Street, where the downtown traffic meets the highway, US 19 and Ridge Road, Main Street from US 19 east across the river through downtown, where it becomes State Road 54 and heads toward Little Road and Trinity, Little Road, the main north-south road on the east side, from State Road 54 north through Ridge Road and Trouble Creek Road toward Hudson, Ridge Road from US 19 east to Little Road and the new extension toward the Suncoast Parkway, Massachusetts Avenue at Congress Street, Madison Street, Grand Boulevard and Marine Parkway. On 19 the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes into a plaza, lane changes around a car slowing to turn, and pedestrians crossing mid-block at night. On the neighborhood streets they are intersections with limited sight lines and drivers rolling through stop signs. Photos of the intersection, the signals, the crosswalks 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.