Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers to the questions injured Floridians actually ask us. Nothing here is legal advice for your specific case — every situation is different, and the best way to know what your claim is worth is to talk to a lawyer. The consultation is free.

What to Do at the Scene — A Checklist

Print this. Screenshot it. Keep it in your glove box. After a crash or injury, the difference between a strong case and a weak one is usually decided in the first hour.

Get to safety, then call 911. If you can move the vehicles out of traffic, do it. Always make the police report. Always.
Get medical attention. Tell the officer and the EMTs about every symptom — even minor pain. Refusing the ambulance and walking it off becomes a defense argument later.
Photograph everything. All vehicles from multiple angles, all damage, the position of vehicles before they're moved, license plates, traffic signals, the roadway, skid marks, debris, weather, your injuries, and the inside of your vehicle.
Get information. Other driver's name, license, insurance card, registration, phone number, license plate. Take a photo of each document — don't write it down.
Find witnesses. Get names and phone numbers of every witness, not just the ones the officer talks to. Witnesses disappear within minutes.
Note the responding officer. Name, badge number, agency, and the crash report number if available. The report usually takes 5–10 days to be released.
Do not admit fault. Do not say "I'm sorry." Do not speculate about what happened. State only the facts you know.
Refuse a recorded statement. The at-fault driver's insurance company will call within 24–48 hours. Politely decline until you've spoken to a lawyer.
Do not post on social media. Not the crash, not your injuries, not your recovery. Insurance defense lawyers screenshot everything.
Seek follow-up medical care within 14 days. Florida PIP requires it. Do not skip it.
Save everything. The crash report, every medical bill, every prescription receipt, every text and email about the crash, the clothes and shoes you were wearing (especially in slip and falls).
Call a personal injury lawyer before talking to the insurance company. The consultation is free. The advice will save you tens of thousands of dollars.

Practice Areas

What should I do after a car accident in Florida?

The first hours after a crash shape the entire claim. If anyone is hurt, call 911. Stay at the scene. Let the responding officer write the crash report — it becomes the foundation of every insurance and legal decision that follows. Take photos of the vehicles, the position they came to rest in, the roadway, skid marks, traffic controls, and any visible injuries. Get the other driver's name, license, insurance card, and tag number. Get contact information for every witness — not just the ones the officer talks to.

Then go get checked out. Florida's PIP law requires you to seek medical care within 14 days of the crash, or you lose your right to PIP medical benefits altogether. Even if you feel fine, get evaluated. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and disc injuries often don't show up for 24–72 hours.

Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurance company. Do not accept a quick settlement check. Do not post about the crash on social media. Call a lawyer before you do any of those things — the conversation costs you nothing, and what you say in the first week often controls what the case is worth in the end.

How do slip and fall (premises liability) cases work in Florida?

Florida law lets you recover from a property owner when their negligence causes your injury — but the standard is tougher than most people think. For slip and falls involving a transitory foreign substance in a business (a spilled drink, a tracked-in puddle, a leaking refrigerator), Florida Statute § 768.0755 requires you to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. Constructive knowledge usually means showing the hazard existed long enough that the business should have discovered it, or that it was a recurring problem.

That makes evidence everything. Preserve it immediately. Photograph the floor and the substance before it's cleaned up. Identify the surveillance cameras pointing at the area. Get the names of every employee and witness. Report the fall to a manager and ask for an incident report. Save the shoes and clothing you were wearing.

Common slip and fall cases we handle involve grocery stores, big-box retailers, restaurants, hotels, apartment complexes, and parking garages. Falls from broken stairs, hidden steps, poor lighting, and unrepaired flooring fall under a different (and often easier) negligence standard than transitory substances.

What's different about truck accident cases?

A wreck with a commercial truck is not just a "big car accident." It is a federally regulated case with different insurance, different defendants, and different evidence — and trucking companies start their defense within hours of the crash. They send rapid-response teams to the scene, lock down the data, and put their lawyers to work before you are out of the ER.

