Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in North Miami?

A rear-end on Biscayne Boulevard at NE 125th Street in the evening rush, a T-bone at NW 7th Avenue and NE 135th Street, a chain reaction on I-95 at the NW 125th Street ramps. If you were just in a crash in North Miami and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the North Miami-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. The closest full hospital is Jackson North Medical Center at 160 NW 170th Street in North Miami Beach, just north of the city off NW 7th Avenue, with a 24-hour emergency room for adults and children. For the most serious crashes, HCA Florida Aventura Hospital at 20900 Biscayne Boulevard is a state-designated Level II trauma center a few miles north on Biscayne, and the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, 1800 NW 10th Avenue near downtown Miami, is the county's Level I 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 North Miami

Inside city limits, the North Miami Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters is at 700 NE 124th Street, just east of Biscayne Boulevard, and crash reports are kept by its Records Unit there. Call the department before you go to confirm the Records Unit's hours and what you need to bring, or request the report through the city's online public records system. North Miami shares borders with Miami Shores, Biscayne Park, North Miami Beach and unincorporated Miami-Dade, so a crash a few blocks away may have been handled by one of those police departments or by the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, and on I-95 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 North Miami crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Biscayne Boulevard, US-1, which runs the length of the city's east side with a plaza driveway every few hundred feet and heavy pedestrian traffic at the bus stops, NE 125th Street, the city's main east-west street, from Biscayne Boulevard west through downtown and across the I-95 interchange where it becomes NW 125th Street, NW 7th Avenue, US-441, along the west side of the city, NE 135th Street, and I-95 itself. The I-95 ramps at 125th Street and at 135th Street back up onto the surface streets every weekday. Downtown North Miami along NE 125th Street and the stretches of Biscayne near the apartment buildings have a lot of people on foot and on bicycles, and the crashes there tend to be low speed but with people outside of cars. On the wider roads the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes of traffic into the plazas, and drivers changing lanes to get around a turning car or a bus. 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.