You were injured in a car accident. Immediately after the car accident, you decided not to pursue a car accident claim. Perhaps you were embarrassed to have an injury claim. Now, many months or even years after the car accident, you’ve changed mind and want to pursue a car accident claim. But there’s an important question: How long after a car accident can you claim an injury in Florida?
We will discuss this issue in this post!
Let’s examine how long you have to file a car accident claim in Florida.
How Long Do You Have To File A Claim For A Florida Car Accident?
Florida – like every other state – has a deadline for the time you must file a claim for a car accident. The deadline is called the statute of limitations. Watch the following video for a full discussion. The transcript is below.
Indeed, as you heard in the video, under Florida law you have 4 years to bring a claim in connection with a Florida car accident. The Florida Statute is Section 95.11(3)(a), found here.
However, if the car accident involves a wrongful death, you have 2 years to bring a claim. The Florida Statute is Section 95.11(4)(d), found here.
When Is The Best Time To File A Florida Car Accident Claim?
Simply put, the best time to file a Florida car accident claim is right after the accident. This is for several reasons.
First, after a car accident you need to take steps to protect and preserve evidence. You need to take photographs of the vehicles, take photographs of your injuries, interview witnesses, and gather evidence to prove your case. As time passes, it becomes more difficult, if not impossible, to take these and other important steps to prove your case.
Second, as more time passes insurance companies will be more critical of your claim. Indeed, if you had a viable injury claim, why didn’t you bring it immediately? Why did you wait? Is it because your injuries were minor? Is it because you believed you were at fault? These are the types of questions you might face if wait to bring a car accident claim.
Third, if you wait to bring an injury claim it affects your car accident attorney’s ability to properly investigate the accident and identify the issues with your car accident. For example, there may have been a condition on the road which caused or contributed to your accident. If your car accident attorney is not able to inspect the accident scene quickly, the road may be repaired, fixed, or otherwise changed such that your car accident attorney will not be able to prove the owner of the road caused your the accident.
Bottom line, there is never a good reason to delay filing your car accident claim.
Are There Other Important Deadlines For A Florida Accident?
Yes.
In order to receive personal injury protection benefits from your Florida automobile insurance policy, you must seek medical attention within 14 days of the car accident. If you fail to do so, you will likely not be able to receive these important benefits.
As you can see, waiting to get medical treatment can be a costly mistake.
Additionally, if you were involved in a car accident with a governmental entity, the Florida statute of limitations is shorter – 3 years! Indeed, if you waited too long to find this out, it may be too late to file a car accident claim.
Barthelette Law, Your Florida Car Accident Attorney
We hope you enjoyed reading, “How Long After a Car Accident Can You Claim An Injury In Florida.”
If you have any questions not answered in this post, contact us today. It would be our privilege to represent you!
Full Transcript