Miami-Dade County Car Accident Lawyer

Florida is a no-fault state, which means your own insurance pays the first slice of your medical bills no matter who caused the crash, and that benefit can vanish if you wait two weeks to see a doctor. Spencer Morgan Law handles auto accident claims for injured drivers, passengers, cyclists, and rideshare riders across Miami-Dade County and the rest of Florida, and a Miami-Dade County car accident lawyer has to work inside that no-fault system before a fault-based claim against the other driver even begins.

The deadlines are tighter than they used to be. The fault rules changed in 2023, and a driver who is found more than half responsible for a collision can now walk away with nothing. Add the size of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, the largest in the state, and the volume of traffic on the Palmetto, the Dolphin, I-95, and the Turnpike, and a car crash claim here deserves careful handling from the first week.

Why Choose Spencer Morgan Law for a Miami-Dade Car Accident Claim

Clients describe the experience in similar terms: the phone gets answered, questions get real answers, and updates arrive before they have to chase them. Several reviewers mention being helped with medical appointments within a day of calling, and others say every step of the case was explained in plain terms. That includes getting vehicles repaired, pursuing fair reimbursement when a car is a total loss, arranging needed medical care, and making sure medical bills are resolved fairly rather than left to follow the client home.

The firm’s auto results show what that looks like when a case is pushed. They include a $1,000,000 auto accident settlement, a $1,000,000 semi-truck crash result, and a $720,000 recovery that reached the limits of three separate insurance policies for two injured car accident victims. Many smaller cases tell their own story: policy limits recovered where the insurer had denied liability, a $100,000 recovery after a hit and run, and a rear-end collision where knee surgery was needed. Spanish-language services are available, consultations are confidential, and you pay nothing unless the firm recovers for you.

Car Crash Situations We Handle in Miami-Dade

• Rear-End and Intersection Collisions: The stop-and-go grind on I-95, the Dolphin Expressway, and Biscayne Boulevard produces constant rear-end impacts, and injuries like cervical disc damage and knee tears often show up weeks later rather than at the scene.
• Semi-Truck and Commercial Vehicle Crashes: Port of Miami freight and distribution traffic put large trucks on the same roads as commuters, and these cases can involve the driver, the carrier, and sometimes the company that loaded the cargo.
• Rideshare Passenger and Driver Injuries: Uber and Lyft trips are everywhere in Miami Beach, Brickell, and the airport corridor, and coverage depends on whether the app was on and whether a passenger was aboard.
• Hit-and-Run Crashes: When the other driver flees, recovery may run through your own uninsured motorist coverage, which makes your policy details central to the claim.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Collisions: Crosswalks in Downtown, Wynwood, Coconut Grove, and Little Havana see frequent conflicts between cars, cyclists, and people on foot, and scooter riders face the same exposure.
• Policy-Limits Cases: Florida’s minimum required liability coverage is thin, so serious injuries can exceed the at-fault driver’s policy, and the claim then turns on other available coverage and other responsible parties.
• Wrongful Death After a Crash: When a collision kills someone, the estate and surviving family members have separate categories of recovery, and the complaint must name every potential beneficiary.
• Crashes Involving Government Vehicles: Buses, county trucks, and municipal vehicles bring sovereign immunity rules, a recovery cap, and a written-notice process that private-driver cases never face.

What to Do in the Days After a Miami-Dade Crash

Get medical care within 14 days. That is not a suggestion tucked into your policy; the PIP statute pays nothing for treatment if your first visit falls outside that window. The full $10,000 in PIP benefits is only available when a qualified provider, such as a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse, certifies an emergency medical condition. Without that certification, benefits stop at $2,500. PIP pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages regardless of who was at fault, so the early medical visit and its paperwork matter more than most people realize.

At the scene, call 911, let the responding agency write a report, photograph the vehicles, the road, and any visible injuries, and get names and contact details for witnesses. Do not argue about blame. Do not tell the other driver’s insurer that you feel fine, and think carefully before giving any recorded statement. Adjusters are trained to collect early comments that later get quoted against you.

Fault now carries real weight. Under the comparative fault rule for crashes that occur after March 24, 2023, a person found more than 50 percent responsible for their own harm recovers nothing. At 50 percent or less, the award is reduced by their share. That makes evidence about speed, lane position, phone use, and signal timing decisive, and it is why preserving photos, dashcam footage, and witness names in the first days is so valuable.

Be careful with medical treatment arranged on a “pay later” basis. Florida now requires disclosure of letters of protection, including who referred you for the treatment, before you can claim those medical expenses, and juries may hear evidence about what providers were actually willing to accept. Treatment gaps and inflated bills hand insurers arguments. Keep every record, follow your doctors’ instructions, and tell your lawyer about every provider you see.

