Free Guide - From a North Florida Trial Attorney
The first two weeks after a crash decide more about your claim than most people ever learn. This is the plain-English version of what Attorney Jeff Soud has told clients for more than 30 years: what to do, in what order, and why each step matters.
Written by Attorney Jeff Soud, Florida Bar member. Last updated July 2026. General information, not legal advice.
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Each one protects something the insurance company would rather you lose.
Move out of traffic if you can, check on everyone involved, and call 911. Ask for police even for a "minor" crash. The crash report becomes one of the most important documents in your claim, and injuries that feel minor at the scene often are not.
Vehicle positions, damage to every car, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, road conditions, and your visible injuries. Get the other driver's license, insurance card, and tag, plus names and phone numbers of witnesses. This evidence disappears within minutes of the tow truck arriving.
Florida's no-fault law generally requires you to get medical treatment within 14 days of the crash to use your PIP benefits, which cover up to $10,000 of medical care. Wait 15 days and that coverage can be gone. Go even if you "feel okay" - adrenaline masks real injuries.
Your policy requires prompt notice, and reporting to your own company does not hurt your claim. Stick to the basic facts of when and where. You are not required to guess about fault or describe your injuries in detail.
The other driver's insurance company will likely call within days, sounding friendly and helpful. Their adjuster's job is to document reasons to pay you less. You are under no obligation to give them a recorded statement, and you should not do it before talking to a lawyer.
Save every bill, record, receipt, and photo. Go to every appointment. Gaps in treatment are the single most common weapon insurers use to argue you were not really hurt. Your consistency now is your case's strength later.
Early settlement offers are calculated before anyone knows what your injuries really are. Once you sign a release, the claim is over forever, even if you need surgery later. A free consultation costs you nothing and tells you what you are actually giving up.
From Attorney Jeff Soud
The insurance company started working the moment the crash was reported. Adjusters are trained professionals who handle thousands of claims. You have never done this before. That gap is exactly what early offers and recorded statement requests are designed to exploit.
Florida's rules are stricter than most people realize. The 14-day PIP treatment window, a general two-year deadline to file most negligence lawsuits, and a comparative fault system that reduces your recovery by your share of blame. Each of these can quietly shrink or end a claim before you know it existed.
Many at-fault drivers carry little or no bodily injury coverage. Florida does not require it. That makes your own uninsured motorist coverage critical, and it makes finding every available policy - the driver's, the vehicle owner's, an employer's - a core part of what a lawyer does for you.
None of this requires you to become an expert. It requires one phone call. Bring us the crash report, your insurance policy, and what has happened so far. We will tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer at all. Some people do not, and we say so.
Florida's no-fault (PIP) law generally requires you to receive medical treatment within 14 days of the crash to use your PIP benefits, which cover up to $10,000 in medical expenses regardless of fault. If you wait longer than 14 days for your first treatment, that coverage can be lost.
Yes. Adrenaline masks pain, and common crash injuries like soft tissue damage, concussions, and disc injuries often surface days later. Getting checked promptly protects both your health and your PIP coverage under the 14-day rule.
No. You are not required to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement, and you should not do so before speaking with a lawyer. Their adjuster's role is to minimize what the company pays on your claim.
Most Florida negligence claims generally must be filed within two years of the accident, though deadlines vary with the facts and case type - and accidents that happened before March 24, 2023 may fall under Florida's older four-year rule. Evidence disappears much faster than that, so talk to a lawyer well before any deadline approaches.
You can generally still recover in Florida if you were not more than 50 percent at fault, with your recovery reduced by your share. Do not accept an insurance adjuster's fault assessment as final - fault is an argument, not a fact, until the evidence is examined.
Nothing. The consultation is free, and if we take your case we work on a contingency fee - no fee unless we win. Call (904) 353-9000, or call or text the SMART Line™ at (904) 639-5308 anytime.
Hurt in a specific kind of crash? See our pages on car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents. For injuries and repair, see injuries and treatment and vehicle repair.
Every case is different, and the guide can only take you so far. The consultation is free, the assessment is honest, and there is no fee unless we win your case.
Office: (904) 353-9000