Hit by a Car? You Need to Talk to a Miami Lawyer

Whether you were a pedestrian, a cyclist, or another driver, being hit by a car in Miami sets in motion a series of legal deadlines and insurance decisions that can dramatically affect your recovery. The most important step you can take in the first 24 to 48 hours after the crash is to talk to a Florida personal injury lawyer — before you give a recorded statement to anyone, before you sign any document an insurance adjuster sends you, and before any of the evidence at the scene disappears.

Why Speed Matters

14-day medical-treatment requirement. Florida's no-fault PIP statute requires you to be evaluated by a licensed medical provider within 14 days of the crash to preserve your $10,000 in PIP medical benefits. Miss the deadline and the coverage is gone.
Surveillance video gets overwritten. Most businesses cycle their surveillance video on a 14- to 30-day loop. Body-worn camera footage from responding officers, traffic-camera footage, and dashcam recordings are typically retained on similar short cycles. If we are not retained quickly enough to send preservation letters, this evidence is gone forever.
Witnesses scatter. Tourists go home. Workers change jobs. Memories fade. Statements taken within days of a crash are far more useful than statements taken months later.
Insurance adjusters call within hours. The other driver's insurance carrier will often call you the day of the crash, expressing concern about your injuries, asking how you are feeling, and requesting a "quick statement." That recorded statement is being used to look for ways to reduce or deny your claim.

What You Should Not Do

Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurance company. You are not required to. Tell them to talk to your lawyer.
Do not sign anything other than the basic exchange-of-information forms. Releases, medical authorizations, and "settlement" documents from the at-fault carrier are all designed to limit your recovery.
Do not minimize your injuries in the police report, in the emergency department, or to the insurance company. "I feel okay" said at the scene will be used to argue your injuries are not real.
Do not post about the crash on social media. Defense lawyers will subpoena your accounts and use anything you have posted against you.
Do not delay seeking medical care. Even a few days of "waiting to see if it gets better" will be used to argue your injuries are unrelated to the crash.

What a Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Will Do

Obtain the Florida Traffic Crash Report and identify every driver, witness, and insurance policy involved
Send preservation-of-evidence letters to property owners and businesses with relevant video
Coordinate with your medical providers so the record properly documents the cause and severity of your injuries
Identify every available source of insurance: PIP, the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability, your own UM/UIM coverage, and any umbrella or commercial policies that may apply
Communicate with insurance carriers on your behalf so you can focus on healing
Negotiate with the at-fault carrier, and file suit if a fair settlement is not offered
Prepare your case for trial — which is what produces full-value settlements

You Don't Pay Unless We Recover

The Law Offices of Albert Goodwin handle car-crash cases on a contingency-fee basis. There is no fee to retain us, and we collect only a percentage of any recovery. We advance every cost of investigation, expert witnesses, and litigation. If we don't recover, you owe us nothing.

Florida's No-Fault Insurance System in Plain Terms

Florida is a no-fault state. Every Florida driver must carry $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage under § 627.736 and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability. Florida is one of the few states that does not require bodily-injury liability coverage at all for private passenger vehicles, which means the at-fault driver who hit you may have no liability insurance to pay for your injuries. That makes uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy critically important — and many drivers do not realize they can stack UM coverage across multiple vehicles on the same household policy, multiplying the available limits.

PIP pays 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages up to the $10,000 limit, regardless of fault. To recover non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life) from the at-fault driver, the injured person must satisfy the serious-injury threshold of § 627.737 — permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant scarring or disfigurement, or significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function. Most crashes producing fractures, surgical injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or herniated discs cross that threshold.

Comparative Fault Under § 768.81

Florida adopted modified comparative negligence in March 2023 under HB 837. If the jury finds you more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. At 50% or below, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. The at-fault driver's insurer will look for any basis to push your share of fault above 50% — that you were speeding, distracted, failed to keep a proper lookout, were jaywalking, or were riding a bicycle outside a designated bike lane. Building the case to keep your share of fault as low as possible is one of the most important strategic tasks of plaintiff's counsel.

