After a car crash in Hollywood, Florida, your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage is the first insurance that pays toward your medical bills and lost income. A claim against the driver who caused the crash, for pain and suffering and the losses PIP leaves unpaid, depends on how serious your injury is and what insurance is available. I have represented injured people in South Florida since 2014, and our North Miami Beach office handles crash cases from Hollywood and the rest of south Broward.
Questions about your case? Call (305) 257-9464 for a free consultation. You pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
Where Hollywood crashes happen
Where your crash happened decides who investigated it, what records exist and sometimes which insurance applies. Hollywood’s main roads include:
- I-95. Hollywood has interchanges at Hollywood Boulevard and Sheridan Street. FDOT’s 95 Express project includes new express lane access and dual exit ramps at Sheridan Street, and FDOT is studying the Sheridan Street and Stirling Road interchanges.
- Florida’s Turnpike at Hollywood Boulevard. A Turnpike widening project calls for a fourth lane in each direction between State Road 821 and Griffin Road and an added right-turn lane at the Hollywood Boulevard exit ramps.
- Hollywood Boulevard, US 1 and Young Circle. Downtown, Hollywood Boulevard and Federal Highway meet at Young Circle, a roundabout.
- State Road 7 (US 441). FDOT’s improvement project in Hollywood and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, from Fillmore Street to south of Stirling Road, included pedestrian countdown signals at Johnson Street, Taft Street and Sheridan Street.
- Sheridan Street and A1A at the beach. Hollywood Beach draws visitors, and an FDOT project on Sheridan Street from the Intracoastal bridge to A1A upgraded curbs and ramps for pedestrians. Crashes involving people on foot or on bikes raise different insurance questions, covered on our pedestrian accident and bicycle accident pages.
The Hollywood Police Department is headquartered at 3250 Hollywood Boulevard, and its Records Unit handles police reports. A crash on I-95 or the Turnpike may be investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. For the first 60 days after a Florida crash report is filed, a report that shows the names, addresses or phone numbers of the people involved is confidential: it goes to those people, their lawyers, their insurance agents and insurers, and certain agencies, not to the general public.
Who pays your medical bills first
Florida PIP benefits are primary, which means your own PIP coverage pays before the other driver’s insurance. Here is how it works:
- PIP pays 80 percent of reasonable, medically necessary medical expenses and 60 percent of lost income.
- You must get initial care within 14 days of the crash from a qualifying provider: a physician, dentist, chiropractic physician or advanced practice registered nurse, a hospital or hospital-owned facility, or emergency medical services.
- Medical benefits go up to $10,000 only if a physician, dentist, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse determines you had an emergency medical condition. If a provider determines you did not, medical benefits stop at $2,500.
If you were hit while walking, PIP from the car that struck you covers only Florida residents who do not own a vehicle that requires PIP and who are not covered by PIP through a relative they live with. A visitor from out of state hurt on foot near the beach cannot claim PIP from the car that hit them. For how bills get paid while a claim is open, see who pays your medical bills after an injury. If you have no health insurance, we explain your options for getting care.
When you can claim against the at-fault driver
Florida limits lawsuits for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience after a car crash. To recover those damages, your injury has to involve one of four things:
- significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function;
- permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement;
- significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; or
- death.
That threshold applies to pain and suffering only. Medical bills and lost income that PIP does not cover can be claimed from the at-fault driver without meeting it.
The harder problem is often coverage. Florida requires vehicle owners to carry $10,000 in PIP and $10,000 in property damage liability, but most drivers are not required to carry bodily injury liability coverage, which is the coverage that pays injured people. That is where your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage comes in. It can pay when the at-fault driver has no bodily injury coverage or has limits too low to cover your damages. UM can be rejected in writing, so check your policy’s declarations page. Our page on uninsured driver claims goes into more detail. If the crash involved a rideshare vehicle or a rental car, see our pages on Uber and Lyft accidents and rental car accidents.
Deadlines and shared fault
For crashes after March 24, 2023, the deadline to file a negligence lawsuit is generally two years. Crashes on or before that date fall under the old four-year deadline, which means the last of those claims expire in early 2027. Exceptions exist, so confirm your deadline early.
Florida also uses modified comparative fault. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. At 50 percent or less, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share. In a chain-reaction crash on I-95 or a merge gone wrong at Young Circle, fault can be split among several drivers, so early evidence matters: photos, dashcam video, witness names and the crash report.
Dealing with the insurance companies
If the other driver’s insurer asks you for a recorded statement, talk to a lawyer before you give one. Your own insurer is different: Florida’s PIP law requires you to comply with your policy’s terms, including sitting for an examination under oath, to receive PIP benefits.
If your Hollywood case goes to court
Hollywood is in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Broward County. The Broward County Central Courthouse is at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, and the Clerk’s South Regional Courthouse at 3550 Hollywood Boulevard accepts civil filings. Florida law also allows a suit to be filed in the county where the defendant lives. Whether to file a lawsuit is always your decision.
How we handle Hollywood car accident cases
We get the crash report and any available video, collect your medical records and bills, find the policies that may cover your losses, including your own UM coverage, and deal with the adjusters. You pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. For general information about Florida crash claims, see our car accident practice page, and for other kinds of injuries in the city, our Hollywood personal injury page. Nearby, we also have pages for Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and North Miami Beach car accidents.
Hollywood car accident FAQ
Do I really have to see a doctor within 14 days?
Yes, if you want PIP to pay your medical bills. Initial care has to come from a qualifying provider within 14 days of the crash. Going to the emergency room or an urgent care physician the same day or the next day also creates the first medical record of your injury.
The driver who hit me had no bodily injury coverage. Can I still recover?
Possibly. Your own uninsured motorist coverage, if you did not reject it in writing, can pay for injuries caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. Other policies in your household or the at-fault driver’s own assets may also matter.
Can I get pain and suffering after a Hollywood crash?
Only if your injury meets Florida’s threshold: significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Unpaid medical bills and lost income are not subject to that threshold.
How do I get my Hollywood police crash report?
For a crash the Hollywood Police Department worked, contact the department’s Records Unit. During the first 60 days, a report showing names, addresses or phone numbers is released only to the people involved, their lawyers, their insurance agents and insurers, and certain agencies. We request it as part of every case.
How long do I have to file?
For crashes after March 24, 2023, generally two years. Older crashes had four years. Call early so the evidence is gathered while it still exists.
If you were hurt in a car crash in Hollywood, call (305) 257-9464 for a free consultation.
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