These guides explain how Florida injury law actually works in practice, written for people who have just been hurt rather than for other lawyers. Nothing here is legal advice about your situation, because that requires knowing your facts. What it can do is tell you which questions matter and which clocks are already running.
Guides
Florida’s Two-Year Injury Deadline: What Changed in 2023
Florida cut the filing deadline for most negligence claims from four years to two. What the change covers, which claims run on shorter clocks, and what to do if your accident was recent.
Florida’s 14-Day PIP Deadline After a Crash
Personal injury protection can be denied if you wait too long to get care. What the fourteen-day rule covers, and how it differs from the two-year lawsuit deadline.
Florida Government Claim Notice: Suing a City, County, or State Entity
Injury claims against a public bus, government vehicle, or dangerous public property usually require written pre-suit notice first. Missing it can end the claim.
Florida’s 51% Fault Rule: Modified Comparative Negligence
More than half at fault usually means no recovery in most negligence cases filed after March 24, 2023. How modified comparative negligence works, and why insurers fight over a few percentage points.
Start Here If You Were Just Injured
Four things matter in the first fortnight, and three of them are easy to get wrong.
Get medical care within 14 days. In a crash, personal injury protection pays the first medical bills regardless of who was at fault, but only if you seek care inside that window. Miss it and those benefits can be denied entirely, which is a self-inflicted problem no lawyer can undo afterwards.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer. You are not required to, and adjusters are trained to ask questions that narrow a claim. Reporting the incident to your own insurer is different, and your policy usually requires it.
Photograph the scene before it changes. Lighting, signage, a spill, a missing handrail, the position of vehicles: all of it is repaired, cleaned or repainted quickly, and a photograph taken on the day frequently decides a case months later.
Assume a deadline is running. Most Florida negligence claims arising after March 2023 must be filed within two years, but that is the general case rather than the whole picture, and several categories run much shorter.
The Three Rules Behind Almost Every Florida Claim
The two-year deadline. House Bill 837 cut the limitation period for most negligence causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023 from four years to two. The date that matters is the date of injury, not the date you file. Our guide to the two-year deadline covers which claims run differently.
The 51 percent bar. Florida applies modified comparative negligence. A person found more than 50 percent at fault generally recovers nothing at all; at 50 percent or less, damages are reduced by their share. That single rule is why insurers work so hard to push fault onto the injured person, and why it is contested in almost every car accident claim. Our guide to the 51 percent rule explains how the fight works in practice.
No-fault, and its limits. Florida requires personal injury protection but does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage at all. In a serious crash the at-fault driver’s policy is often exhausted immediately, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy is so often the claim that matters. PIP itself usually requires care within fourteen days; see our 14-day PIP guide.
Looking for Something Specific?
If you want the detail for a particular kind of claim rather than the general rules, the practice area pages cover 37 claim types and how each is built. If you want to know how a case works where you live, including which courthouse would hear it, the city guides cover that county by county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is anything on this page legal advice?
No. These guides explain how Florida injury law generally works, but advice about your situation depends on your facts, and no article can substitute for that. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. A free case review will give you an answer grounded in what actually happened to you.
How long do I really have to file an injury claim in Florida?
For most negligence claims arising after March 24, 2023 the deadline is two years from the date of injury, reduced from four. Several categories run differently: medical malpractice has its own pre-suit requirements and a statute of repose, claims against government entities require written pre-suit notice, and cruise claims are often governed by a ticket contract with a one-year window.
I think I was partly at fault. Is it worth calling?
Usually yes. Florida applies modified comparative negligence, so you can still recover if you are found 50 percent or less at fault, with damages reduced by your share. Fault is also what insurers argue about most, and their first assessment is rarely the final one.
What does it cost to speak to Alegra Law?
Nothing. Consultations are free and we work on contingency, so there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover. Clients may remain responsible for costs and expenses as described in the written fee agreement, and all fee terms are provided in writing before you sign.