Shuaa January 2024

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In 2021, there were a total of 401,533 car crashes on Florida’s roads according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department. This included 3,445 total fatal collisions and 163,961 crashes that caused injury.

Drivers who are involved in a Florida car accident need to know what their legal rights are. Understanding the state’s car accident laws can help those who are harmed to determine how to obtain compensation for losses.

Florida Minimum Insurance Requirements

Florida is one of a small minority of states that does not require drivers to have bodily injury liability coverage. This is the type of auto insurance coverage that would pay for injury-related losses a policyholder causes other motorists if the policyholder was responsible for a collision.

The state does require motorists to have the following types of insurance:

A minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage
A minimum of $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) coverage

PIP coverage pays for some of the policyholder’s own losses after a collision that causes injury — regardless of who caused the crash. PDL coverage pays for property damage the policyholder causes others to experience by causing a collision.

Although drivers are not required to have bodily injury liability, many choose to do so in order to protect their assets in case they cause a crash. A driver without this coverage who was sued by a collision victim would need to pay for losses out-of-pocket.

When Does a Florida Car Accident Have to Be Reported to the Police?

Under Section 316.065, Florida Statutes, drivers who are involved in a collision must report it to the police if one of the following are true:

The crash caused at least $500 in vehicle or property damage
The crash caused injury or death

If a crash does not meet one of these two requirements, motorists can instead complete a
“Driver Report of Traffic Crash (Self Report)” or “Driver Exchange of Information” which can be found on the FLHSMV website.

Reporting an accident to the police is generally a good idea because the police report can serve as evidence when a crash victim tries to recover monetary compensation for collision-related losses.

Fault in Florida Car Accident Cases

The state of Florida is a “no-fault” car insurance state. This means regardless of who was to blame for the accident, drivers will recover compensation for minor injuries from their own insurer.

Specifically, they will make a claim under their required Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. PIP will pay compensation for:

80% of reasonable medical expenses incurred due to crash-related injuries.
60% of lost income if crash-related injuries prevent the policyholder from working
$5,000 in death benefits if a collision is fatal (this will be paid to the estate of the deceased or to relatives of the deceased crash victim)

If injuries are very serious (including death, loss of a bodily function, permanent injury or permanent scarring), collision victims can recover compensation outside of the no-fault system. When injuries meet the threshold of serious under Florida law, victims can pursue a personal injury claim against the driver who caused the accident. In these situations, the victim can recover compensation for:

Medical bills
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress

An experienced Florida car accident lawyer can help collision victims to determine if their crash is serious enough that they can try to recover compensation from the other driver rather than being forced to rely solely on their PIP coverage alone.

Comparative Negligence Rules in Florida Car Accidents

Sometimes, both drivers involved in a collision share the blame for the Florida car accident. In these cases, Florida’s pure comparative negligence rules apply.

Comparative negligence is one of three approaches that different states use to establish when car accident victims can pursue a claim for compensation if they are partly to blame for their own injuries. The three approaches are:

Pure comparative negligence: Victims can always make a claim to recover damages no matter how much of the blame they share. A driver who was 99% responsible for a crash could still try to recover compensation from the other motorist. This is Florida’s rule.
Modified comparative negligence: With this rule in place, only drivers who are less than 50% or 51% at fault for the crash can pursue a claim to recover damages.
Contributory negligence: This rule applies in the minority of states and prevents someone from pursuing a claim for damages if they were even a small percentage to blame for the accident.

In Florida — and in all pure and modified comparative negligence states — compensation will be reduced when a victim is partly to blame. If a crash victim was 20% responsible for the collision and sustained $100,000 in losses, the victim could recover 80% of their $100,000 in damages or $80,000 total.

Statute of Limitations for Florida Car Accident Cases

In Florida, drivers with serious injuries who wish to pursue a claim for compensation will need to act within the statute of limitations for negligence claims. The statute of limitations applies to car accident claims — and other cases arising out of careless conduct — in order to make sure lawsuits are filed in a timely manner.

The Florida statute of limitations gives victims four years to pursue their case. If a victim does not act within that time frame, they cannot move forward because their claim will be time barred.

Possible Changes to Florida Car Accident Laws

In recent years, some lawmakers in Florida attempted to change the state’s car accident rules and repeal the no-fault laws in the state.

However, the governor vetoed the attempted modifications. It is possible further efforts to modify the rules will occur so crash victims should check with an experienced attorney to find out what the current regulations are at the time of their accident.

Getting Help from a Florida Car Accident Lawyer

A Florida car accident lawyer can offer invaluable help to crash victims. Those who are hurt in a collision should contact an attorney as soon as possible for assistance in understanding their legal rights and moving forward with a claim to maximize compensation.