There is one fact about Florida car accidents that every driver in this state should know and most do not: if you do not seek initial medical treatment within 14 days of the crash, your Personal Injury Protection coverage will not pay your medical bills. Not a reduced amount. Nothing.
Why the 14-day rule catches people
Adrenaline is a very effective painkiller. A great many people walk away from a collision feeling shaken but essentially fine, decline the ambulance, and wait to see how they feel. Soft tissue injuries — the neck and back injuries that make up the bulk of crash claims — characteristically present two or three days later, and sometimes later than that.
By the time the pain is bad enough to send someone to a doctor, a two weeks can quietly have passed. Get checked within 14 days even if you feel well. It costs you an afternoon and it protects the coverage you have been paying for.
What PIP actually covers
Florida requires drivers to carry $10,000 in PIP, which pays regardless of fault: 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost wages, up to that limit. Two caveats matter.
First, the limit drops to $2,500 unless a qualifying provider diagnoses an emergency medical condition. Second, $10,000 does not go far — one MRI and a course of physical therapy will consume it.
To recover beyond PIP — pain and suffering, the balance of the medical bills, future care, lost earning capacity — you must meet Florida’s permanent injury threshold. That is a medical question decided on medical records, which is another reason the early treatment matters.
At the scene, if you are able
- Call the police and insist on a report, however minor it looks.
- Photograph both vehicles, all four corners, the position on the road, skid marks, debris, traffic controls and the weather.
- Photograph the other driver’s license, registration and insurance card rather than writing the numbers down.
- Get the name and telephone number of every witness. They disappear within hours and are almost impossible to find later.
- Do not discuss fault. Not to the other driver, not to a bystander, not on the recorded line when you report the claim.
In the days after
Notify your own insurer promptly. Keep every bill, receipt and out-of-pocket cost, including mileage to medical appointments. Follow the treatment plan you are given — gaps in treatment are the first thing a defense adjuster looks for, and a three-week gap will be characterized as evidence you had recovered.
And do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement before speaking with a lawyer. The adjuster will be friendly and the call will be recorded, and “I’m fine, thanks” said out of ordinary politeness on day two has a long afterlife.
The two-year deadline
For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, Florida’s statute of limitations for most negligence claims is two years from the date of the incident — reduced from four. Claims against a government entity have their own, much shorter, notice requirements. Once the deadline passes, the strength of the claim is irrelevant.
When to call a lawyer
If anyone was injured, if fault is disputed, if the other driver was uninsured, or if an adjuster has already called you — early. Most of what determines the value of an injury claim is fixed in the first month, well before anyone is talking about settlement.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Law changes; this was accurate when written. For advice on your own matter, call (386) 264-6937.