How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Florida?

Two years, not the four Florida drivers once had. A 2023 change to state law shortened the deadline for most car accident injury lawsuits, and the clock generally starts on the crash date, not the day you grasp how serious an injury is. Evidence is easier to gather early, so speaking with a lawyer well before the deadline protects the claim.

What If I Was Partly at Fault for My Jacksonville Car Accident?

A share of the blame is not the same as a barred claim, not in Florida. Under the state’s modified comparative negligence rule, you can still recover as long as your fault is 50% or less, with your compensation reduced by that share. Cross 50%, and recovery is gone. That hard line is why an insurer works to push more of the fault onto you.

How Does No-Fault Insurance Work After a Florida Crash?

Your own insurer pays first, not the other driver’s. Florida’s no-fault system routes your early medical bills and lost wages through your personal injury protection coverage, whoever caused the crash, at 80% of medical costs and 60% of lost wages up to $10,000, with treatment generally required within 14 days. PIP does not reach pain and suffering; those damages come within reach only when an injury is serious enough to carry the claim outside no-fault.

How Is the Value of My Car Accident Claim Determined?

A claim’s value comes from its facts, not from a formula or a quick estimate. It rests on the severity of the injury, the care still ahead, the wages and earning capacity lost, and how much the crash has changed daily life. No honest lawyer will name a figure before that picture is clear. A careful valuation also counts what has not arrived yet, from future treatment to a lasting limit on the ability to earn.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Jacksonville Car Accident Lawyer?

Nothing up front, not a retainer and not an hourly bill. The firm handles car accident claims on a contingency fee, which means there is no fee unless you win. The fee is a percentage of the recovery (set within the limits the Florida Bar allows) and agreed in writing before work begins. Clients may be responsible for certain case costs. The first consultation is free.

What Should I Do Right After a Car Accident in Jacksonville?

Document the crash first, not your opinion of who caused it. Call 911 so the collision goes on the official record, then see a doctor quickly, inside that 14-day window, to keep your PIP coverage in place. Photograph the vehicles, the road, and your injuries, and collect names from any witnesses. Be cautious with the other driver’s insurer, and decline a recorded statement until you have spoken with a lawyer.

Injured? We Fight Until You Get Paid.

Florida No-Fault Insurance and the Deadline to File Your Injury Claim

Florida’s no-fault rules decide who pays first, and the answer is your own insurer. Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage responds to a crash regardless of fault, paying 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages up to a $10,000 limit. Pain and suffering is not something PIP covers.

Almost no one hears about the 14-day rule until they have already broken it. Florida generally requires you to see a doctor within 14 days of the crash for PIP to apply at all. Once that window passes, the coverage can be gone for good.

Serious injuries open a second door. A permanent injury, significant scarring, or the loss of an important bodily function lets you step outside no-fault and sue the at-fault driver for what PIP leaves out. Fault becomes the center of the case then. Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule, suppose a jury values your claim at $160,000 but finds you 22% responsible. You collect $124,800. Cross 50%, and you collect nothing.

Underneath every one of these steps sits a single deadline. Since a 2023 change to Florida law, you have two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit, half the four years the law once allowed. The clock starts on the day of the collision, not the day the pain makes itself known.