Florida runs its crash claims through two rules that trip up out-of-state drivers and locals alike: a no-fault insurance system that limits when you can sue, and a filing deadline that got shorter in 2023. If you were hurt in a Florida crash, both of those clocks started the day it happened. Here is what actually governs a Florida case, with the statute behind each rule.
You have two years, not four
For a crash on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years from the date of the wreck to file a negligence lawsuit for your injuries.1 That deadline used to be four years. It was cut in half by HB 837, the tort reform law Governor DeSantis signed on March 24, 2023.2 The shorter period applies to negligence claims that accrue after that date, so a 2021 crash still followed the old four-year rule while a 2024 crash follows the two-year one.12
The same two-year window covers your vehicle damage. Florida keeps a separate four-year limit for "injuring personal property,"1 but ordinary negligent-driving damage claims run on the negligence deadline, which section 95.11(5)(a) sets at two years.1 Miss it and the court can dismiss the case no matter how clear the other driver's fault was.
No-fault comes first
Florida is one of a shrinking set of no-fault states. Every registered car has to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) with at least $10,000 in coverage, plus $10,000 in Property Damage Liability.34 After a crash, your own PIP pays first, regardless of who caused it. It covers 80% of reasonable medical bills and 60% of lost wages, up to the policy limit.4
Two numbers inside that PIP rule catch people off guard. First, you have to get initial medical care within 14 days of the crash or you forfeit PIP benefits entirely.4 Second, the full $10,000 is only available if a qualifying provider certifies that you had an "emergency medical condition." Without that finding, PIP pays a maximum of $2,500.4
When you can actually sue the other driver
Because of no-fault, you cannot sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering just because you were hurt. Florida's tort threshold in section 627.737 lets you step outside the PIP system for non-economic damages only if your injury falls into one of four categories: 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.5
Meet the threshold and the case opens up. You can pursue the at-fault driver for medical costs beyond PIP, full lost income, future care, and pain and suffering. Fall short of it and you are generally limited to what PIP and your other first-party coverages pay. This is the single biggest reason a Florida injury case does or doesn't become a lawsuit.
The 51% rule can wipe out your recovery
HB 837 also changed how fault is shared. Florida used to follow pure comparative negligence, where you could recover something even if you were 90% to blame. The state now uses a modified comparative negligence rule: a person "found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages."6 Cross that line and you get nothing.
Below the line, your recovery is reduced by your share. If a jury values your damages at $100,000 and finds you 30% at fault, you collect $70,000.6 Because insurers know the 51% bar can end a case outright, expect an aggressive effort to pin blame on you. What you say at the scene and to adjusters matters.
What you can recover
Florida does not cap compensatory damages in an ordinary crash case. Medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering are recoverable in full once you clear the tort threshold.
Punitive damages are different. Section 768.73 caps them at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000. If the defendant acted for unreasonable financial gain, the cap rises to four times compensatory damages or $2 million, and there is no cap at all where the defendant had a specific intent to harm you.7
Drunk driving strips those protections away. If the at-fault driver was impaired or had a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08% or higher, the punitive damage caps and the usual heightened evidence standard do not apply.8 Going after the bar that served the driver is harder. Florida's dram shop law shields vendors who serve legal-age adults, with liability only for willfully serving a minor or knowingly serving someone habitually addicted to alcohol.9
Who pays when the other driver has no coverage
Here is a Florida gap worth understanding before you need it. The state does not require private drivers to carry any bodily injury liability coverage. Registration only calls for PIP and Property Damage Liability, each at $10,000.3 So the driver who hit you may have no coverage at all for the injuries they caused.
That is what uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is for. Insurers must offer it equal to your bodily injury limits, but you can reject it or pick lower limits in writing.10 Plenty of Florida drivers unknowingly waived it. Check your own policy now. If you carry UM/UIM, it may be the coverage that actually pays when the at-fault driver cannot.
Evidence that helps your case
Distracted driving is often the fault story in a modern crash. Handheld texting and typing while driving has been banned statewide as a primary offense since July 1, 2019, so an officer can stop a driver for that alone.11 In school zones, school crossings, and active work zones, any handheld phone use is a primary offense.12 A citation under these statutes is strong evidence of negligence.
The official crash report is usually the first document a case is built around. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles sells it for $10 plus a $2 fee, and for the first 60 days only involved parties, their attorneys, and insurers can obtain a copy.13 You can pull yours through the state's Florida crash report page. If your car lost market value even after a solid repair, that loss is its own claim; see diminished value in Florida.
Before the deadline runs
The two-year clock is the fact to act on. Investigation, medical documentation, and the threshold question all take time, and the PIP 14-day rule forces an even earlier decision about treatment. If your injuries are serious or fault is disputed, talk to a Florida attorney early; you can find one through the legal directory.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice.
Sources
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Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), (3)(g), Statute of Limitations. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/95.11
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Florida HB 837 (2023), Civil Remedies (signed March 24, 2023). https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/837
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FLHSMV, Florida Insurance Requirements. https://www.flhsmv.gov/insurance/
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Fla. Stat. § 627.736, Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law (PIP). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.736
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Fla. Stat. § 627.737, Tort exemption; limitation on right to damages. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.737
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Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), Comparative fault. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/768.81
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Fla. Stat. § 768.73, Punitive damages; limitation. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/768.73
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Fla. Stat. § 768.736, Punitive damages; exception for intoxicated defendants. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/768.736
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Fla. Stat. § 768.125, Liability for injury or damage resulting from intoxication (dram shop). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/768.125
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Fla. Stat. § 627.727, Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.727
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Fla. Stat. § 316.305, Wireless communications while driving. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/316.305
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Fla. Stat. § 316.306, Handheld use in school and work zones. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/316.306
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FLHSMV Crash Report Purchasing Portal. https://services.flhsmv.gov/CrashReportPurchasing/