If a Waymo hit your car, hit you on foot or on a bike, or crashed while you were riding in one, you have the same right to compensation as after any other crash in Florida. Two things are different. Florida’s traffic law treats the self-driving system as the operator of the car, so the claim is generally against the company that owns and runs it. And the best evidence is the data the car recorded about itself, which stays in the company’s hands unless someone asks for it to be preserved.
Lavent Law, P.A. handles robotaxi and self-driving car claims from our North Miami Beach office. The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Call (305) 257-9464.
Robotaxis now drive in our part of Miami-Dade
Waymo opened its driverless service in Miami on January 22, 2026, in about 60 square miles from the Design District and Wynwood to Brickell and Coral Gables, and opened it to anyone with the app in April. In May it added roughly 50 square miles to the north, including North Miami, Miami Shores, Biscayne Park, Little River and Miami Gardens, and said service would extend to Hard Rock Stadium and the area near Aventura Mall. Waymo’s service list now also includes North Miami Beach, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour. Tesla began its own robotaxi rides in Miami in July 2026.
That can put driverless cars on Biscayne Boulevard, NE 163rd Street and Collins Avenue, a few miles from our office. The crash patterns are new too: a robotaxi stopped in a travel lane waiting for a rider, a robotaxi pulling over for a police car that was not actually stopping it, a pedestrian who steps off the curb expecting the empty car to react the way a human driver would.
Who is responsible when no one is driving
Under section 316.85, Florida Statutes, when the automated driving system is engaged, the system itself is treated as the operator of the car, whether or not anyone is inside. Robotaxi injury law in Florida is still new, but the starting point is familiar: if the car drove carelessly, the company that owns and runs it answers for that, much as the owner of an ordinary car answers for the person driving it.
Depending on what happened, the people and companies who may be responsible include:
- The robotaxi company, as the owner and operator of the car.
- A human driver who caused the crash. Plenty of crashes that involve a robotaxi are caused by the other car. In July 2026 a viral video blamed a Waymo for hitting a cyclist on Collins Avenue; Miami Beach Police said the driver of a parked car hit him while making a U-turn, and Waymo said its car was stopped to pick up a rider.
- The company that runs the local fleet. Waymo’s Miami fleet operations, facilities and charging are managed by a partner company, Moove.
- The makers of the car or its parts, if a defect played a role. That is a product liability claim, with its own rules.
Fault still matters. Under section 768.81, Florida reduces your recovery by your share of the blame, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. The car’s recordings will be used to measure your share too, which is one more reason to get them early.
The insurance behind a robotaxi
While a driverless car is logged on to a ride network or carrying a rider, section 627.749 requires it to carry at least $1 million in primary liability coverage for death, bodily injury and property damage, plus personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The coverage can come from the company that owns the car, the ride network, or both.
Two things follow from that. First, a serious injury caused by a robotaxi is less likely to be limited by a small policy, which is the problem in so many Florida crashes where the at-fault driver carries little or no bodily injury coverage, because Florida does not require it. Second, the statute also calls for uninsured motorist coverage, which can matter if another driver caused the crash. Florida lets a policyholder reject that coverage in writing, so we confirm what the policy actually carries. What a particular robotaxi policy actually provides, and how much, is something we confirm from the policy itself. If there is any question about the car’s status at the moment of the crash, its trip logs answer it.
Your own PIP still pays first
Florida is still a no-fault state. Bills to repeal PIP were filed again in 2026 and died in committee, so the rules in section 627.736 still apply:
- Your own PIP pays first, no matter who caused the crash. It generally covers 80 percent of reasonable medical bills and 60 percent of lost income, up to $10,000. Medical benefits stop at $2,500 unless a doctor or other qualifying provider finds an emergency medical condition.
- Get initial treatment within 14 days of the crash, or you can lose PIP benefits.
- No PIP of your own? If no one in your household has a policy, the PIP on the car you were riding in generally covers you. A pedestrian or cyclist who is a Florida resident and has no PIP may be covered by the PIP of the car that struck them.
- Pain and suffering beyond PIP requires an injury that meets the threshold in section 627.737(2): a permanent injury, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
If you were riding in the robotaxi
A passenger is not responsible for how the car was driven, though the company may argue that not wearing a seat belt made the injuries worse. The questions are which policy pays and where the claim gets heard.
- At the scene, if you can, note the time, photograph the inside and outside of the car, and screenshot the trip in the app. If rider support comes on the line, tell them you were hurt and keep it to the basics.
