South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

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.

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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.

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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

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

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