Claims worth more than $50,000 are filed in circuit court in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which serves Miami-Dade, with the Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center handling civil matters. Smaller auto negligence and PIP disputes between $8,001 and $50,000 go to county civil judges, who sit at locations around the county including Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Beach, and the north and south Dade justice centers. Appeals from circuit court go to the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami.

Deadlines and Damages That Shape a Florida Car Accident Case

For a negligence claim arising from a crash on or after March 24, 2023, the filing deadline is two years, down from the four years that applied before HB 837. Crashes before that date generally keep the four-year period. Wrongful death claims also generally run two years from the date of death. If a government entity is involved, a written claim has to be presented first, the agency typically has 180 days to respond, and recovery is limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the Legislature passes a claim bill.

Florida no longer applies joint and several liability in these cases, so each defendant is responsible only for its own percentage of fault. That matters when two cars and a commercial truck collide, because the allocation among them directly shapes what each insurer owes. A lawyer who understands how those percentages get argued can influence the outcome long before a courtroom.

Medical evidence drives value. Cases in the firm’s results include cervical disc replacement months after a crash, shoulder arthroscopy, wrist surgery, and knee surgery after a rear-end collision. Those timelines show why settling early, before treatment plateaus, can leave real money behind. When health insurance paid the bills, the amount that coverage was obligated to pay, plus your share, is what comes into evidence for past medical expenses, so how your care was billed affects the claim.

Questions Miami-Dade Drivers Ask After a Crash

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

For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, the general negligence deadline is two years. Earlier crashes generally keep the older four-year period. Wrongful death claims also run two years from the date of death.

Does PIP cover me even if the accident was my fault?

Yes. PIP pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages regardless of fault, up to a combined $10,000, with a $5,000 death benefit. You must get initial treatment within 14 days, and the full amount requires an emergency medical condition determination.

What happens if I was partly at fault?

If you are 50 percent or less at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing in a negligence case. Because the rule is so harsh, how fault gets documented early matters a great deal.

Will I have to pay anything upfront to hire the firm?

No. Spencer Morgan Law works so that you do not pay unless there is a recovery. Consultations are confidential.

Can I get my car repaired or replaced while the injury claim is pending?

Yes. Property damage is handled separately from the injury claim, and the firm helps clients get vehicles fixed or obtain fair reimbursement when a car is a total loss, without waiting for the injury case to finish.

What if the at-fault driver has only minimum insurance?

Required minimums are low compared with serious injuries. The case then looks at your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, other responsible parties such as an employer or vehicle owner, and any additional policies. The firm’s results include recoveries that reached the limits of multiple policies.

Does my claim change if the crash involved an Uber or Lyft?

It can. Available coverage depends on whether the driver was logged into the app and whether a passenger was in the car, and the rideshare company’s insurance may come into play. The firm has recovered for both passengers and drivers in rideshare crashes.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a crash with minimal car damage?

Often, yes. Low vehicle damage does not mean low injury, and the firm’s results include a $100,000 recovery for a car accident injury with minimal car damage. Insurers use photos of a barely scratched bumper to argue that nobody could be hurt.

What if the other driver fled the scene?

You may be able to recover through your own uninsured motorist coverage. Report the crash to police immediately, gather any witness or camera information, and notify your insurer promptly. The firm has secured policy-limits recoveries on hit-and-run cases.

How long will my case take?

It depends on the injury and the insurer’s stance. Cases that settle before suit move faster, while contested liability or serious surgeries stretch the timeline. Reviewers mention cases resolving in about a year, though that is not a promise for any particular claim.

Do I have to disclose a letter of protection from my doctor?

Yes. Florida requires disclosure of the letter, and whether you were referred for that treatment and by whom, before you can claim those expenses. Treating on that basis without careful planning can weaken a claim.

What if a county or city vehicle hit me?

You must present a written claim to the government entity before suing, recovery is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, and punitive damages and prejudgment interest are not available. The regular two-year filing period still applies, so the notice step cannot be allowed to run out the clock.

Serving Car Accident Clients Across Miami-Dade County

The firm represents injured drivers and passengers throughout Miami-Dade County, beginning with the city of Miami and its neighborhoods including Brickell, Downtown, Wynwood, Little Havana, Coconut Grove, and Allapattah. Coverage extends west to Doral and Sweetwater, north through Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Opa-locka, North Miami, and North Miami Beach, and across the bay to Miami Beach and Surfside. In the south, the firm serves clients in Coral Gables, Kendall, Pinecrest, South Miami, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, and Homestead. The firm’s work also reaches the rest of Florida when a crash or a client falls outside the county line.

Talk With a Miami-Dade Car Accident Attorney

The 14-day PIP window and the two-year filing deadline start running the day of the crash, and neither one waits for the other driver’s insurer to make up its mind. A Miami-Dade car accident attorney at Spencer Morgan Law can review your situation, explain how fault and coverage affect your claim, and handle the insurers so you can focus on recovering. Call to schedule a confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless the firm recovers for you, and Spanish-language help is available.