Statute of Limitations

HB 837 also shortened Florida's general negligence statute of limitations under § 95.11 from four years to two years. A crash today must be filed in court within two years of the date of the crash — not from the date you finished treatment or learned the full extent of your injuries. Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of death. Missing the deadline extinguishes the claim entirely, regardless of how strong the underlying evidence is.

Damages You May Be Entitled to Recover

Past and future medical expenses — emergency care, surgery, imaging, physical therapy, pain management, future revision procedures, and long-term care
Past and future lost wages and loss of earning capacity — particularly significant for skilled trades and professionals unable to return to prior work
Future life-care needs in catastrophic cases, supported by a vocational expert and life-care planner
Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life
Disfigurement and scarring
Loss of consortium for the injured person's spouse
Wrongful death damages under Florida's Wrongful Death Act (§ 768.16 et seq.) for surviving spouses, children, and certain dependents
Punitive damages under § 768.72 in qualifying cases involving intentional or grossly negligent conduct — most commonly DUI crashes

If the At-Fault Driver Was Drunk

DUI crashes change the case significantly. Florida courts have recognized that driving under the influence can support a claim for punitive damages, which are not capped by the no-fault statute and which significantly increase the carrier's exposure. The criminal case (handled by the State Attorney's Office) will proceed on its own track, and a conviction or plea provides powerful evidence in the civil case. We coordinate with the criminal prosecution to make sure the civil case is not prejudiced and that the criminal restitution process does not interfere with the civil recovery.

If the At-Fault Driver Was Working

If the at-fault driver was on duty for an employer at the time of the crash — making a delivery, traveling between job sites, running an errand for an employer — the employer may be vicariously liable under respondeat superior, and the employer's commercial coverage becomes available. Even rideshare drivers (Uber, Lyft) operating on an active ride have commercial liability coverage available through the rideshare platform that significantly exceeds personal-auto minimums. Identifying every available source of insurance is one of the first practical tasks of counsel.

If the Driver Fled the Scene

Hit-and-run incidents are common in Miami. Even if the at-fault driver is never identified, recovery may still be possible through your own UM coverage, which generally responds as if the unidentified driver were uninsured. We work with police to identify hit-and-run drivers using traffic-camera footage, business surveillance video, and tip lines, but the UM claim begins immediately so the case is not delayed.

How Insurance Companies Build a Defense

From the moment a crash is reported, the at-fault carrier begins building a defense. The carrier will lock in its own insured's statement within hours, send a field adjuster to document vehicle damage, scrutinize the officer's report for any basis to dispute fault, attempt to take a recorded statement from the injured person, subpoena every prior medical record once a claim is filed, retain a defense medical expert, and often hire a surveillance investigator. None of this is improper from the carrier's perspective — it is standard claims defense. Knowing it is happening allows counsel to prepare effectively.

Why Miami Venue Matters

Crashes involving Miami-Dade residents are typically venued in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. Miami juries are familiar with the heavy traffic on I-95, the Palmetto, the Dolphin, the Turnpike, U.S. 1, and the major arterials of Brickell, downtown, Coral Gables, and Doral. Local treating physicians at Jackson Memorial, Baptist Health, Mount Sinai, Mercy, and Kendall Regional are accessible for trial. Venue is a strategic decision affecting jury composition, available experts, and realistic settlement value.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is my case worth?

Honest answer: no one can tell you reliably in the first week. Case value depends on the nature and severity of the injuries, the strength of the liability evidence, the available insurance, the impact on your earnings and life, and the venue and jury pool. Counsel can estimate a range as the medical picture develops.

Will I have to go to court?

Most cases settle before trial. But the threat of trial is what produces fair settlements, so every case is prepared as if it will be tried.

How long does it take?

Most cases that resolve before trial take 12 to 24 months. More complex or catastrophic cases can take longer.

What does it cost?

Nothing upfront. We handle car crash cases on a contingency-fee basis and advance all costs of investigation, expert witnesses, and litigation. You owe nothing unless we recover.

If you have been hit by a car anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, call us at 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation — ideally within the first day or two after the crash.