Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Palm Bay?

A rear-end on Palm Bay Road at Minton in the evening rush, a T-bone on Babcock Street, a chain reaction on I-95 at the Malabar Road ramps. If you were just in a crash in Palm Bay or Melbourne and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Palm Bay-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. In Palm Bay the closest hospital is Health First's Palm Bay Hospital at 1425 Malabar Road NE, on the east side of the city near US 1, which has an emergency department. It is not a designated trauma center. The most serious crashes in south Brevard are taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center at 1350 South Hickory Street in Melbourne, the only state-designated Level II trauma center in Brevard County, with a 24-hour emergency room. 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 Palm Bay

Inside city limits, the Palm Bay Police Department responds to crashes. Its headquarters and records unit are at 130 Malabar Road SE, in the city complex just west of US 1, and crash reports can be requested there. In Melbourne it is the Melbourne Police Department. In the unincorporated areas, including the stretches of Babcock Street and Malabar Road outside the city line and the neighborhoods out toward Grant and Valkaria, it is usually the Brevard County 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 Palm Bay crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Palm Bay Road from Minton Road east to Hollywood Boulevard, which ranks among the highest-crash corridors in Brevard County, Babcock Street from Palm Bay Road north to US 192, which is right behind it, Malabar Road from I-95 east to Babcock and US 1, the city's main east-west artery, which is being widened because the traffic outgrew it, and the newer intersections farther west on Malabar at St. Johns Heritage Parkway and Emerson Drive, where the city has added signals after a run of crashes. In Melbourne, US 192, which is New Haven Avenue, between Wickham Road and Babcock Street has the most crashes of any stretch in the county, and US 1 through downtown Melbourne and north toward the Pineda Causeway is close behind. The I-95 interchanges at Malabar Road and Palm Bay Road back up every afternoon, and the merge lanes are where the chain reactions start. These are wide, fast roads with a plaza driveway every few hundred feet, and the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes of traffic, and drivers changing lanes to get around a turning car. 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.