Florida crash guide

What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida

By Miller & Jacobs Accident Attorneys

After a Florida car accident, check for injuries and get out of immediate danger. Call 911 if help is urgent. Report the crash when required, exchange details, save evidence safely and notify your insurer. Get needed medical care promptly. Florida's personal injury protection (PIP) medical benefits require qualifying initial care within 14 days. That is not a reason to wait. Florida's PIP rule

You do not have to settle fault, diagnose an injury or decide whether to sue at the roadside.

Damaged red sedan and white SUV after a collision, with broken glass on the road.

What to handle first

At the scene: arrange help, report the crash and exchange information

For your health: get needed care and follow your provider's instructions

For the claim: save records, notify your insurer and review requests carefully

For timing: check reporting, medical-benefit and lawsuit deadlines separately

At the scene

At the scene, leave room for help

Stop and remain to give the required details and arrange needed help. For a property-damage-only crash, make a reasonable effort to move a blocking vehicle safely out of traffic. Do not risk another collision to keep the cars where they stopped. For an injury crash, follow emergency responders' directions. Florida's stop-and-aid duties and property-damage crash rules

Contact the right agency

Under current Florida law, notify law enforcement right away if anyone is injured or killed. The same rule applies when apparent vehicle or property damage is at least $2,000. That damage threshold increased on October 1, 2026. Use 911 for emergencies. Otherwise, contact the police, sheriff or Florida Highway Patrol agency for that area. Do not delay an injury report for a repair estimate. Florida crash-notification law

Also tell the agency about pain, a driver who left, suspected impaired driving, a commercial vehicle or a car that needs a tow. Ask for the agency's name and the case or report number.

Exchange details without debating fault

Give your name, address and vehicle-registration details, and show an available driver's license if requested. Arrange reasonable help for injured people. It is also useful to exchange phone numbers, insurer names and policy numbers. Have your insurance card ready for the officer. Information and aid duties

Describe what you saw accurately. Say when you do not know something. Do not guess about speed, fault or an injury you have not had checked.

Records and evidence

Save the details you can safely collect

Once people are safe, photograph the vehicles, damage, plates, road layout, signs and nearby cameras. Get witness names and contact details. If you cannot do this because you need care, ask someone you trust to help when it is safe.

Keep original photos, messages and dashcam files. Note the crash time and place. Record where the car was towed, and ask about storage charges and getting it back. Before repairs or disposal, ask whether the insurer or a lawyer needs to inspect it.

Keep one folder for bills, work-loss records, repair estimates, receipts and insurer messages. Add a short dated note when symptoms or daily limits change. Our guide to evidence that may help a car accident case explains what each record may show.

Get medical care and keep the follow-up connected

Tell the provider when the crash happened and what symptoms you have. Be accurate about earlier injuries and any new symptoms. Follow the care plan. Tell the provider if cost, travel or another problem makes it hard to attend.

Some concussion symptoms appear hours or days later. After a head or body jolt, seek emergency care right away for new or increased confusion, repeated vomiting, or a worsening headache that does not go away. CDC concussion symptoms and danger signs

PIP can pay part of covered medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. The 14-day rule concerns initial care; you do not have to finish treatment in two weeks. Eligible providers, coverage limits and deductibles still matter. Our Florida PIP benefits guide explains those rules.

Two cars with damaged front ends beside a traffic cone and debris on the road.

Insurance and releases

Open the claim without rushing a settlement

Notify your own insurer promptly, even if you think the other driver caused the crash. Ask for the claim number, who is handling it and what is needed next. Check your policy's notice and cooperation duties. Do not wait for every record before reporting it. Florida's automobile insurance toolkit

Keep notes of calls. Before a recorded interview or permission to obtain medical records, ask who wants it and what it covers. Requests from your own insurer may involve policy duties. Get advice if you are unsure how to respond.

