Car accident lawyer in Orlando and Central Florida

After a crash in Orange, Seminole, Osceola or Lake County

Whether it happened on I-4 at rush hour or at a Kissimmee traffic light, the first steps are the same: get care, report the crash, document the scene and be careful with insurers.

Our Orlando office, at 300 S Orange Ave, #1000, Orlando, FL 32801, meets clients by appointment in English or Spanish. The consultation is free and confidential. The statewide rules are covered on our statewide car accident page.

Short answer: your PIP insurance pays first, up to $10,000, if you get treatment within 14 days. Pain and suffering from the at-fault driver is available only when the injury clears a legal threshold. Gather evidence early and avoid guessing about fault with an insurer.

What the numbers say about Central Florida roads

The federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System lists 2,754 fatal crashes in the six counties around our Orlando office from 2019–2023. About 57% occurred in the dark and 33% on a weekend. These are crashes in which someone died, a fraction of all crashes.

Where crashes cluster

FARS names SR 50, US 441, US 17 and I-4 most often in Orange County; SR 436, I-4 and US 17 in Seminole County and US 192, I-4 and SR 91 in Osceola County, where US 192, the corridor that serves many resorts, has far more fatal crashes than any other road in the county. I-4 appears in all three counties.

For a claim, the details at your own crash location matter: signal timing, lane markings, construction, and any camera that saw the impact.

Rental cars and out-of-state drivers

Central Florida roads carry many rental cars and out-of-state drivers. If you were hit by one, additional insurers may be involved, and Florida's required coverage is limited: PIP and $10,000 in property damage liability (Fla. Stat. § 324.022). Most drivers are not required to carry bodily injury liability coverage, so your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may matter. Check your declarations page.

PIP in plain terms

PIP pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost income, up to $10,000, if you receive initial treatment within 14 days (Fla. Stat. § 627.736). The full $10,000 for medical care is available only if a qualifying provider determines you had an emergency medical condition; otherwise medical benefits are limited to $2,500. See our PIP guide.

Pain and suffering threshold

Recovering pain and suffering from the at-fault driver requires an injury that includes significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability other than scarring, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death (Fla. Stat. § 627.737).

Hospitals

The state's list (updated July 23, 2026) includes these designated trauma centers in the counties we cover:

Courts

Orange and Osceola cases are heard in the Ninth Judicial Circuit; Seminole and Brevard cases in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit; Lake County in the Fifth Judicial Circuit; Volusia in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. Claims up to $50,000 can be filed in county court; larger ones belong in circuit court.

Communities nearest our Orlando office

Larger communities for which Orlando is the nearest of our three offices are below, with straight-line distances to our office.

Time limits

A negligence suit over an incident after March 24, 2023 is generally barred after two years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11). Our deadline guide covers the earlier deadlines.

In the first 48 hours

1. Get examined and describe every symptom.
2. Save photos, video, the police report number and the other driver's information.
3. Notify your own insurer.
4. If the other driver's insurer calls, decline a recorded statement until you have advice.
5. Keep bills, letters and pay records in one place.

Theme-park corridors and tourist traffic

Parts of the region, especially in Osceola and southwest Orange counties, carry heavy tourist traffic on roads not designed for it. Drivers unfamiliar with an area may brake suddenly, miss exits, or make late lane changes. Those habits show up in crash patterns and in the way fault is argued: the other driver may say they did not know the road, while the injured driver says that is exactly why they should have been careful.

Gather the details of the other vehicle

If the other car is a rental, note the rental company's name on the windshield sticker or key tag, take a photograph of the plate and the agreement if the driver will show it, and write down the driver's home state. If it is a shuttle or a rideshare vehicle, take a photograph of any company markings and note whether the app was open. These details determine which policies may apply.

Medical care comes first

See a doctor right away, even if the pain seems manageable. Symptoms from whiplash and concussions can appear days later, and the 14-day window for PIP care starts at the crash, not when you notice pain. Follow your doctor's plan, and keep every record and bill.

Keep your own statement short

When your own insurer asks for a statement, describe what happened plainly and stick to what you know. Avoid estimating speeds or distances, avoid saying you are fine, and do not guess about what the other driver was thinking.

When pain shows up later

Neck, back and head injuries can take days to appear. If your symptoms get worse, return to the doctor and say so, rather than waiting for a scheduled follow-up. Records that show symptoms were reported as they developed are far more convincing than a single visit.

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More from our Orlando office: personal injury.

General information, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship, and every case depends on its own facts. For qualifying personal injury matters the firm works on a contingency-fee basis, so attorney fees are not collected unless there is a recovery. Last updated: 2026-10-16.

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