Florida · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Pembroke Pines?

A rear-end on Pines Boulevard at Flamingo Road in the evening rush, a T-bone at University Drive and Sheridan Street, a chain reaction on I-75 at the Pines Boulevard ramps. If you were just in a crash in Pembroke Pines and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Pembroke Pines-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. Pembroke Pines has a full hospital in the middle of the city: Memorial Hospital West at 703 North Flamingo Road, just north of Pines Boulevard, with an emergency room open 24 hours a day, every day, for adults and children. The most serious crashes in south Broward are taken by ambulance to Memorial Regional Hospital at 3501 Johnson Street in Hollywood, a state-designated Level I trauma center and the only one in south Broward. 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 Pembroke Pines

Inside city limits, the Pembroke Pines Police Department responds to crashes. Its Records Unit is at police headquarters, 9500 Pines Boulevard, next to City Hall, and the department says it is open Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The department asks people to allow five to ten working days after a crash before requesting a copy, and reports can also be requested through the city's online public records portal or by email with the incident number. On I-75, which runs along the west side of the city, it is usually the Florida Highway Patrol, and in the unincorporated areas just outside the city it may be the Broward Sheriff's Office. 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 Pembroke Pines crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Pines Boulevard, the spine of the city, from University Drive west through Flamingo Road to I-75 and on to the Pembroke Pines Shops area past Dykes Road, where it is six to eight lanes wide and every mile has another plaza with another driveway, Flamingo Road from Pembroke Road north to Sheridan Street, including the hospital entrance and the Pines Boulevard interchange, University Drive, which is the busy east side border with crashes at Pines Boulevard, at Sheridan Street and at Pembroke Road, Sheridan Street along the north edge of the city, and I-75 itself. The I-75 interchanges at Pines Boulevard and at Sheridan Street are among the busiest in southwest Broward, and the backup at Pines Boulevard spills onto the surface streets in both directions every weekday afternoon. The older east side of the city near University Drive has more pedestrians and more low-speed crashes with people outside of cars. Farther west the roads are wide and fast, and the crashes are rear-ends at the lights, left turns across three lanes of traffic into the shopping centers, 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.