Car accident in West Palm Beach: what to do in the first 14 days

The tow truck pulls away, the officer hands you a slip with a case number, and suddenly you are standing on the shoulder of Okeechobee Boulevard with a sore neck and no plan. Florida does not give injured drivers much time to get organized. One deadline in particular, the 14-day medical rule for Personal Injury Protection, quietly runs out on people who were too busy or too stubborn to see a doctor. Here is what the first two weeks should look like, in roughly the order things come up.

Do I really have to see a doctor if I only feel stiff?

Yes, and the reason is both medical and financial. Florida’s no-fault law says your PIP medical benefits are available only if you receive initial services and care within 14 days of the crash (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)). Start on day 15 and the insurer can refuse to pay any of it, even though you paid premiums for that coverage.

The first visit has to be with a provider the statute recognizes: a hospital or emergency transport, a medical doctor or osteopath, a dentist, a chiropractic physician, or a physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse working within that system. In Palm Beach County that includes the emergency departments at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center and JFK Medical Center North Campus, plus the urgent care centers found across the county. A massage therapist or acupuncturist does not qualify as the first stop.

There is a second hurdle. The full $10,000 in PIP medical coverage applies only if a qualifying provider, such as an M.D., D.O., dentist, physician assistant or APRN, determines that you had an emergency medical condition. If a qualifying provider finds you did not, medical benefits stop at $2,500 (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)3–4). Tell the doctor every symptom, including the ones that seem minor, so the chart reflects what actually happened to you.

Which agency has my crash report?

That depends on where the collision happened. Palm Beach County has dozens of police agencies, and the one that came to the scene is the one that wrote the report.

Where the crash happened	Agency that usually writes the report
City streets in West Palm Beach, such as Clematis Street, Australian Avenue or Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard	West Palm Beach Police Department
Unincorporated Palm Beach County, and Lake Worth Beach	Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO)
I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike	Florida Highway Patrol, Troop L
Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Riviera Beach	That city’s own police department

All of these reports feed into the state system, and the Florida Crash Portal, run by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, is the single place to request one. For the first 60 days after a report is filed, Fla. Stat. § 316.066 limits access to the people involved, their lawyers and insurers, and a few other eligible requesters, so the portal will ask you to confirm who you are. A report can take several days to show up after the officer submits it. If yours is not there yet, keep the case number and try again.

Read the report once you have it. Check the names, the insurance information for every vehicle, the diagram and any listed witnesses. Mistakes happen, and a wrong policy number can delay a claim by weeks.

Who pays the hospital bill if the other driver ran the light?

Your own PIP pays first, no matter who caused the crash. That is what “no-fault” means in Florida. PIP covers 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost income, within the $10,000 total limit and whatever deductible you chose (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)).

Fault matters for everything beyond that. The 20 percent PIP leaves unpaid, bills above the PIP limit, the rest of your lost wages and, if the injury is permanent or causes significant and permanent scarring, pain and suffering (Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2)) are claimed against the driver who caused the crash. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage, so the other driver may have little or none. In that case, uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy, if you bought it, is often where the rest of the recovery comes from (Fla. Stat. § 627.727). Pull out your declarations page this week and look for it.

What should I say when an adjuster calls?

You will likely hear from two insurance companies: yours and the other driver’s. Report the crash to your own insurer promptly; most policies require you to cooperate with them. The other driver’s company is different. You have no obligation to give it a recorded statement, and early statements tend to be used to suggest the injury was minor or that you share the blame.

If you do talk to anyone, stick to facts you know firsthand. Do not guess at speeds or distances, do not describe yourself as “fine,” and do not sign a medical authorization or a release before someone has read it with you.

What should go in my folder during these two weeks?

A simple folder, paper or on your phone, saves a lot of trouble later:

• the crash report number and the responding agency
• photos of every vehicle, the intersection, skid marks and your visible injuries
• names and phone numbers of witnesses, including anyone who stopped to help
• discharge papers, prescriptions and every bill or explanation of benefits
• notes on days missed from work and what your employer said
• your auto policy declarations page, plus any policy held by a relative you live with

If the crash happened near a business on Southern Boulevard, Dixie Highway or US 1, ask soon whether it has outside cameras. Many systems overwrite footage on a rolling basis.

How long do I have before it is too late to sue?

For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file a negligence lawsuit (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)). That sounds like plenty of time, but evidence fades much faster, and the 14-day PIP rule expires long before anything else. If a government vehicle was involved, such as a Palm Tran bus or a county truck, separate written-notice rules under Fla. Stat. § 768.28 apply and should be handled early.

Talking to Wolfson & Leon

Wolfson & Leon has represented injured people since 1963. Consultations are free, in English or Spanish, and our West Palm Beach office meets clients by appointment. Call 561-782-1585 and we will go through your report, your policy and your treatment so far. If you hire us, the work is on a contingency fee, with the percentage explained in writing before you sign, and the firm advances the case costs.