What to do after a car accident in St. Petersburg
Get medical care within 14 days of the crash. Under section 627.736 of the Florida Statutes, your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage only pays if you receive initial treatment within 14 days from a qualifying provider, such as a hospital, an emergency transport provider, a physician, a dentist or a chiropractor. Many people feel sore but fine for a few days and then wait too long. Missing that window can cost you your PIP benefits entirely.
Beyond that, keep it simple. Get the crash report number, take photos of the vehicles and your injuries, and write down names of witnesses. Report the claim to your own insurer, but don't give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company before you talk to us. Their adjuster is looking for reasons to pay you less.
How Florida PIP benefits work
Florida is a no-fault state. Every registered car must carry $10,000 in PIP coverage, and your own policy pays your first medical bills and lost wages no matter who caused the crash. PIP covers 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost income, up to the $10,000 limit, plus a $5,000 death benefit.
There's a catch the insurance companies may not explain. You only get the full $10,000 in medical benefits if a qualifying doctor finds that you had an emergency medical condition. Without that finding, PIP medical benefits stop at $2,500. Getting the right evaluation early, and making sure it's documented, is one of the first things we look at when you call.
When you can sue the at-fault driver in Florida
PIP rarely covers everything after a serious crash. To recover from the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, Florida's no-fault law requires one of these:
- significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- a permanent injury, within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- death
Your medical records have to support the injury, which is another reason consistent treatment counts.
Most people have more insurance available than they realize. Florida doesn't require most drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage, so the driver who hit you may have little or none. In that case, the uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, or on a policy belonging to someone in your household, may pay. We review every policy that could apply before we make a demand.
Florida's 2-year statute of limitations and comparative fault
Florida changed its negligence laws in March 2023 with House Bill 837. For injuries that happened after March 24, 2023, you generally have 2 years to file a negligence lawsuit under section 95.11, down from the 4 years the law used to allow. Wrongful death claims also have a 2-year deadline. Insurance claims can drag on, and an adjuster's promise to keep talking does not stop the clock.
The same law adopted modified comparative negligence. Under section 768.81, if you are found more than 50% at fault for your own injuries, you recover nothing. If you are 50% at fault or less, your damages are reduced by your share. Insurers know this, so expect them to argue you were speeding, distracted or not wearing a seatbelt. We get the crash report and any video early, along with witness statements, while they're still available.
Slip and fall claims in Pinellas County
A store or restaurant is not automatically responsible because you fell on its floor. When the fall involves a spill or other substance on the floor of a business, section 768.0755 requires you to prove the business knew or should have known about the hazard. That can mean showing the spill was there long enough that employees should have seen it, or that the same problem happened regularly.
Surveillance video and cleaning logs are often what wins these cases, and businesses don't keep them forever. If you were hurt in a fall, report it to the manager before you leave and photograph the area. Then call us soon so we can ask the business to preserve the evidence.
Civil claims for victims of a crime
If you were hurt in an assault or a DUI crash, your right to compensation is separate from the criminal case. A criminal court can order restitution, but it rarely covers everything. You may also have a civil claim against the person who hurt you, and in some cases against a property owner whose lack of reasonable security played a part.
Doug Greenberg was a state prosecutor before he went into private practice, and he knows how the evidence from a criminal case, such as police reports and witness statements, can support a civil claim. Florida also runs a crime victim compensation program through the Office of the Attorney General that may help with medical bills and lost wages.
How a Pinellas County personal injury attorney gets paid
Unlike our criminal cases, we handle injury cases on a contingent fee basis. If we don't recover money for you, you don't pay us an attorney's fee. The fee percentage and how case costs are handled are spelled out in a written agreement before we start, as Florida Bar rules require. The first consultation is free, and we can usually tell you in that meeting whether you have a claim worth pursuing.
Personal injury questions we hear most often
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Florida?
For accidents after March 24, 2023, the deadline to file a negligence lawsuit is generally 2 years from the date of the crash. Your PIP benefits have a much shorter deadline in effect, because you must get initial treatment within 14 days. Don't wait on either one.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes, as long as you were 50% at fault or less. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you more than 50% at fault, Florida law bars any recovery for negligence.
Do I have to see a doctor within 14 days after a car accident in Florida?
Yes, if you want your PIP coverage to pay. Initial treatment has to come within 14 days of the crash from a qualifying provider. A visit to a hospital emergency room counts.
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in St. Petersburg?
We work on a contingent fee, which means our fee is a percentage of what we recover and you pay no attorney's fee if there's no recovery. The terms are in a written contract you review before signing. The initial consultation is free.
Can I sue someone who assaulted me in Florida?
Yes. A crime victim can sue for medical bills and lost income, along with pain and suffering, whether or not the person was convicted. Collecting depends on the defendant's assets or available insurance, so we look at that early.