You may have claims against the driver, the motor carrier, the truck owner (sometimes a different company), the shipper or broker, and the maintenance provider. Commercial policies often start at $750,000 and can stack into the tens of millions.

The evidence that wins these cases disappears fast: the electronic logging device (ELD), the engine control module ("black box"), driver qualification files, hours-of-service logs, dispatch records, drug and alcohol testing, maintenance records, dash cam footage, and post-crash inspection reports. Within days of a serious truck crash, your lawyer needs to send a spoliation letter demanding preservation. Wait too long and key data gets overwritten, deleted, or "lost."

How do rideshare (Uber and Lyft) accident cases work?

Rideshare claims in Florida are governed by both the company's insurance policy and Florida's Transportation Network Company law (§ 627.748). Coverage depends on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash:

App off — the driver's personal auto policy applies. Rideshare coverage doesn't.
App on, waiting for a ride request — the rideshare company provides contingent liability coverage (lower limits, typically $50,000/$100,000/$25,000).
Ride accepted, passenger en route or on board — the rideshare company's $1,000,000 liability policy applies.

If you're a passenger and your Uber or Lyft driver causes a crash, you almost always have access to the $1M policy. If you're hit by an Uber or Lyft driver, what's available depends on which phase the app was in — which is exactly why one of the first things we do is subpoena the trip data. Rideshare companies will not volunteer it.

These cases also raise unique issues around uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage, whether your own policy covers you in a rideshare vehicle, and whether the rideshare company itself can be held liable for hiring or supervision failures.

How do wrongful death cases work in Florida?

Losing a family member to someone else's negligence is not just a personal injury claim — it's a separate cause of action under the Florida Wrongful Death Act (§§ 768.16–768.26). The case is brought by the personal representative of the deceased's estate, on behalf of statutorily defined survivors: surviving spouse, children, parents, and (in some cases) dependent blood relatives.

Damages can include:

The survivors' loss of support and services
The surviving spouse's loss of companionship and protection, and mental pain and suffering
The children's loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, and mental pain and suffering
A parent's mental pain and suffering for the loss of a minor child (or, in some cases, an adult child)
Medical and funeral expenses paid by a survivor or the estate
The estate's loss of net accumulations and earnings

The statute of limitations for wrongful death in Florida is two years. Probate has to be opened to appoint the personal representative before suit is filed. These cases require care — not just legal skill, but the kind of attention a family in grief deserves.

What if I was hit while walking or riding a bicycle?

Pedestrians and cyclists are the most vulnerable people on Florida roads, and they pay the price for it: Florida consistently ranks at or near the top in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. The legal claim is usually a straightforward negligence case against the driver — but a few Florida-specific points matter:

PIP still applies. If you own a Florida-registered vehicle, your own PIP covers your medical bills and lost wages even though you weren't in the car. If you don't own a car but live with a relative who does, their PIP may cover you. If neither applies, the at-fault driver's bodily injury coverage (and your health insurance) come into play.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage on your own auto policy often covers you as a pedestrian or cyclist — including hit-and-run cases. This is one of the most important and least-known facts in Florida insurance law.
Right of way is not a defense to inattention. Drivers often claim "they came out of nowhere." Crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes, and visibility evidence (lighting, sight lines, dash cam footage from nearby vehicles, business surveillance) usually tell a different story.
Comparative fault matters. Florida law (post-HB 837) bars recovery if you're more than 50% at fault. Drivers' insurers will try to argue you darted into the road or weren't using a crosswalk. Preserving the scene evidence quickly is critical.

If you've been hit, call 911, get the crash investigated as a traffic crash (not just a "fall"), and get medical care within the 14-day PIP window even if you feel okay.

What should I do if I'm bitten by a dog in Florida?

Florida is a strict liability state for dog bites under § 767.04. That means the dog owner is liable for your injuries even if the dog has never bitten anyone before and even if the owner had no reason to think the dog was dangerous. You do not have to prove the "one free bite" rule that applies in many other states.

