Personal Injury

Personal injury cases are about paying the bills an accident made inevitable. Medical bills, lost wages, long-term care, and the real cost of lost function add up fast, and the person who caused the accident should not be allowed to leave you to absorb the loss. Florida’s laws make that process more complicated than most clients expect, which is the reason to hire counsel early.

Florida’s two-year statute of limitations (post-HB 837)

For accidents on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years from the date of injury to file most negligence-based personal injury claims in Florida. That is the deadline under HB 837, which amended Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(a) and cut the old four-year window in half for auto accidents, slip-and-falls, and other general negligence cases.

For accidents before March 24, 2023, the older four-year rule still controls. Older injuries that were not yet filed when the law changed kept their original four-year deadline under Florida’s savings-clause principles, so the right answer depends on exactly when your accident happened.

Other deadlines that have not changed: medical malpractice is two years from discovery (with a four-year outer limit), wrongful death is two years from the date of death, and claims against the state or a subdivision require earlier notice under sovereign-immunity rules.

Once the statute runs, your claim is gone. Waiting is never the right strategy, especially now that most new claims have half the time they used to.

Florida’s no-fault PIP system

Florida requires every driver to carry $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. After an accident, your own PIP pays first for 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages up to the policy limit, regardless of who caused the crash. That sounds simple until you actually use it.

PIP disputes are a routine part of what we do. Insurance carriers deny, delay, and under-pay PIP benefits, and the rules about medical reviews, examinations under oath, and independent medical exams are a maze for people who haven’t practiced in them.

When you can sue the at-fault driver

Because Florida is no-fault, you can only pursue the at-fault driver directly when your injuries cross a “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

These determinations are medical, not legal, and they depend entirely on your records and the testimony of treating physicians.

Cases we handle

• Automobile accidents
• Motorcycle collisions
• Truck accidents
• Boating wrecks
• Premises liability (slip and fall, dog bites, inadequate security)
• Wrongful death

What to do right now, if you can

1. Get medical attention. Your health is the first priority, and contemporaneous medical records are the backbone of any injury claim.
2. Document the scene. Photographs, witness contact information, vehicle positions.
3. File a police report. Even for minor accidents.
4. Notify your own insurance carrier. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance without speaking to a lawyer first.
5. Call us for a free case evaluation. We will tell you honestly whether you have a claim.