Pensacola Car Accident Lawyer
Quick Answer
After a Florida car accident, report the crash, get medical care within 14 days to preserve PIP benefits, photograph everything, and avoid recorded statements to the other driver's insurer. Claims above the no-fault threshold proceed against the at-fault driver, generally within two years.
Key Takeaways
- Florida PIP pays up to $10,000 only if you are treated within 14 days.
- Serious permanent injury opens a claim beyond no-fault against the at-fault driver.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is often the largest source of recovery.
Florida's No-Fault System and Its Limits
Florida drivers carry Personal Injury Protection, which pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost wages up to $10,000, regardless of fault — but only if initial treatment occurs within 14 days of the crash. Care classified as non-emergency is capped at $2,500.
PIP rarely covers a serious crash. Once the injury meets the statutory threshold of significant and permanent injury, scarring, disfigurement, or death, a claim proceeds directly against the at-fault driver for the full measure of damages, including pain and suffering.
Crashes on Pensacola Roads
Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 98, Davis Highway, Nine Mile Road, and the Pensacola Bay Bridge generate a steady share of Escambia and Santa Rosa County collisions, with high-speed rear-end impacts, left-turn crashes at signalized intersections, and tourist-season congestion near the beaches.
Crash scene evidence disappears quickly. Signal timing data, nearby business video, and vehicle event data recorders are often overwritten within days or weeks, so preservation letters go out early.
Finding Every Layer of Coverage
A single crash may involve the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability policy, an employer's commercial policy if the driver was working, a vehicle owner's policy, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and medical payments coverage. Stacking and resident-relative provisions can add limits people do not know they have.