If a tourist in a rental car hit you, or you were hurt driving or riding in a rental yourself, the claim usually runs against the driver and the insurance attached to that rental, not against the rental company. Federal law generally protects rental companies from being sued just because they own the car. That makes the insurance question the whole case: the coverage built into a rental is usually set at Florida’s financial-responsibility minimums, and visitors and locals alike are often surprised by how little is there.
Lavent Law, P.A. handles rental car and tourist crash claims from our North Miami Beach office, in English or Russian. The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Call (305) 257-9464.
Why rental car crashes are so common here
Greater Miami had about 28.3 million visitors in 2025, and PortMiami handled a record 8.56 million cruise passengers in its 2025 fiscal year. Many of those people pick up a car at the Miami International Airport Rental Car Center on NW 25th Street, where 13 companies operate, and head straight into LeJeune Road and the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) traffic in an unfamiliar car.
From there the trips we see most run east to Miami Beach and north up Collins Avenue to Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour and Aventura. Drivers following a phone, braking for a missed turn, making a U-turn on Collins or misjudging a causeway merge cause a steady share of the crashes in our part of the county. If you live in Sunny Isles Beach or Miami Beach, you share the road with rentals every day.
Can you sue the rental company?
Usually not just for owning the car. A federal law known as the Graves Amendment (49 U.S.C. section 30106) bars claims against a rental or leasing company based only on its ownership of the vehicle. The Florida Supreme Court has held that this federal law overrides the part of Florida law, section 324.021(9)(b), that would otherwise make a rental company liable, up to set caps, for a renter’s driving. So owning the car is not, by itself, a basis to sue the rental company.
The exception is the rental company’s own negligence. If the crash happened because the company rented out a car with worn brakes, bald tires or a safety defect it should have fixed, the company can be responsible for that. The same is true if it rented to someone it knew, or should have known, was unfit to drive. Since June 2016, federal law has generally barred rental companies with fleets of 35 or more vehicles from renting out a car with an open safety recall until it is repaired, so the car’s recall and maintenance history is one of the first things we request.
Who pays when the other driver was in a rental
When a renter causes a crash, the money can come from several places, and the order matters:
- The rental company’s built-in coverage. Under section 627.7263, the rental company’s liability and PIP coverage is primary up to the limits in section 324.021(7) and the PIP statute, unless the rental agreement states on its face, in at least 10-point type, that the renter’s own insurance is primary. Those limits are low: $10,000 per person and $20,000 per crash for bodily injury, and $10,000 for property damage. Florida does not require most drivers to carry bodily injury coverage; these figures are the state’s financial-responsibility amounts, and rental companies generally provide only that much.
- Supplemental liability insurance the renter bought at the counter. It is optional, but when it was purchased it is often $1 million or more.
- The renter’s own auto policy, if they have one at home. Many U.S. policies extend to rental cars. A foreign visitor usually has no U.S. auto policy at all.
- Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. When the renter’s coverage runs out at the minimum, this is often what covers the rest. See what happens when the other driver is underinsured.
If you have Florida PIP, it pays 80 percent of reasonable medical bills up to $10,000 regardless of fault, but only up to $2,500 if a provider does not find an emergency medical condition. Initial treatment has to begin within 14 days of the crash under section 627.736. For pain and suffering beyond PIP, your injury has to meet the threshold in section 627.737(2), such as a permanent injury.
If you were visiting when it happened
Visitors hurt in Miami have the same rights as residents. A few rules work differently for them:
- Riding in a Florida rental car. If you don’t own a car that requires Florida PIP and aren’t covered under a Florida household member’s PIP policy, the PIP on the rental you were in generally covers you as an occupant, whether you live in Ohio or overseas.
- Hit while walking. Here visitors fall into a gap. The PIP on the car that hit you covers a pedestrian only if that pedestrian is a Florida resident. A visiting pedestrian looks to the driver’s liability coverage and to their own health, travel or home-state auto coverage, such as medical payments or uninsured motorist coverage, if it applies to pedestrians.
- Leaving Florida. Going home doesn’t end the claim. Treatment you get at home counts toward your injury claim if it is documented, and Florida courts allow depositions by video conference when the parties agree or a court orders it. For Florida PIP, though, get your first evaluation here in Florida, at a hospital, urgent care or doctor, within 14 days and before you fly home.
- Credit card rental coverage generally covers damage to the rental car itself, not injuries to you or anyone else.
Visitors who prefer Russian can work with us in Russian from start to finish.
Turo and other car-sharing rentals
Peer-to-peer rentals through apps like Turo are covered by their own Florida statute, section 627.7483. During a trip, the platform must make sure there is primary coverage at the bodily injury limits in section 324.021(7) ($10,000 per person, $20,000 per crash) and Florida’s $10,000 property damage minimum, plus PIP and uninsured motorist coverage. If the host’s or driver’s own policy lapses, the platform’s coverage pays from the first dollar. Turo guests generally carry only state-minimum liability unless they bought more, so we get the actual policy for the trip from the platform. Like rental companies, the platform and the host are generally protected from claims based only on owning the car.
What to do after a rental car crash
- Call 911 and get a police report. Here is how to get a copy of a Florida crash report.
- Photograph the rental agreement or the barcode sticker on the car, the plate, the other driver’s license and home address, and any insurance card. Tourists leave town; that information is hard to get later.
- Get the names of any witnesses, including hotel valets and doormen if it happened near a hotel.
- Get medical care within 14 days, even if you feel fine.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to the rental company’s claims administrator before talking with a lawyer.
How long you have
You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence lawsuit under section 95.11. Under section 768.81, your recovery is reduced by your share of the fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault you recover nothing. With a visiting driver, waiting is especially risky: addresses change, witnesses scatter and the rental records get harder to obtain.
How we handle rental car claims
We identify every policy in play: the rental company’s built-in coverage, any supplemental coverage the renter bought, the renter’s personal policy, and your own. We request the rental agreement and the car’s maintenance and recall records, deal with the rental company’s claims administrator, and set up your PIP claim. If you were visiting, we handle the case with you remotely after you go home. You deal directly with the attorney on your case.
For other crashes, see our Miami car accident page. If a cruise was part of your trip and you were hurt on board, see our cruise ship injury page. If you were hit while walking, see our pedestrian accident page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue Hertz, Enterprise or another rental company?
Not just because it owned the car. You can make a claim against its built-in coverage, which is primary up to Florida’s financial-responsibility limits, and against the company itself if its own negligence, like poor maintenance, helped cause the crash.
The tourist who hit me only had the rental’s minimum coverage. Now what?
Check your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. It is often what pays for a serious injury when the at-fault driver’s coverage stops at $10,000.
I’m flying home in a few days. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes. Get medical care in Florida before you leave, keep every record, and call us before you go. We can handle the claim while you are home.
Does my credit card cover my injuries?
Usually not. Most credit card rental benefits cover damage to the rental car, not medical bills or injuries to other people.
I was hit by a Turo car. Who pays?
Florida requires the car-sharing platform to make sure primary coverage is in place during the trip, including PIP and uninsured motorist coverage. We get that policy information from the platform.
Can we work in Russian?
Yes. We handle rental car and tourist cases in English or Russian.
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