Orlando Car Accident Lawyer

Under Florida Statute section 627.736, you must obtain initial medical treatment from a qualified provider within 14 days of the accident in order to be eligible for PIP benefits at all.

The 14 day clock starts on the date of the crash and runs continuously. Weekends count. Holidays count. There is no extension for a provider who could not fit you in, and no exception because you felt fine at the scene and only started hurting in week three.

This is the single most common way people injured in Orlando crashes lose money they were entitled to. Soft tissue injuries and concussions frequently do not present symptoms for several days. People wait, assume the stiffness will pass, and by the time they see a doctor on day 17 the benefit is gone. Get evaluated within the first few days even if you think you are uninjured. It costs you nothing and it preserves everything.

Emergency medical condition: the difference between $2,500 and $10,000

Seeing a doctor inside 14 days keeps you eligible. It does not automatically unlock the full benefit.

To access the full $10,000, a qualifying provider must determine that you suffered an emergency medical condition. Florida Statute section 627.732 defines this as a condition with acute symptoms of sufficient severity that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to a bodily function, or serious dysfunction of a bodily organ or part.

If no emergency medical condition is documented, your PIP benefits are capped at $2,500. That is a $7,500 difference that turns on how your treatment is recorded in the first two weeks. It is one of the main reasons to involve an attorney early rather than after the bills arrive.

When can you step outside no-fault and sue the other driver?

No-fault covers your economic losses up to your policy limit. It does not compensate you for pain, suffering, mental anguish or inconvenience. To recover those, you have to step outside the no-fault system, and Florida sets a specific threshold for that.

Florida Statute section 627.737(2) allows an injured person to pursue non-economic damages from the at fault driver in four situations:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Death

Temporary pain, however genuine, does not clear the threshold on its own. If your injury falls into none of these categories, Florida generally limits you to economic damages paid through your own PIP coverage, and a claim against the at fault driver for pain and suffering will not survive.

Whether you meet the threshold is a medical question answered by your records, and defense lawyers attack it aggressively. Building that record properly from the first appointment forward is a large part of what we do on an Orlando car accident claim.

Who can be held liable for an Orlando car accident?

The other driver is the obvious defendant. They are frequently not the only one, and they are frequently not the one with meaningful coverage.

Orlando’s road network creates liability questions that do not come up everywhere. Interstate 4 through downtown, State Road 408, the Beachline and the Orange Blossom Trail carry a mix of daily commuters, commercial vehicles and visitors unfamiliar with the roads. Construction zones and lane shifts are a constant. When a crash involves a hazardous road condition, poor signage, a defective traffic signal or an unmarked construction hazard, a government entity or a road construction contractor may share responsibility.

Other parties we routinely investigate in Central Florida crashes:

• The vehicle’s owner where that is a different person from the driver, including employers and fleet owners
• An employer, where the at fault driver was working at the time
• A rideshare company, where the driver was logged into the app
• A manufacturer of a defective component, particularly brakes, tires and airbags
• A bar or restaurant that over served a driver who was later involved in a drunk driving crash
• A negligent repair shop or mechanic
• A government agency, including where a LYNX bus or other publicly owned vehicle was involved

Claims against a government entity in Florida carry their own procedural requirements and notice deadlines that are shorter and stricter than an ordinary claim. These are missed often, and missing one ends the claim regardless of fault. Identifying every liable party matters because commercial and government policies carry far higher limits than a typical personal auto policy, and that difference frequently determines what your case is actually worth.

Does being partly at fault reduce what you can recover?

Yes, and since 2023 the consequences are more severe than most people realize.

Florida now applies modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. If you are found to be more than 50 percent responsible for the crash, you recover nothing at all. If you are 50 percent or less at fault, you can still recover, but your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. A $200,000 award with a 30 percent fault finding against you pays $140,000.

Before House Bill 837 took effect, Florida used pure comparative negligence and an injured person could recover something even if they were mostly to blame. That is no longer the case, and it has changed how insurers approach these claims. Every insurance company now has a direct financial incentive to build a fault percentage against you, because pushing you past 50 percent eliminates their exposure completely.

