How long does a personal injury case take in Miami-Dade?

It is the second question almost everyone asks on the first call, after “do I have a case.” The honest answer is a range, and the range depends mostly on your body, not on the lawyer or the court. Here is how the timeline actually works for an injury claim in Miami-Dade, and what moves it.

What are the stages of a personal injury claim?

Every claim in Miami-Dade goes through the same stages. Some finish early.

1. Treatment (weeks to a year or more). You see doctors, get imaging, do therapy, maybe get injections or surgery. The claim cannot be valued until a doctor says you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), meaning you are as healed as you are going to get, and states whether any injury is permanent. This is the longest stage in almost every case, and it should be; nobody benefits from a claim that settles before you know whether you need surgery.
2. Investigation (runs alongside treatment). Crash report, photos, witness statements, camera footage, insurance policies for every driver and household member, and, in truck, premises, and rideshare cases, preservation letters and formal records requests.
3. Demand (2 to 6 weeks after MMI). We assemble the medical records and bills, wage loss, and the liability evidence into a demand package and send it to the insurer with a deadline, usually 30 days.
4. Negotiation (1 to 3 months). The insurer evaluates and responds. Most cases with clear fault and finished treatment settle here.
5. Lawsuit (12 to 36 months if needed). If the insurer will not pay a fair amount, we file in Miami-Dade Circuit Court (or County Court for smaller claims). Under Florida’s 2025 case-management rules the court sets deadlines and a trial date early; discovery, depositions, mediation, and trial follow. Most filed cases still settle before trial, often at mediation.
6. Resolution and payout (2 to 6 weeks after settlement). Release signed, check issued, medical liens and PIP reimbursements negotiated and paid, and the balance disbursed to you with a written accounting.

What makes a case faster?

• Clear fault. A rear-end crash on the Palmetto with a police report placing fault on the other driver settles faster than a disputed left-turn crash on W 49th St.
• Adequate insurance. When the at-fault driver has real bodily injury coverage, or you have uninsured motorist coverage, there is money to negotiate over. When the only policy is $10,000, the case often resolves quickly for the limits.
• Finished treatment with a clear diagnosis. A documented herniated disc with a permanency opinion is easier to value than ongoing, undiagnosed pain.
• A client who keeps appointments and keeps in touch. Gaps in treatment are the insurer’s favorite argument, and unreturned calls stall everything.

What makes a case slower?

• Serious injuries. Surgery, and the recovery after it, take time, and the case waits.
• Disputed fault. Conflicting accounts mean depositions and sometimes reconstruction experts.
• Government defendants. A crash with a Miami-Dade Transit bus or a City of Hialeah truck requires pre-suit notice under Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6) and a 6-month wait before suit; sovereign immunity caps add negotiation.
• Medical malpractice. The mandatory presuit process under Fla. Stat. § 766.106 adds a minimum of 90 days after the expert review, which itself takes months.
• Multiple defendants. Truck cases with a driver, a carrier, a broker, and a maintenance company each with their own insurer take longer than two-car crashes.
• Court calendars. Miami-Dade’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit is one of the busiest in the country. Trial dates are set 12 to 24 months out and sometimes move.

Rough timelines by type of case

Type of case	Typical time to resolve
Rear-end car crash, clear fault, no surgery	6 to 12 months
Car crash with surgery or disputed fault	12 to 24 months
Slip and fall in a store	9 to 24 months (video and knowledge disputes)
Truck or commercial vehicle	12 to 36 months
Rideshare (Uber/Lyft)	9 to 18 months
Government vehicle or property	12 to 30 months
Medical malpractice	18 to 36 months
Wrongful death	12 to 36 months (estate must be opened first)

These are ranges from our experience in Miami-Dade, not promises. Your case may be faster or slower.

What can I do to keep my case moving?

Go to every medical appointment and follow the treatment plan. Keep every bill, receipt, and work note. Do not post about the crash or your activities on social media. Return your lawyer’s calls the same day. Tell your lawyer about anything new: a new symptom, a call from an insurer, a change of address. And be honest about prior injuries; they are almost never fatal to a claim, but hiding them can be.

What Wolfson & Leon tells you at the start

When you hire us, we tell you what stage your case is in, what has to happen before it can move to the next one, and roughly how long each stage should take given your injuries. Then we update you as it moves. Jerome Wolfson has been handling injury cases in Miami-Dade since 1963; there is not much about the timeline that surprises us. Call (305) 285-7071 and we will give you an honest estimate for your situation.