Articles Posted in Car Accident

Last updated July 24, 2026 · Reviewed by Ronald David Rodman, a Florida personal injury attorney and Partner at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Coverage after a rideshare collision in Florida turns on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact. Florida Statute § 627.748 sets two separate sets of minimum liability limits for transportation network company drivers, and the distance between them is wide enough to decide what an injury claim is worth.

A driver who is logged on to the app but has not accepted a ride must carry at least $50,000 for bodily injury per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 in property damage, under Florida Statute § 627.748(7)(b). Once that same driver has accepted a trip and is engaged in a prearranged ride, the required coverage rises to at least $1 million under § 627.748(7)(c). Same driver, same intersection, twentyfold difference in what is available per injured person. Our rideshare accident attorneys start every one of these claims by establishing which of the two applied.

When a driver hits a cyclist and speeds off, the victim’s family can still recover money, often through the cyclist’s own auto insurance and through a wrongful death claim. In late June 2026, a 68-year-old cyclist riding in a marked bike lane on the Southeast 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale was killed when a driver struck her and left the scene. Cases like this raise a hard question for families across South Florida: what happens to the claim when the person who caused the crash runs.

The attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada handle fatal crash and wrongful death cases for families in Miami-Dade, Broward, and the surrounding counties, and a driver fleeing does not close off the family’s options.

Your Own Insurance Can Pay When the At-Fault Driver Is Long Gone

If you were hit by a wrong-way driver on I-95, you can usually hold that driver responsible for your medical bills and lost income, and a serious injury may let you pursue money for pain and suffering too. These crashes tend to happen late at night, and they often leave victims with severe injuries. A recent early-morning crash on the northbound express lanes of I-95 sent two people to Jackson Memorial Hospital, one of them in critical condition, after a driver headed south in the wrong direction.

The car accident attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have represented people hurt on South Florida highways since 1976. If you are dealing with an injury from a wrong-way crash, understanding how fault and insurance work in Florida helps you know what your claim is actually worth.

Why fault is usually clear when a driver goes the wrong way

When a driver hits someone on a Miami street and speeds off, the family left behind faces two problems at once: losing a loved one and having no one at the scene to answer for it. A hit-and-run pedestrian accident still gives that family real legal options, even while police are searching for a car and a suspect. The recent deadly crash on Northwest 17th Avenue, where a pedestrian was killed and the driver fled, is the kind of case that happens on South Florida roads more often than most people realize.

Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada has handled Miami-Dade pedestrian accident cases since 1976, including crashes where the at-fault driver was never caught.

Why a Driver Who Flees Faces Felony Charges in Florida

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.

Continue Reading ›

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.

Continue Reading ›

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

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