Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Florida
At Tuttle Larsen Injury Attorneys, we proudly stand up for the rights of injured victims in Vero Beach and the surrounding areas.
The first hour after a crash produces most of the evidence a claim will ever have. What gets recorded, said, and reported in that window tends to determine what can be proven a year later.
What Florida Law Requires at the Scene
Two obligations apply regardless of fault, and neither is optional.
Under section 316.062, Florida Statutes, a driver involved in a crash causing injury, death, or damage to an attended vehicle must give their name, address, and vehicle registration number to the other parties, show their license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport for treatment when it is apparently needed.
Leaving before meeting those duties carries serious consequences. Under section 316.027, Florida Statutes, a driver in a crash resulting in injury must stop at or near the scene and remain until those obligations are satisfied. Willful failure to do so is a felony, and the penalties escalate sharply when the crash caused serious injury or death.
Steps in the First Thirty Minutes
Priorities in order, assuming you are able to act.
- Check for injuries and call 911. Request medical response if anyone reports pain, not only visible injury.
- Move to safety if the vehicles are drivable and blocking traffic. If not, stay clear of the roadway rather than standing beside the cars.
- Report the crash. An officer’s investigation produces the report that anchors the claim, and injury crashes require one.
- Exchange information as the statute requires, including insurance details.
- Photograph everything before vehicles move. Both cars from multiple angles, license plates, the position of the vehicles, debris, skid marks, traffic controls, and the roadway itself.
- Collect witness names and phone numbers. Witnesses leave quickly, and the crash report does not always capture them.
What Not to Say
Apologizing at a crash scene is instinctive and costly. A statement that sounds like courtesy reads later as an admission, and it will appear in the adjuster’s file.
The same applies to describing your condition. Adrenaline masks symptoms, and telling anyone you feel fine before you have been examined creates an argument that any injury reported afterward came from something else. Neck, back, and head injuries commonly surface twenty-four to seventy-two hours later.
Limit the conversation to the information the statute requires. Discussion of fault, speed, or what you were doing beforehand belongs with the investigating officer and, later, with counsel.
The Fourteen-Day Medical Deadline
Florida’s no-fault system requires initial medical treatment within fourteen days of the crash for personal injury protection benefits to apply. Missing that window forfeits coverage regardless of how serious the injury turns out to be.
Get evaluated promptly even when symptoms seem minor. Beyond preserving the benefit, prompt records establish the connection between the crash and the injury, which is the connection every insurer eventually questions. Delays and later gaps in care are the two most common openings for the argument that a condition resolved or came from elsewhere, a problem that shapes whiplash claims in particular.
Getting the Crash Report
Florida law enforcement files crash reports with the state, and copies are available through the Florida Crash Portal. Reports remain confidential to non-parties for sixty days after filing, though people involved in the crash can obtain them sooner with proper identification.
If no officer investigated and the crash caused property damage requiring a report, the driver must submit a written report to the state within ten days.
Read the report when it arrives. Officers make errors in diagrams, vehicle positions, and witness details, and corrections are far easier to pursue early. Keep in mind that the report is a starting point rather than proof, since Florida law makes crash reports and the statements drivers give for them inadmissible at trial.
In the Days That Follow
Several things need attention before they become problems.
Notify your own insurer promptly, since policies require it. Be careful with the other driver’s carrier, which will call quickly and request a recorded statement you have no obligation to provide. Those calls frequently supply the fault theory an insurer argues for the rest of the claim, and how insurance companies build that record deserves attention before you agree to one.
Preserve what you can. Do not repair or dispose of the vehicle before it has been documented, since event data recorders hold speed and braking information that leaves with the car. Keep every bill, note every missed workday, and record how the injury affects daily life. What gets documented early is what remains available when the claim is valued.
Talk to a Florida Personal Injury Attorney
The decisions that shape a claim get made in the first days, usually by people who have never been through this before. Tuttle Larsen Injury Attorneys has handled crash claims across the Treasure Coast and Space Coast for more than 55 years combined. A car accident lawyer from our office can take over communication with the carriers and send the preservation demands that stop evidence from disappearing. We represent people injured in collisions throughout Brevard County and in rideshare crashes across the region. If you were hurt in a crash, contact our office to discuss your options. Cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, and consultations are free.