Ask separately about injury benefits, vehicle repairs, towing and a rental. Coverage for one does not establish coverage for all of them.

Read settlement papers before signing or accepting payment. Know which claims a release would end, especially while your care needs are still changing. You may be bound by the settlement even if you change your mind later. The Florida Bar's settlement guidance

You can ask for help before you have every answer.

Speak With Our Car Accident Lawyers About Your Next Step

You can ask for help before treatment ends or the repair estimate arrives. Our Pompano Beach car accident practice and Orlando car accident practice explain how Miller & Jacobs evaluates crash claims.

Mark J. Miller and Rick S. Jacobs are Partners at Miller & Jacobs. Mark's background includes prosecution and insurance defense. Rick previously served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County. Their biographies explain their education and trial backgrounds.

Mark J. Miller

Partner

Read Mark's biography

Rick S. Jacobs

Partner

Read Rick's biography

Start with the crash date and location, the care received and any insurance request that needs attention. The consultation is free. No attorney fee unless compensation is recovered for you.

Call 954-465-8733 Schedule a Free Consultation

Put reports and deadlines in one place

If police do not respond

Ask the agency which reporting process applies. If a property-damage crash does not require a law-enforcement report, send FLHSMV the approved driver report within 10 days after the crash. No officer arriving does not, by itself, remove your duties.

Request the report when available

If you were involved in the crash, you can request its report during the first 60 days of confidentiality. You must follow the required proof-of-status and sworn-statement process. That period runs from filing. You do not have to wait for it to end, but the report may not be finished yet. Ask the agency how to get it. Florida reporting and report-access rules

Check the lawsuit date early

Most Florida private-party crash injury claims based on negligence, or a failure to use reasonable care, have a two-year lawsuit filing period. The shorter period applies to claims arising after March 24, 2023. Older claims need a separate date check. Florida filing periods and the 2023 transition provision

A government-vehicle or agency claim can require written notice before suit and different filing dates. A fatal crash also brings wrongful-death rules. Tell the lawyer about those facts when asking for a deadline check. Government-claim requirements

A pending insurance claim does not, by itself, stop the lawsuit clock. Have your filing date checked while care and evidence gathering continue. The Florida Supreme Court's explanation

Questions after the first day

What if I start hurting several days later?

Contact a healthcare provider and describe the crash, the symptoms and when they began. Seek emergency help for danger signs. Keep an accurate record of the change. Do not wait for an insurer to decide fault before getting needed care.

Does missing the 14-day PIP window end every possible claim?

No. The PIP medical-benefit rule is separate from a claim against a responsible party or another available policy. Missing it can affect PIP medical benefits, but it does not by itself answer every coverage or legal question. Seek care and have the remaining options reviewed.

What if the other driver fled or has too little insurance?

Give law enforcement the details you have without chasing the driver. Ask whether uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage applies. That coverage can help with qualifying injury losses, including some hit-and-run situations, if it is available under the policy. The Florida Bar's auto-insurance guide

Do I need a lawyer for a minor, damage-only collision?

You may be able to handle a simple vehicle-damage claim with the insurer. Legal help becomes more useful when injuries, disputed fault, missing coverage, a release or a deadline makes the next step unclear. Our guide to suing after a car accident explains that separate decision.

Keep the next step clear

Personal Injury Protection sign beside a stethoscope on a blue background.

Florida PIP Benefits

Understand which medical bills and work-loss benefits a covered policy may pay.

Florida PIP Benefits

Two cars with damaged front ends on a city street.

Car Accident Evidence

See what photographs, reports and other records may help explain the crash.

Car Accident Evidence

Person writing on paper beside a gavel and scales on a desk.

Suing After a Car Accident

Understand the claim decision, injury threshold and steps before filing a lawsuit.

Suing After a Car Accident

The information on this page is general information, not legal advice. Contacting Miller & Jacobs does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every claim depends on its facts, evidence, coverage and applicable law.