What to do:

Get medical care immediately. Dog bites carry serious infection risk and often require rabies evaluation, wound irrigation, and sometimes surgery or reconstructive care later.
Report the bite to animal control or the sheriff's office. This creates an official record and triggers the rabies/quarantine process. It also documents the dog's history.
Identify the dog and the owner. Get names, addresses, and homeowners' or renters' insurance information. Most dog bite recoveries come from homeowners' or renters' insurance — not the dog owner personally.
Photograph everything. The wounds (at every stage of healing), torn clothing, the location, the dog if possible, and any "Beware of Dog" signage.

Common defenses include trespass, provocation, and a posted "Bad Dog" sign on the owner's property (a partial defense under the statute). Scarring — especially facial scarring on children — drives significant value in these cases. They are often resolved against homeowners' insurance without litigation.

Do I have a medical malpractice case?

Medical malpractice is a specialized and difficult area of Florida law. Not every bad medical outcome is malpractice — medicine carries inherent risk, and the law requires you to prove that a healthcare provider breached the standard of care and that the breach caused the injury. Both elements need supporting testimony from a qualified medical expert in the same specialty.

A few Florida-specific rules that make these cases unique:

Pre-suit investigation is required. Before you can file a malpractice lawsuit, Florida law (§ 766.203) requires a reasonable investigation and a written affidavit from a qualified medical expert corroborating that malpractice occurred.
Pre-suit notice and 90-day tolling. You must serve a Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation, which triggers a 90-day investigation period for the defense.
Statute of limitations is short. Generally two years from when the malpractice was — or reasonably should have been — discovered, with a four-year statute of repose (longer in some cases involving minors or fraud). Deadlines in malpractice cases are unforgiving.
Damages caps and constitutional history. Florida's prior caps on non-economic damages in malpractice cases were struck down by the Florida Supreme Court. The legislature has revisited this area repeatedly; current law should always be confirmed.
High cost to prosecute. Expert witnesses in medical malpractice routinely cost $50,000–$250,000+ to bring a case to trial. Reputable firms screen these cases carefully because the economics are unforgiving — meritorious cases get accepted; weaker ones don't.

If you suspect malpractice — a surgical error, a missed diagnosis, a birth injury, a medication error, a nursing home neglect case — call sooner rather than later. The records take time to obtain, and the clock is shorter than you think.

How do workers' compensation cases work in Florida?

If you were hurt on the job in Florida, workers' compensation is generally your exclusive remedy against your employer. That means you typically cannot sue your employer for negligence — but in exchange, you don't have to prove fault to recover benefits.

Florida workers' comp (Chapter 440) provides:

Medical care for the work injury (the employer/carrier picks the authorized treating physician)
Temporary total or partial disability benefits — generally 66⅔% of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum
Permanent impairment benefits based on your impairment rating
In rare catastrophic cases, permanent total disability benefits
Death benefits to dependents in fatal cases

You must report the injury to your employer within 30 days and file a petition within two years. Carriers routinely deny treatment, dispute the impairment rating, cut off benefits, or push you back to work too soon. A workers' comp attorney levels the field — and Florida law caps the fees so the worker isn't penalized for hiring one.

Importantly, if a third party (someone other than your employer or coworker) caused your work injury — a negligent driver, a defective product, a subcontractor on the same job site — you may have a separate third-party personal injury claim in addition to workers' comp. Those cases are where the real recovery often lives.

Florida-Specific Law

What is Florida PIP (no-fault insurance) and how does it work?

Florida is a no-fault state. Every Florida driver is required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage — a minimum of $10,000 — which pays your own medical bills and lost wages after a crash, regardless of who caused it. PIP pays 80% of reasonable and necessary medical expenses and 60% of lost wages, up to the policy limit.

A few critical PIP rules:

The 14-day rule. You must receive initial medical treatment within 14 days of the crash. Miss that window and you forfeit your PIP medical benefits entirely.
The EMC requirement. To access the full $10,000, a qualified provider must determine that you had an Emergency Medical Condition (EMC). Without an EMC finding, your PIP medical benefits are capped at $2,500.
Who qualifies. PIP covers you, household relatives, passengers in your vehicle who don't own a car, and pedestrians/cyclists hit by your vehicle.

