Florida is a great place to live and visit. The weather is almost always great and you can almost always find something fun to do. The Sunshine State also has a downside. Vehicle accidents can happen resulting in injuries and property damage.
Some areas are also more accident-prone than others. For example, if you live in the Palm Bay area, you get a car crash rate roughly 30% lower than the state average.
While this statistic is encouraging, it doesn’t mean you’re still not a risk for being involved in a vehicle accident.
To help ensure you can successfully navigate the legal process, we’re answering some common questions about filing car accident claims in Florida.
What Does No-Fault Insurance Mean for My Accident Claim?
Like around 12 other states, Florida follows no-fault insurance rules.
The reason the state uses this guideline is to help ensure everyone can receive compensation in a relatively timely manner. No-fault insurance laws can also help keep the docket free in civil court. Whether or not no-fault insurance is helping Florida meet these goals is up for debate.
So, regardless of who is responsible for causing the car accident, everyone involved in the collision turns to their insurance provider. State law requires all drivers with vehicles registered in Florida to carry PIP and PDL insurance.
PIP (personal injury protection) covers up to 80% of your medical costs and lost earnings if your injuries force you to miss work. PDL (property damage liability) covers any damage you may have caused to the other driver’s vehicle. This type of insurance doesn’t cover any damage to your vehicle. To claim your vehicle damage, you need to have full coverage or collision insurance.
Can More Than One Driver Be Responsible for an Accident?
In 2023, Florida signed Bill 837 into law. The bill effectively changes Florida from a pure comparative negligence to a modified comparative negligence state. Both systems allow for more than one individual or entity to be liable for the same accident. The difference between the two systems is the percentage of fault you can be assigned before you’re prevented from filing a personal injury claim.
In pure modified negligence, you can be assigned up to 99% of the blame and still receive some compensation from the other driver’s insurance provider. Modified comparative negligence drops the percentage of negligence down to 50%.
So, if you’re more than 50% at fault for an accident you can’t recover compensation from the other driver. You can only file a claim with your insurance provider. Something else to know about comparative negligence is it can impact the amount you receive from the insurance provider. Your settlement amount is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Do I Need to Immediately Report a Vehicle Accident in Florida?
Florida doesn’t require immediate reporting of all traffic accidents. If injuries or fatalities aren’t present and property damage doesn’t exceed $500, you can hold off on alerting the authorities. The state gives you ten days from the date of the accident to file an official report.
Even though this is perfectly legal it’s not always the best idea, especially if you’re planning on filing an accident claim. Evidence that can help support your claim can be lost. Witnesses may be difficult or impossible to locate. All of this can make it harder to recover compensation from the other driver’s insurance provider.
Waiting for the authorities to arrive at the accident scene can be a pain. However, it’s also the best way of helping to ensure you can successfully prove your accident claim and recover fair compensation.
What Damages Can I Claim After a Vehicle Collision?
The list of damages you can include in an accident claim can be extensive. Every accident is different and this impacts your listed damages.
Some common damages include medical costs and property repair/replacement costs. When injuries are severe, the claim may also include lost current earnings. These are your economic damages but most accident claims also include non-economic losses.
Non-economic losses are intangible like your pain, suffering, and mental anguish. You can use bills and receipts to calculate your economic damages, but it’s different with non-economic losses. You can use the per diem or multiplier method to calculate the estimated value of your non-economic damages. Your personal injury attorney can also help you determine the value of your car accident claim.
Does Florida Have a Statute of Limitations on Accident Claims
All states have statutes of limitations in place on accident claims. This refers to the time you have to start the claim process. The Sunshine State gives accident victims two years to file a personal injury claim.
The statute of limitations usually starts on the date the accident occurred, but exceptions can apply. If you don’t discover your injuries a few days or weeks after the accident, the statute of limitations usually doesn’t start until you receive your diagnosis.
Other exemptions to the statute of limitations can apply to minors. The filing deadline may be extended until the minor turns 18. Once the minor is an adult, the two-year statute starts.
If your injuries are severe enough to prevent you from participating in your claim, the statute of limitations can be paused until you start making a recovery. Some other exemptions may apply so discuss any concerns with your Florida accident attorney.
Can I Appeal My Percentage of Accident Fault?
The percentage of fault you’re assigned for a vehicle accident can reduce the value of your claim. If you feel you’ve been unfairly assigned fault, you can file an appeal in civil court. This step is usually best handled by an experienced accident attorney. Both sides present evidence in court. A judge or jury will review the evidence and decide to reduce your percentage of fault or keep it the same.
If you still don’t agree with the percentage of assigned fault, you can file another appeal in a higher court. Hopefully, the answers to these commonly asked questions will make it a little easier for you to navigate a personal injury claim.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aleksandra Djurdjevic
Senior Content Creator
Aleksandra Djurdjevic is a senior writer and editor, covering motorcycle adventures, biker tips and tricks and general exploring on two wheels. She has previously worked as ESL teacher for English Tochka. Aleksandra graduated from the Comparative Literature department at the Faculty of Philosophy in Serbia. Aleksandra’s love for the biking and adventure, getting out on the open road, year after year across the planet helps her continue to be a top expert at RMJ.
