A car accident lawyer takes on the insurance company for you while you recover, and puts a real number on what your claim is worth. Aside from the physical pain, you now have medical bills piling up, time lost from work and an insurer whose interests are not yours, and you cannot reasonably be expected to handle the case from start to finish alone. The mental toll is only part of what a trusted personal injury lawyer takes off your plate.
Your PIP benefits cover up to $10,000, but only 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages (Fla. Stat. s. 627.736(1)). If you've sustained serious injuries, you know that coverage will not make enough of a dent in your past and future medical bills, time missed from work, and pain and suffering. A personal injury attorney will be able to help you to calculate a monetary amount for your damages to bring to the insurance company.
More often than not, the insurance company will put their own interests first, offering you minimal compensation or even moving to dismiss your case based on their findings. A trusted auto accident attorney can anticipate arguments and tactics used by the insurance company, and can use their extensive background in personal injury litigation to provide your case with a strong argument. A personal injury attorney's job is to protect your right to fair compensation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions & Answers
Here are some of the more common questions that we hear from our clients in Florida.
The process begins with documenting the damage, including taking photographs and gathering any relevant evidence. Next, report the incident to your insurance company and submit the claim. After a car crash caused by another driver, you can claim against that driver's property damage liability coverage, which Florida Statute 324.022 requires at a minimum of $10,000, or through your own collision coverage. A lawyer can review the insurer's valuation and take over the claim if the insurer delays or underpays.
A property damage claim can include the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged property, loss of use while it is out of service (such as a rental car), and, for a vehicle, the loss in market value that remains after a proper repair. Emotional distress is generally not recoverable in a Florida claim for damage to property alone. The specific damages depend on the circumstances of each case.
For a Florida homeowners or other property insurance claim, you must give the insurer notice of the claim within one year of the date of loss, and notice of any supplemental claim within 18 months of the date of loss (Florida Statute 627.70132(2)). A lawsuit against the insurer for breach of a property insurance policy must be filed within five years of the date of loss (Florida Statute 95.11(2)(e)). Both periods run from the date of loss, not from when you noticed the damage. For a hurricane or other weather event, the date of loss is the date the storm made landfall or the event was verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Florida Statute 627.70132(3)).
Yes. If you carry collision coverage, it pays for damage to your own car regardless of who caused the crash, minus your deductible, so you can claim on it even when the crash was your fault. A claim against the other driver is different: under Florida's modified comparative negligence rule, Fla. Stat. 768.81(6), you recover nothing from them if you were more than 50 percent at fault, and anything at or below that line is reduced by your share of the blame. Every crash is different, so have a lawyer review the facts before you accept the insurer's fault finding.
A lawyer can guide you through the process of filing a claim, negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf, and represent you in court if necessary. They can also help ensure that you receive fair compensation for your damages.
Our property damage representation is entirely contingent on our success. If we don't recover money from the insurance company, you won't pay a dime. You will not owe attorney's fees or costs unless we recover for you.
You should gather as much evidence as possible, including photographs of the damage, the crash report and the other party's insurance information if a vehicle was involved, repair estimates, receipts for any related expenses, and other documentation supporting your claim. A lawyer can advise you on what specific information will be most helpful for your case.
Typical personal injury cases are car and truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, medical malpractice and wrongful death. In a Florida car accident case, Fla. Stat. 627.737(2) lets you recover pain and suffering from the at-fault driver only if your injury falls into one of these four categories:
Injuries Involving Significant/Permanent Loss Of An Important Bodily Function
The more severe your injury is, the higher your compensation is likely to be. These injuries can include loss of motion or function in an extremity, loss of hearing, and more. How much the damage will affect you in your daily life moving forward is also part of the consideration. For example, if it will affect your employment or role as a caretaker.
Injuries Considered Permanent Within A Reasonable Degree Of Medical Probability
An injury that is permanent within a reasonable degree of medical probability is one your doctors expect will not fully heal. These injuries are taken particularly seriously in a personal injury case. If you have a lasting impairment because of someone else's negligence, a personal injury lawyer can document it in the form the statute requires.