PIP does not pay for pain and suffering. To pursue those damages from the at-fault driver, you have to meet Florida's tort threshold under § 627.737 — generally, a permanent injury, significant scarring or disfigurement, or death.

Florida's PIP system has been the subject of repeated legislative reform efforts. The rules above reflect the law as of this writing; we'll always tell you what's currently in effect when you call.

What is the Graves Amendment and why does it matter?

The Graves Amendment (49 U.S.C. § 30106) is a federal law that protects rental car and commercial leasing companies from vicarious liability for accidents caused by their renters or lessees. In plain English: if someone rents a car from Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, or U-Haul and causes a crash, you generally cannot sue the rental company just because they owned the vehicle. Before the Graves Amendment, Florida's "dangerous instrumentality doctrine" made vehicle owners automatically liable for crashes caused by anyone driving with their permission. The Graves Amendment carved out an exception for rental and leasing companies.

But the protection is not absolute. The rental company is still on the hook if the company itself was negligent — for example, in renting to an obviously impaired driver, failing to maintain the vehicle, or putting a known-defective car on the road. The Graves Amendment also does not shield the at-fault driver, the driver's employer (if the rental was for work), or anyone else with independent negligence.

What this means practically: if you've been hit by someone driving a rental, the lawsuit usually targets the driver and their personal insurance, not the rental company — and that often makes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and umbrella policies the real source of recovery.

How does my car damage get fixed after a Florida car accident — and what is diminished value?

Property damage is handled separately from your bodily injury claim. You have a few paths:

The at-fault driver's property damage liability (PD) insurance. If they're insured and at fault, their PD coverage pays for your vehicle repairs (or the totaled value), reasonable rental, and — importantly — diminished value.
Your own collision coverage. Faster, but you pay your deductible and your own carrier will then go after the at-fault carrier (subrogation).
A combination. Sometimes the smartest play is to use your own collision so you're back on the road, then let your insurer fight for the diminished value separately.

Diminished value is the difference between what your vehicle was worth before the crash and what it's worth after — even after a perfect repair. A car with a crash on its Carfax is worth less, period. Florida law recognizes diminished value claims against the at-fault driver's insurance (it's not typically recoverable from your own policy unless the policy says so). The bigger the vehicle, the newer it is, and the more severe the damage, the bigger the diminished value claim. Many people don't know to ask for it — and the insurance company is happy to keep it that way.

You're also entitled to a comparable rental vehicle while yours is being repaired. If the at-fault carrier won't authorize one promptly, that's something a lawyer can usually fix with one phone call.

Money, Fees, and the Lawsuit Process

What is a lawsuit, exactly?

Most personal injury claims settle before a lawsuit is ever filed. A lawsuit is the formal court process — it begins when your lawyer files a complaint and serves the at-fault party with a summons. Once the case is in the court system, both sides exchange written questions (interrogatories), document requests, and depositions — sworn out-of-court testimony. That's the discovery phase. Most cases settle during or after discovery, often at mediation. A small percentage go all the way to trial in front of a judge or jury.

Filing suit doesn't mean the case won't settle — it usually means the insurance company stopped negotiating in good faith, the policy limits are in dispute, the statute of limitations is approaching, or the damages are large enough that the carrier won't pay fair value without the pressure of a trial date. Suit also unlocks the formal discovery tools that often produce the evidence a case needs.

In Florida, the statute of limitations for most negligence-based personal injury claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023 is two years. Older cases may still be governed by the prior four-year rule. Wrongful death is two years. Some claims (against government entities, for example) require formal pre-suit notice as much as six months in advance. Deadlines are not flexible. If you've been injured, don't wait.

What factors into the value of a personal injury case?

