South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Miami Grocery Store Slip and Falls

Published on: May 27, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you had a slip and fall at a Miami grocery store, Florida law puts the burden on you to prove the store either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition that caused your fall. This is a tougher standard than most people realize, and it’s the single biggest reason slip-and-fall cases at Publix, Winn-Dixie, Sedano’s, and Whole Foods locations across South Florida get denied.

The statute that governs these claims is Florida Statute § 768.0755, and it changed how grocery store cases work back in 2010.

What Florida Statute § 768.0755 Requires

Under § 768.0755, if you slip and fall on a transitory foreign substance in a business establishment, you must prove that the business establishment had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it. A transitory foreign substance is any temporary substance on the floor that isn’t supposed to be there — spilled milk, leaking produce water, a smashed grape, melted ice cream, or anything similar.

You can prove the store’s knowledge two ways:

Actual knowledge — an employee saw the spill, was told about it, or caused it themselves. This is the harder version to prove because it usually requires witness testimony or video.
Constructive knowledge — the condition existed long enough that, in the exercise of ordinary care, the store should have known about it, or the condition occurred with regularity and was therefore foreseeable.

Your Rights if You’ve Been Injured as a Passenger in a Miami Car Accident

Published on: May 17, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you were a passenger in a car accident in Miami, you can usually file a claim against multiple insurance policies — your driver’s, the other driver’s, and sometimes your own. Passengers also rarely face the comparative fault arguments that complicate driver claims, which often makes a passenger’s case stronger than the drivers’ own claims.

That’s true whether the crash happened on I-95, Bird Road, the Dolphin Expressway, or a side street in Little Havana.

How Passenger Insurance Claims Work in Florida

The first source of coverage is Personal Injury Protection (PIP) under Florida Statute § 627.736. PIP pays 80% of your medical bills and 60% of lost wages up to $10,000, regardless of fault. Where it comes from depends on your situation. If you own a car, your own PIP pays first, even though you weren’t driving. If you don’t own a car, the PIP on a resident relative’s auto policy may apply. If neither exists, the PIP on the car you were riding in covers you.

Can You Sue a Florida Bar That Served a Drunk Driver Who Hit You?

Published on: May 11, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In most cases, you cannot sue a Florida bar or restaurant just because it served alcohol to an adult who later caused a drunk-driving crash. Florida’s dram shop law is one of the narrowest in the country, and the rule applies whether the crash happened in Miami Beach, Brickell, or anywhere else in South Florida.

There are two exceptions, and they matter. If either applies, the establishment can be held liable alongside the drunk driver.

What Florida’s Dram Shop Law Actually Says

The governing statute is Florida Statute § 768.125. It says that a person who sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person of lawful drinking age shall not become liable for injury or damage caused by that person’s intoxication — except in two specific situations.

Were You Hit by a Rental Car in Miami?

Published on: May 2, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you were hit by a rental car in Miami, you can usually pursue compensation from the driver’s personal auto insurance, the rental company’s liability coverage, or your own PIP and uninsured motorist coverage — depending on the facts. South Florida sees this scenario constantly because Miami International draws millions of visitors a year, and rental-car crashes on I-95, the Palmetto Expressway, and the Dolphin Expressway are routine.

The complication is figuring out which policy applies and in what order. That’s where most rental-car claims get stuck.

Whose Insurance Pays After a Rental Car Crash

Florida is a no-fault state, so the first stop is always Personal Injury Protection (PIP) under Florida Statute § 627.736. PIP covers 80% of your medical bills and 60% of lost wages up to $10,000, regardless of who caused the crash. If you own a car, your own PIP pays first. If you don’t, the PIP on a resident relative’s policy may apply, or the rental driver’s PIP may step in.

Florida’s Permanent Injury Threshold: When You Can Sue After a Crash

Published on: April 28, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida is a no-fault state, and that one fact controls almost every Miami car accident case. Even when another driver clearly caused the crash and clearly caused your injuries, you cannot recover money for pain and suffering unless your injury crosses what Florida law calls the permanent injury threshold. Most clients have never heard of it before they walk into our office, and most of them are surprised by what it does and does not include.