Injuries Involving Significant/Permanent Scarring Or Physical Disfigurement
You may have an injury that does not impair you physically, yet results in significant scarring or disfigurement. This is often seen in the case of burns and animal attacks, though it may result from any accident. This type of injury can cause psychological trauma, for which you are most likely entitled to compensation.
Death
When an accident causes a death, the personal representative of the estate can bring a wrongful death claim under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, Fla. Stat. 768.16 to 768.26, whether the death came from a drunk driver, medical malpractice or another act of negligence.
Florida's personal injury threshold is set by Florida Statute 627.737(2): to recover pain and suffering from an at-fault driver after a car accident, your injury must involve a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Medical bills and lost wages beyond your PIP benefits can be claimed without meeting that threshold. Separately, every personal injury case must meet the four legal elements below, and the lawyers at Weinstein Legal Team examine each of them when valuing a claim.
Elements Of A Personal Injury Case
In order for a personal injury case in Florida to be viable, it must meet the following four legal standards:
Duty Of Care
In order to have a case, the defendant must have a legal duty of care to the plaintiff. For example, a driver has a legal duty of care to all other drivers. The proprietor of a business has a legal duty of care for the safety of individuals entering their business.
Failure To Exercise Reasonable Care
Once the duty of care has been established, the plaintiff must be able to demonstrate that the defendant breached it. For example, that the driver was careless or that a doctor deviated from sound medical practices.
Causation
The third element of a personal injury case is to show that the defendant’s failure to exercise due care resulted in the accident in question. For instance, a driver running a red light who hits another vehicle caused that accident.
Damages Suffered
The state of Florida allows for economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Economic damages include tangible costs, such as medical bills, lost wages, etc. Non-economic damages are physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and trauma. Punitive damages are not an element of the claim. They are awarded on top of the other damages, and only where clear and convincing evidence shows intentional misconduct or gross negligence (Florida Statute 768.72(2)).
Our attorneys at Weinstein Legal Team will review your case during the initial free consultation to determine whether all four elements are present. Call today to speak with one of our personal injury attorneys.
What you do in the first minutes after an accident shapes both your safety and your recovery. By following these steps, you can help to protect your safety and preserve valuable evidence for your legal case:
Get To A Position Of Safety
Before you do anything else, make sure you are safe. That often means staying where you are, but if you are in danger, move somewhere you are not.
Check On Injuries
Assess your physical condition and the welfare of others who may have been hurt in the same accident. For instance, if you’re in a car accident, check on your passengers and others who were involved in the accident.
Call 911
When you call 911, the dispatcher will want to know your location, the nature of your emergency, the type of injuries involved, and additional information. Try to remain calm and provide the information that you are able to. Through September 30, 2026, notify law enforcement immediately after a crash involving injury, death or apparent property damage of at least $500. The property-damage threshold increases to $2,000 on October 1, 2026, under chapter 2026-39. Give your name, address and registration number to the other driver under Florida Statute 316.062.
Take Images Or Video With Your Cellphone
For personal injury cases, one of the biggest advantages of the modern age is the ability to preserve accident scene evidence immediately. From a position of safety, take pictures or video of property damage, injuries, debris, the scene as a whole, and any signs or geographic identifying information.
Gather Witness Information
Witnesses often leave after they are sure that accident victims are no longer in peril. Ask witnesses to wait until first responders arrive or ask them for their contact information. Make sure to preserve this information for your attorney and your case.
Allow EMTs To Examine You
If rescue units have been dispatched, allow them to examine you. If they recommend that you go to the hospital, follow their advice. Be sure to follow up with your own doctor. This will establish a baseline for your injuries.
Call Weinstein Legal Team
Before you file a claim with your insurance company or speak to an adjuster from the at-fault party’s insurer, contact Weinstein Legal Team to speak with our team of personal injury attorneys. Attorneys at Weinstein Legal Team can begin representing you immediately and can help you avoid some of the common missteps that accident victims often make. Call now for a free consultation.
