After a car accident, you have questions — and you need real answers, not legal jargon. Below are the most common questions Florida car accident victims ask, answered clearly and directly.

Call 911 first. Even if injuries seem minor, a police report is essential for your insurance claim and any future lawsuit. While waiting for police:

1. Move to safety if possible — turn on hazard lights
2. Check yourself and passengers for injuries
3. Exchange insurance and contact information with the other driver
4. Photograph the scene, all vehicles, and any visible injuries
5. Get names and numbers of any witnesses

Do not admit fault or apologize — even casually. Fault is determined by the evidence, not by what you say at the scene.

Yes. Florida law requires you to report any accident involving injury, death, or property damage over $500. In practice, you should call 911 after any collision — even one that seems minor. Many injuries (whiplash, concussions, internal bleeding) are not immediately apparent, and a police report creates an official record that is critical if you later need to file a claim.

As of 2023, Florida's statute of limitations for car accident personal injury claims is 2 years from the date of the accident. Miss this deadline and you permanently lose your right to sue — no exceptions.

For wrongful death claims arising from a car accident, the deadline is also 2 years from the date of death.

Do not wait until the deadline approaches. Evidence disappears quickly, and building a strong case takes time.

Florida is a no-fault state. This means that after a car accident, your own insurance company pays your initial medical bills and lost wages through Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage — regardless of who caused the accident.

Florida requires all drivers to carry a minimum of $10,000 in PIP coverage. PIP covers:

• 80% of reasonable medical expenses
• 60% of lost wages
• Up to $5,000 in death benefits

Important: You must seek medical treatment within 14 days of the accident to access your PIP benefits. Wait longer and you may lose access to this coverage entirely.

Florida's no-fault system limits your ability to sue the other driver — but does not eliminate it. You can step outside the no-fault system and file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver if your injuries meet Florida's serious injury threshold:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Death

If your injuries meet this threshold, you can pursue the at-fault driver for damages beyond what PIP covers — including pain and suffering, future medical costs, and full lost wages.

Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country — approximately 20% of Florida drivers carry no insurance.

If you are hit by an uninsured driver, you have options:

• Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage — if you purchased UM coverage on your own policy, it covers your damages as if the at-fault driver had insurance. This is the most important coverage you can have in Florida.
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage — covers the gap if the at-fault driver's policy limits are not enough to cover your damages.
• Personal injury lawsuit — you can still sue an uninsured driver, though collecting a judgment can be difficult if they have no assets.

An attorney can help you identify all available sources of recovery.

It depends on the complexity of the case:

• Minor injuries, clear liability: 3–9 months
• Moderate injuries, disputed liability: 9–18 months
• Serious injuries, complex cases: 1–3 years
• Cases that go to trial: 2–4+ years

The biggest factor is reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI) — the point at which your doctors determine your condition has stabilized. Settling before MMI risks undervaluing your claim, because future medical costs are not yet known.

Every case is different, but the value of a car accident claim generally includes:

Economic damages (calculable losses):

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Property damage (vehicle repair or replacement)
• Out-of-pocket expenses

Non-economic damages (harder to quantify):

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability or disfigurement

Florida's 2023 tort reform introduced a modified comparative fault rule: if you are found more than 50% at fault for the accident, you cannot recover any compensation. If you are 30% at fault, your recovery is reduced by 30%.

Insurance companies will try to assign you as much fault as possible to reduce their payout. An attorney can counter this with evidence and expert reconstruction.

Almost never. Insurance companies make early, low offers hoping you will accept before you know the full extent of your injuries or your legal rights.

Before accepting any settlement:

• Make sure you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI)
• Understand all future medical costs
• Have an attorney review the offer

Once you sign a release and accept a settlement, you cannot go back for more — even if your condition worsens.

No — not without first speaking to an attorney. The other driver's insurance company will contact you quickly, often within 24–48 hours. They may seem friendly and helpful, but their goal is to get you to say something that minimizes your claim.

You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Politely decline and contact an attorney first.

You may still be able to recover compensation. Under Florida's modified comparative fault rule (as of 2023), you can recover damages as long as you are 50% or less at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example: if your total damages are $100,000 and you are found 30% at fault, you can recover $70,000.

If you are found more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover anything. This is why insurance companies aggressively try to shift blame — and why having an attorney to protect your interests matters.

Not every accident requires an attorney — but any accident involving injury almost certainly does. Here is why:

• Insurance companies have experienced adjusters and lawyers working against you from day one
• Calculating the true value of your claim — including future medical costs and non-economic damages — requires legal expertise
• Florida's modified comparative fault rule means the insurer will try to assign you fault to reduce their payout
• An attorney can identify liable parties you may not have considered (employers, vehicle owners, government entities)
• Studies consistently show that accident victims represented by attorneys recover significantly more than those who negotiate alone — even after attorney fees

At Juan Cordero Lawyers, we handle car accident cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we win. There is no risk to getting a free consultation.

Personal injury attorneys in Florida — including Juan Cordero Lawyers — work on a contingency fee basis. This means:

• No upfront costs
• No hourly fees
• You only pay if we win

The attorney fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict, agreed upon before representation begins. If we do not recover money for you, you owe nothing.

Rideshare accidents involve multiple layers of insurance coverage that depend on the driver's status at the time of the crash:

• Driver offline: Only the driver's personal insurance applies
• Driver available/waiting for a ride: Uber/Lyft provide limited liability coverage ($50,000–$100,000)
• Driver en route or passenger in vehicle: Uber/Lyft provide $1 million in liability coverage

Rideshare accident claims are complex. An attorney experienced with Uber and Lyft accidents can navigate the overlapping insurance policies and maximize your recovery. Learn more about Uber/Lyft accident claims →

Truck accident cases are significantly more complex than standard car accident cases. Commercial trucking companies carry much larger insurance policies — often $1 million or more — and have experienced legal teams that begin investigating immediately after a crash.

Liable parties in a truck accident may include the truck driver, the trucking company, the cargo loader, the vehicle manufacturer, and others. An attorney must act quickly to preserve the truck's black box data, driver logs, and maintenance records before they are altered or destroyed. Truck Accident Lawyer Florida

If you were injured in a car accident in Florida, do not navigate the insurance system alone. Attorney Juan J. Cordero is a Top 100 Trial Lawyer with over 26 years of experience recovering tens of millions of dollars for Florida accident victims.

Call or text 24/7: 305.525.8957

No fee unless we win. We serve clients throughout Miami, North Bay Village, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and all of Florida. Bilingual service available in English and Spanish.