There is no calculator. Anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing. But honest answers depend on a few categories of evidence:

Medical bills and future medical care. Past treatment costs plus the present value of reasonably expected future care (surgeries, injections, therapy, medications, durable medical equipment).
Lost wages and lost earning capacity. Income you've already missed plus what you'll lose going forward if your injuries permanently affect your ability to work.
Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. The non-economic damages — what the injury has actually done to your day-to-day existence.
Permanency. Whether a doctor has rated your injury as permanent (this matters enormously in Florida — see PIP/tort threshold above).
Scarring and disfigurement. Treated separately under Florida law.
Liability strength. A crash with crystal-clear fault is worth more than the same injury in a disputed-liability case. Jurors and adjusters discount for risk.
Available insurance and assets. A million-dollar case against a defendant with a $50,000 policy and no assets is, practically speaking, a $50,000 case unless there's a stacking, UM, umbrella, or third-party angle.
Venue. What county would try the case. Verdicts vary.
The plaintiff. Likability, credibility, work history, and how the injury intersects with your life all matter at trial — which means they matter in settlement.
The defense. Some carriers settle fairly. Others fight everything. We know who's who.

Comparative fault matters too. Under Florida's modified comparative negligence rule (post-HB 837), a plaintiff who is more than 50% at fault generally recovers nothing, and any recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.

Are personal injury lawyers really free?

Yes — at the start. We do not charge for the consultation, and we do not charge an hourly rate or a retainer. You owe us nothing out of pocket to hire us, and you owe us nothing as the case proceeds. That's not marketing. It's how personal injury law works in Florida.

What "free" actually means: we work on a contingency fee. We only get paid if we recover money for you. If we don't win, you don't pay us a fee, and in most cases you don't owe us the costs we advanced either. We bet on your case with our own time and our own money.

That said, there are a few things every honest firm should explain up front:

Costs versus fees are different. "Fees" are what the attorney earns. "Costs" are case expenses — filing fees, deposition transcripts, expert witnesses, medical records, mediation. In most contingency cases these costs are advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the settlement.
Medical liens get paid from the settlement. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, hospitals, and PIP carriers may have a right to be reimbursed from your recovery. Negotiating those liens down is part of what a good attorney does.
You see the math. Before any settlement is finalized, you receive a written closing statement showing the gross settlement, fees, costs, liens, and your net recovery. You have to sign it.

If a firm is vague about costs, liens, or how the math works at the end — find another firm.

What is a contingency fee, and how is it different from billable hours?

A contingency fee means the lawyer's fee is a percentage of the recovery, paid only if there is a recovery. A billable hour means the lawyer charges for every hour of work, win or lose, usually at $300–$800+ an hour, with a retainer paid up front.

For everyday people with personal injury claims, the contingency model is the only one that makes sense. Injured clients usually can't write a $25,000 retainer check while they're out of work. The contingency fee aligns the lawyer's incentive with the client's: we only get paid when you do, and we get paid more when we recover more.

Florida contingency fees in personal injury cases are regulated by Rule 4-1.5 of the Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct. The standard tiered structure — before any judgment or settlement exceeding a tier — generally runs:

33⅓% of any recovery up to $1 million, if settled before the defendant files an answer or appears in court
40% of any recovery up to $1 million after the defendant files an answer
Lower percentages on amounts above $1 million and $2 million
Different rules apply in medical malpractice and some other case types

Clients always have the right to receive these rates, in writing, before signing. Higher rates require court approval and the client's informed written consent under the rule.

Compare that to billable hours: a $400/hour lawyer working a personal injury case to verdict might bill 800+ hours. That's $320,000 in fees — owed whether you win or lose. The contingency model doesn't just make legal help affordable; it makes it accessible.

Talk to a Lawyer

If you've been injured in Florida, the consultation is free, the conversation is confidential, and you owe nothing unless we win. We'll tell you straight whether you have a case, what it's likely worth, and what to do next — even if the answer is that you don't need a lawyer.

Call us. Or text. Or fill out the form. We answer.

This FAQ is general information about Florida personal injury law and is not legal advice for any particular case. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and case law change. The only way to know how the law applies to your situation is to talk to a lawyer.