A DUI arrest in Florida starts two separate proceedings: the criminal case in court and an administrative license suspension by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), the agency most people call the DMV.
The officer takes your license at the arrest and issues a 10-day temporary permit. Under Fla. Stat. 322.2615(1)(b), you have 10 days from the date on the notice of suspension to request a formal or informal review hearing, or to ask for a review of eligibility for a hardship license under Fla. Stat. 322.271(7). If you do nothing, the suspension takes effect automatically when the permit expires: 6 months for a first breath or blood result of 0.08 or higher (1 year if you have a prior suspension) and 1 year for a first refusal (18 months for a second). Drivers under 21 face a separate 6-month suspension at 0.02 or higher under Fla. Stat. 322.2616, and a commercial driver at 0.04 or higher while driving a commercial vehicle faces disqualification under Fla. Stat. 322.62 and 322.61.
At a formal review, a hearing officer decides by a preponderance of the evidence whether the officer had probable cause to stop and arrest you and whether you had an unlawful alcohol level or refused a lawful test. Our Florida DUI lawyers from Weinstein Legal Team can represent you at that hearing, subpoena and question the arresting officer, and challenge the breath or blood test results.
Under Florida Statute 316.193, the aggravating circumstances that raise DUI penalties are a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.15 or higher, a passenger under 18 in the vehicle, causing property damage or injury to another person, causing serious bodily injury, causing a death, and prior DUI convictions. Speeding is not a DUI enhancement in Florida, and leaving the scene of a crash is charged as a separate offense on top of the DUI.
With a 0.15 level or a minor passenger, a first conviction carries a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months in jail instead of 6 (s. 316.193(4)). A third DUI within 10 years, a DUI causing serious bodily injury, and DUI manslaughter are felonies that carry state prison time.
A second conviction within 5 years means a driver's license revocation of at least 5 years, and a third within 10 years at least 10 years (s. 322.28(2)(a)).
Even a first DUI is expensive once fines, court costs, DUI school, license reinstatement fees and higher insurance premiums are added up. Talk to a DUI lawyer at Weinstein Legal Team before your first court date.
A first DUI in Florida is a misdemeanor under Florida Statute 316.193, and the penalties rise with each prior conviction, a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.15 or higher, a passenger under 18, or a crash that injures someone.
A first DUI conviction with no aggravating factors carries:
- A fine of $500 to $1,000 ($1,000 to $2,000 if your blood or breath alcohol level was 0.15 or higher or a person under 18 was in the vehicle).
- Up to six months in jail (up to nine months with those aggravating factors). There is no mandatory jail time for a first conviction.
- Probation of up to one year with at least 50 hours of community service.
- Driver license revocation of 180 days to one year under Florida Statute 322.28(2)(a)1, on top of any administrative suspension for a breath test of 0.08 or higher or a refusal.
- A 10-day impoundment or immobilization of your vehicle.
- DUI school with a substance abuse evaluation, and treatment if the evaluation calls for it.
- An ignition interlock device for at least six months if your level was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the vehicle, and at the court's discretion for any first conviction at 0.08 or higher.
- FR-44 insurance for three years, with liability limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per crash and $50,000 for property damage (Florida Statute 324.023).
A second conviction carries a $1,000 to $2,000 fine, up to nine months in jail and a one-year ignition interlock, plus at least 10 days in jail and a five-year license revocation if it is within five years of the first. A third DUI within 10 years of a prior conviction and any fourth DUI are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. A DUI that causes serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony, and DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of four years in prison.