This is why you should never accept an insurer’s assessment of fault, never give a recorded statement before speaking to an attorney, and never assume the police report’s conclusion is final. Crash reconstruction frequently produces a different answer than the initial report.

How long do you have to file a car accident lawsuit in Florida?

Two years from the date of the injury for negligence claims that accrued after March 24, 2023.

House Bill 837 cut this deadline in half. It was four years for decades, and a great deal of outdated guidance still says four years. Relying on that is catastrophic, because once the statute of limitations expires your right to pursue the claim is gone permanently no matter how strong the evidence is.

Two years is also less time than it sounds once a case is being prepared properly. Records have to be gathered, experts retained, liability investigated and damages documented before anything is filed. Wrongful death claims and claims against government entities run on different and shorter timelines again.

What compensation can you recover?

Where the permanent injury threshold is met, an Orlando car accident claim can include both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages

These are the quantifiable losses: emergency treatment, surgery, hospital stays, physical therapy, prescriptions, future medical care, lost wages, reduced earning capacity going forward, vehicle damage and out of pocket costs such as transport to appointments.

Non-economic damages

These cover pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life and the effect of a permanent injury on your relationships and daily function. In catastrophic cases, particularly those involving traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage, these frequently exceed the economic losses.

Punitive damages

Available only in limited circumstances where there is clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Drunk driving cases are the most common example. Punitive damages exist to punish and deter rather than to compensate.

What does it cost to hire an Orlando car accident attorney?

Nothing upfront, and nothing at all unless we recover money for you.

We work on a contingency fee. There is no hourly rate, no retainer and no invoice arriving while you are trying to recover. Our fee comes out of the recovery at the end, and if there is no recovery you owe us no fee. The initial consultation is free and carries no obligation.

Types of Orlando car accident cases we handle

• Rear-end collisions
• Intersection and failure to yield crashes
• Head-on collisions
• Rollover accidents
• Hit-and-run crashes
• Drunk and impaired driving accidents
• Distracted and texting driver crashes
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
• Rideshare accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers
• Commercial truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle collisions
• Multi-vehicle pileups on I-4 and the expressway system
• Fatal crashes and wrongful death claims

Common injuries in Orlando car accidents

Severity is not always obvious at the scene. Adrenaline masks a great deal, and several serious injuries present late.

• Whiplash and soft tissue neck and back injuries
• Herniated and bulging discs
• Traumatic brain injury and concussion
• Spinal cord injury and paralysis
• Broken bones and complex fractures
• Internal bleeding and organ damage
• Shoulder and knee injuries requiring surgery
• Significant scarring, burns and disfigurement
• Post-traumatic stress and anxiety following a serious crash

Delayed onset injuries are exactly why the 14 day rule causes so much damage. A concussion that becomes apparent in week two is still a real injury, but if you were not evaluated inside the window the benefit is already forfeited.

What to do after a car accident in Orlando

1. Call 911 and report the crash. A Florida Highway Patrol or Orlando Police Department report creates the objective record your claim will be built on.
2. Get medical attention immediately, and in every case within 14 days. Tell the provider about every symptom, including ones that seem minor.
3. Photograph everything: vehicle positions, damage to all vehicles, skid marks, road conditions, signage, traffic signals and your visible injuries.
4. Collect names and contact details for the other driver, any passengers and every witness. Witnesses become unreachable quickly.
5. Notify your own insurer that the crash occurred, but do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with an attorney.
6. Keep every bill, receipt, referral and appointment record, and note every day of work missed.
7. Contact an attorney before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers are made before the full extent of an injury is known, and accepting one ends the claim.

Why work with our Orlando team

We were founded in Florida in 1988 and our attorneys have recovered billions for injured clients. We know the Orange County court system, the local defense firms and the tactics the insurers operating in Central Florida use.

Our Orlando office is at 200 S. Orange Ave, Suite 2000, Orlando, FL 32801, and if you cannot come to us we will come to you at home, in hospital or at your workplace. Remote and virtual appointments are available. Someone is available to answer questions 24 hours a day, including nights and weekends. Se habla español.

You can reach our Orlando office directly at 407-634-2274 or the firm at 1-800-77-LEGAL. Learn more about our Orlando personal injury practice or review our case results.

Frequently asked questions