- If another driver caused the crash, that driver’s insurance is in the picture, and the robotaxi’s uninsured motorist coverage may help if that driver has too little. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage; see what happens when the other driver is uninsured.
- Read before you click. Waymo’s terms of use include an agreement to arbitrate claims, and the terms say they apply even to a guest riding on someone else’s account. Whether that clause binds you depends on the facts, including who booked the ride. Arbitration changes where a claim is decided, not whether you have one. Don’t accept an offer or sign a release before someone has reviewed it.
If you were in an Uber or Lyft with a human driver, our Uber and Lyft pages cover how those claims work.
If a robotaxi hit you
There is no driver to swap information with, so the steps change a little.
- Call 911 and get a police report. The police can reach the company directly; Miami Police have said they call a Waymo representative when one of its cars is involved in an incident.
- Photograph the car from every side, including the roof sensors and any number or name printed on it, plus the scene, the damage and your injuries.
- Get witnesses’ names and numbers, and note any business cameras nearby. That footage is often recorded over within weeks.
- See a doctor within 14 days, even if you feel fine.
Hit on foot or on a bike? See our pedestrian and bicycle accident pages as well.
If you rear-ended a robotaxi that stopped in front of you, don’t assume you are automatically at fault. Florida starts from a presumption that the rear driver was careless, but evidence that the car ahead was also careless, such as a sudden and unexpected stop, can overcome it and leave fault for a jury to decide. Viral videos have shown robotaxis stopping in the middle of the street, in Miami and elsewhere, and the car’s own data will show exactly when and why it stopped.
The car recorded the crash. That record needs to be saved.
A robotaxi is a rolling recorder. Its cameras, lidar and radar capture the seconds before impact, and its software logs what it detected and what it decided to do. There may also be recordings of the rider support call and of any remote help the company gave the car. In a dispute over who moved first, or whether the car saw you, that record often settles it.
Robotaxi companies must report crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under a federal reporting order. Those reports are summaries. The video and data stay with the company, which is why we send a written demand to preserve them as soon as we take a case.
Software problems are not hypothetical. In 2026 Waymo recalled software on nearly 3,900 vehicles after some of its cars entered active freeway construction zones and kept driving at speed. A pattern like that can matter if a defect contributed to your crash.
How long you have
For crashes after March 24, 2023, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence lawsuit under section 95.11. There are exceptions, and some claims, such as a product-defect claim against a manufacturer, can run on a different clock. In the first weeks, though, the data and the video matter far more than the deadline: the sooner the company is on notice, the less there is to argue about later.
How we handle a robotaxi claim
We send the preservation demand, get the police report and any video, set up your PIP claim, and identify every policy that may apply: the robotaxi company’s, the other driver’s if there was one, and your own. We handle all communication with the insurers and the company, and we deal with any arbitration clause. When you finish treatment, we present the claim with your records, bills and lost income. If there is no fair offer, we talk with you about filing suit, or about arbitration if that is where the claim belongs. You deal directly with the attorney on your case, in English or Russian.
For crashes that did not involve a robotaxi, see our main Miami car accident page, or the North Miami Beach car accident page for crashes near the office. If a car’s own driver-assist features (lane keeping, adaptive cruise and similar systems) were involved, see our page on self-driving and driver-assist crashes. If a crash took someone’s life, see our wrongful death page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue Waymo if no one was driving?
Yes. Florida treats the automated system as the operator, and the company that owns and operates the car can be held responsible for how it drove. If you were a Waymo rider, the claim may have to go to arbitration instead of court, depending on the terms you agreed to.
I was a passenger. Who pays my medical bills?
Your own PIP first, if you have it. If you don’t, the robotaxi’s PIP generally applies. Bills beyond PIP, and pain and suffering if your injury meets Florida’s threshold, come from whoever caused the crash: the robotaxi company, another driver, or both.
Another driver hit the Waymo I was in. Do I still have a claim?
Yes, against that driver. If that driver has little or no insurance, the robotaxi’s uninsured motorist coverage and your own may help.
Is a Tesla Robotaxi crash handled the same way?
The same Florida rules apply when an automated driving system is in control, including the insurance requirements for cars on a ride network. Tesla has run some robotaxis with a safety monitor on board, and if one was in the car, what that person could have done becomes part of the case. Each company’s rider terms are different, so we read the ones you accepted.
I reported the crash in the app. Is that enough?
No. The app report goes to the company, not to the police or your insurer. Call the police, notify your own insurer to open your PIP claim, and get treatment within 14 days. Keep the confirmation of your app report.
Does it cost anything to talk to you?
No. The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
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