- You do not have to do field sobriety tests
- You do not have to provide a breath sample; however, refusing means a one-year license suspension (18 months for a second refusal) under Fla. Stat. 316.1932, and a first refusal of a breath or urine test is now a second-degree misdemeanor under Fla. Stat. 316.1939 (up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine)
- You don’t have to speak to the officers about anything other than your biographical and contact information
- Don’t provide evidence to the police
- Provide your name, registration, insurance, and be respectful
Florida's legal limit is a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 (Florida Statute 316.193(1)). At or above 0.08 you can be convicted of DUI without any other proof of impairment; below it you can still be convicted if the state proves your normal faculties were impaired. A level of 0.15 or higher brings a higher fine and a longer maximum jail term (Florida Statute 316.193(4)). A driver under 21 with a level of 0.02 or higher faces an administrative license suspension of six months for a first violation (Florida Statute 322.2616), which is separate from a DUI charge. A commercial driver may not drive with any alcohol in their body and is placed out of service for 24 hours; at 0.04 or higher they also face a one-year disqualification from commercial driving (Florida Statutes 322.62 and 322.61(3)).
An officer's observations can support a DUI charge even when your BAC is below 0.08, because Fla. Stat. 316.193(1)(a) makes it a crime to drive while your normal faculties are impaired by alcohol or drugs, with no minimum BAC. Those observations usually include erratic driving, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, or poor performance on field sobriety exercises. A DUI defense lawyer can challenge how subjective those observations are, how the field sobriety exercises were given, and the officer's interpretation of them in court.
A first DUI conviction in Florida carries, under Fla. Stat. 316.193, a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to 6 months in jail, probation of up to 1 year, at least 50 hours of community service, a 10-day vehicle impoundment, and DUI school with a substance abuse evaluation. The court must also revoke your license for 180 days to 1 year under Fla. Stat. 322.28(2)(a)1. If your breath or blood alcohol level was 0.15 or higher or a passenger under 18 was in the car, Fla. Stat. 316.193(4) raises the fine to $1,000 to $2,000 and the maximum jail term to 9 months and requires an ignition interlock device for at least 6 months. In some cases the prosecutor agrees to reduce the charge to reckless driving under Fla. Stat. 316.192, which avoids the mandatory DUI penalties; whether that is available depends on the evidence in your case.
Refusing a breath, blood or urine test after a DUI arrest has three consequences in Florida. Under the implied consent law (Fla. Stat. s. 316.1932), your driver's license is suspended for one year for a first refusal and 18 months if you have refused before, and the refusal itself can be used as evidence against you at trial. Since October 1, 2025, a first refusal of a breath or urine test is also a second-degree misdemeanor under s. 316.1939, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The refusal does deny the prosecution a chemical test result, so the state has to prove impairment from the officer's observations, video and field sobriety exercises instead. One of our DUI lawyers can explain the potential consequences and strategies following a refusal, possibly using the lack of chemical evidence as a part of your defense strategy.
Yes. A DUI can affect a professional license and, for non-citizens, immigration status. Florida health care licensees must report a DUI conviction or plea, including a plea with adjudication withheld, to their board in writing within 30 days (Florida Statute 456.072(1)(x)), and the board can discipline for a crime related to the practice of the profession. Real estate licensees must report a felony plea or conviction to the Florida Real Estate Commission within 30 days (Florida Statute 475.25(1)(p)), and The Florida Bar can discipline a lawyer for a criminal conviction. A single misdemeanor DUI is usually not by itself a deportable offense. A DUI arrest or conviction within the previous five years can lead to prudential revocation of a nonimmigrant visa under 9 FAM 403.11-3 and 403.11-5(B), subject to the Department's procedures and exceptions. A DUI involving drugs, a child passenger, or serious injury can carry heavier immigration consequences. Discuss travel and immigration consequences with immigration counsel before accepting a plea or traveling. Tell your DUI attorney about any license or immigration status before you accept a plea, because the consequences follow from what you plead to.
I would like to thank Weinstein Legal doing a great job with my accident case. They were great communicators and very organized. I will highly recommend this firm to friends and family.
Barbara Douglas-Bullard
Excellent and professional service. Tina was amazing at assisting us and went beyond her call of duty. I highly recommend this firm for your legal needs.
Marlon Rizo
Excellent, professional Law Firm. Attorney Deneb Martinez and Ney Almonte are the standard of professionalism. Glad they helped out in our time of need.
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I would like to thank Weinstein Legal doing a great job with my accident case. They were great communicators and very organized. I will highly recommend this firm to friends and family.
Barbara Douglas-Bullard
