I was in a car accident in Hialeah. What do I do now?

What should I do in the first 72 hours after a Hialeah car accident?

In the first 72 hours after a car accident in Hialeah, four things protect your health and your claim: get medical care, get the crash report, photograph everything, and say as little as possible to insurance adjusters.

• Get checked by a doctor even if you feel okay. Neck, back, and head injuries often show up a day or two later. Florida PIP pays only if you are treated within 14 days (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)). Hialeah Hospital, Palmetto General, and any urgent care count.
• Get the crash report. Hialeah Police or Florida Highway Patrol writes it. Ask for the report number at the scene; the report is usually available within 10 days through the Florida Crash Portal.
• Photograph the cars, the intersection, your injuries, and the other driver's license and insurance card. Save the photos somewhere other than your phone.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer, and do not sign anything, until you have talked to a lawyer. You are required to cooperate with your own insurer, but even that call is better made after you know your rights.

Who pays my medical bills after a car accident in Florida?

Your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays first, regardless of who caused the crash. Florida requires every registered car to carry $10,000 of PIP. PIP pays 80% of reasonable medical bills and 60% of lost wages, up to the $10,000 limit, but only $2,500 of medical benefits if a doctor does not find an "emergency medical condition" (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)).

Bills above PIP are paid by your health insurance, by medical providers who agree to wait for the case to resolve, and ultimately by the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability insurance if you can show a permanent injury. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage, which is why uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy matters so much in Miami-Dade.

Can I sue the other driver for pain and suffering in Florida?

You can recover pain and suffering from the at-fault driver only if your injury meets Florida's "permanent injury" threshold under Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2): significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Herniated discs, fractures, and injuries needing surgery commonly meet the threshold. Soft-tissue strains that fully heal usually do not.

Florida uses modified comparative negligence (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6)). If you are found more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing from the other driver. If you are 50% or less at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share.

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Florida?

For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, the deadline to file a negligence lawsuit in Florida is two years from the date of the crash (Fla. Stat. § 95.11). Before that date, it was four years. Insurance claims should be opened much sooner, and PIP has its own 14-day treatment rule. If a government vehicle was involved, such as a Miami-Dade Transit bus or a City of Hialeah truck, a written notice under Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6) is required before you can sue, and the process is slower.

Where do car accidents happen in Hialeah?

Wolfson & Leon sees the same Hialeah roads again and again: W 49th St (Palm Springs Mile) from W 12th Ave to the Palmetto, Okeechobee Road (US 27) through the industrial stretch by Medley, the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) interchanges at NW 103rd St and W 49th St, Le Jeune Road (SR 953) by the Hialeah Metrorail station, and E 4th Ave and Palm Avenue in the older east side. Many are rear-end crashes in stop-and-go traffic and left-turn crashes at signalized intersections. The location matters for evidence: intersection cameras, business surveillance, and the crash-report diagram all depend on it.

What compensation can I recover after a car accident in Florida?

After a car accident in Florida you can recover economic damages, meaning medical bills past and future, lost wages, and reduced ability to earn, from the at-fault driver's insurance and, if that is not enough, from your own uninsured motorist coverage. If your injury is permanent under Fla. Stat. § 627.737, you can also recover non-economic damages: pain, suffering, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of life. Property damage to your car is a separate claim against the at-fault driver's property damage coverage or your own collision coverage. Nobody can tell you a number at the first call; the value depends on the injury, the treatment, the fault, and the insurance available, and Wolfson & Leon will tell you honestly which of those is the limiting factor in your case.

What mistakes hurt a car accident claim in Hialeah?

• Waiting more than 14 days to see a doctor. It forfeits PIP and gives the insurer its favorite argument, that you were not really hurt.
• Giving the other driver's insurer a recorded statement in the first days, before you know your injuries or have seen the crash report.
• Posting about the crash, or about anything physical, on social media. Insurers look, and a photo from a family party becomes "evidence" you were fine.
• Gaps in treatment. Missing weeks of therapy reads as recovery, whether or not it was.
• Signing a broad medical authorization that lets the insurer pull your entire history, not just the crash records.
• Accepting an early offer before treatment is finished. A release is final; if you need surgery later, you cannot go back.