The personal injury attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have handled South Florida car accident claims since 1976, and the threshold question is one of the first things we evaluate on every motor vehicle case. Whether the injury qualifies often determines whether the case is worth tens of thousands of dollars or substantially more.

What the Permanent Injury Threshold Actually Says

You Don’t Have To Give a Statement to Another Driver’s Insurance Company After a Florida Accident

Published on: April 23, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

After a Miami car crash, an adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company will almost always call within a day or two and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one. Florida law does not impose any duty on an injured person to provide a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s liability insurance carrier, and giving one almost always hurts your claim more than it helps.

The car accident attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have represented injured drivers and passengers across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties since 1976, and the early phone calls from adjusters are one of the most common ways people accidentally damage their own cases. The good news is that protecting yourself takes about thirty seconds—once you know the difference between your insurance company and theirs.

Your Insurance Company vs. the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Company

Your Legal Options After Being Ejected From a Vehicle in a Florida Crash

Published on: April 15, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

When someone is thrown from a vehicle in a Florida crash, the injuries are almost always catastrophic or fatal. A recent crash in Santa Rosa County made this brutally clear: a pickup truck carrying six people overturned after an intersection collision near Milton, and two 19-year-olds were ejected and killed at the scene. Three other young occupants were left with serious or critical injuries.

The car accident attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have represented Miami families dealing with the aftermath of serious and catastrophic injury crashes since 1976. Ejection cases raise a specific set of legal questions that families often do not know to ask—about seat belt evidence, vehicle defects, and how Florida’s comparative fault rule can affect what surviving family members recover.

Why Ejection Almost Always Means a Restraint Failure

Injured Passenger Rights After a Miami Car Crash

Published on: April 7, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you were an injured passenger in a Miami car accident caused by the driver of your own vehicle, you almost always have the right to file a claim against that driver’s insurance—even if the driver was a close friend, a family member, or someone who died in the crash. Florida law treats passengers as innocent victims of the driver’s negligence, and a recent fatal speeding crash on NW 135th Street near Opa-locka, where two women were left in critical condition after the driver lost control and was ejected, is a painful reminder of how often passengers are the ones left to deal with serious injuries.

The car accident attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have represented injured passengers across Miami-Dade County since 1976. The legal path forward is often clearer than people think—but the insurance and emotional dynamics are real, and they catch a lot of injured passengers off guard.

Yes, You Can Sue the Driver—Even If You Know Them

Who Is Liable After a Multi-Vehicle Crash in Miami-Dade?

Published on: March 30, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

A three-vehicle crash near Southwest 28th Street and Southwest 107th Avenue in southwest Miami-Dade on the night of March 29, 2026 left one woman dead and at least nine others injured, according to CBS Miami. Crashes like this raise a question that isn’t always easy to answer: when multiple cars are involved, who is actually responsible for your injuries?

How Liability Works When More Than Two Cars Collide

Liability in a multi-vehicle crash means legal responsibility for the damages caused — medical bills, lost wages, and other losses suffered by the people who were hurt. In a standard two-car accident, the analysis is relatively straightforward. When three or more vehicles are involved, the picture gets more complicated fast.

Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Florida? Here’s What You Need to Know

Published on: March 28, 2026 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Getting hit by a driver who has no insurance is more common in South Florida than most people realize — and it changes how you pursue compensation after a crash. Florida consistently ranks among the states with the highest percentage of uninsured drivers, so understanding your options before this happens matters.

Florida’s No-Fault System — and Why It Only Goes So Far

Florida is a no-fault insurance state, which means your own personal injury protection coverage — called PIP — pays for a portion of your medical bills and lost wages after a crash, regardless of who caused it. Under Florida Statute § 627.736, drivers are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 in PIP coverage.