What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida: A Step-by-Step Guide from an Accident Chiropractor

If you've just been in a crash, you're probably running on adrenaline, a little shaken, and not sure what you're supposed to do next. I've sat with thousands of patients in exactly that spot. So here is a clear, honest walkthrough of what to do after a car accident in Florida: the steps that protect your health, the deadlines that quietly decide whether your insurance pays your medical bills, and the injuries that tend to show up a day or two later, long after you told the officer you felt fine.

I'm Dr. Gady Abramson, and I founded Back To Mind Injury Center. Everything below is what I'd tell you if you were sitting across from me at your first visit.

Step 1: What to do at the scene in the first 30 minutes

The moments right after a collision set up everything that follows: your safety, the police report, your insurance claim, and the medical record that connects your injuries to the crash. Take these steps in order.

1. Stop and stay put. Never drive away from a crash you were part of, even a minor one. Leaving the scene can turn a fender-bender into a criminal matter.
2. Check for injuries, yours and everyone else's. If anyone is hurt or unresponsive, call 911 immediately. Don't move someone with possible neck or back injuries unless they're in danger from fire or traffic.
3. Get to safety if you can. If the vehicles are drivable and it's safe, move them out of active lanes. Turn on your hazard lights. On a highway like I-95, I-4, or Florida's Turnpike, staying in a live lane is often more dangerous than the crash itself.
4. Call the police. In Florida you're legally required to notify law enforcement any time a crash involves injury or death, and any time property damage crosses the state's reporting threshold under Florida's crash-reporting statute (§316.065). (That property-damage threshold is $500 through September 30, 2026, and rises to $2,000 on October 1, 2026, but injuries always require a report, no matter the dollar amount.) Even when a call isn't strictly required, I tell patients to make one anyway. An official report is one of the strongest pieces of documentation you can have.
5. Exchange information, calmly. Get the other driver's name, phone number, address, driver's license number, license plate, and insurance company and policy number. Be polite, but don't apologize or say "I'm fine." More on why that matters in a moment.
6. Document everything while it's fresh. Photograph all vehicles, the damage, the position of the cars, the intersection or road, traffic signals, skid marks, and any visible injuries. If there are witnesses, get their names and numbers before they leave.
7. Watch what you say. Adrenaline hides pain. If you tell the officer or the other driver that you feel fine, and then wake up the next morning barely able to turn your head, that early "I'm fine" can be used to argue your injuries weren't real. If you feel any discomfort at all, say so, both to the officer and, soon after, to a medical provider.

If you've been in a crash today and everyone is safe, the next priority is a medical evaluation, even if you feel fine. Call (954) 919-2555 and we'll explain your options.

Step 2: In the hours and days after: report, understand your coverage, and get checked

Once you're home and the immediate chaos settles, a few things need your attention within the first day or two.

1. Report the crash to your own insurance company. In Florida you file first with your own insurer, not the other driver's. That's how the no-fault system works (explained below). Report promptly; waiting can give an adjuster a reason to question the claim.
2. File a self-report if police didn't come. If no officer investigated at the scene, Florida law gives you 10 days to file a Driver Report of a Traffic Crash with the FLHSMV. This creates the official record you'll want later.
3. Look at your full policy. Beyond PIP, you may have Medical Payments (MedPay), collision coverage for your vehicle, and (importantly in a state with a high number of uninsured drivers) Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage.
4. Get a medical evaluation, even if you feel okay. This is the step people skip, and it's the one that costs them the most. Here's why it's so important in Florida specifically.

Why acting quickly matters in Florida: the 14-day rule

Florida is a no-fault state, which means that after most crashes you turn to your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage first, regardless of who caused the accident. Nearly every vehicle registered in Florida is required to carry at least $10,000 in PIP.

There's a catch built into the law that traps thousands of people every year. Under Florida's PIP statute (§ 627.736), you must receive initial medical care within 14 days of the accident to remain eligible for any PIP medical benefits. Miss that window, and your insurer can deny your medical coverage entirely, even for a legitimate, well-documented injury, and even if the crash was completely the other driver's fault.

A few details worth understanding:

• PIP generally pays 80% of reasonable and necessary medical expenses and 60% of lost wages, up to the $10,000 limit. There's also a $5,000 death benefit.
• To access the full $10,000, a qualified provider must determine you have an emergency medical condition (EMC). Without that determination, your PIP medical benefits are capped at $2,500.
• PIP does not pay for pain and suffering or for the damage to your car. Those fall under other coverages or a claim against the at-fault driver.

I want to be clear about something, because there's been a lot of confusion online: despite repeated headlines, Florida's no-fault PIP system and the 14-day rule remain in effect. Several proposed repeal bills have failed, and no repeal has taken effect. Until that actually changes, the 14-day clock is real and unforgiving. If you take one thing from this page, let it be this: see a qualified provider within two weeks, even if you think you're fine.

One of the most frustrating conversations I have is with a patient who "wanted to wait and see" how their neck or back felt, and by the time the pain became undeniable, their 14 days were gone. An early evaluation protects two things at once: your health and your coverage.

The injuries I see most after Florida car accidents

Car crashes injure the body in a specific way: sudden, violent force that the muscles, ligaments, and joints never had time to brace against. That's why so many accident injuries don't announce themselves right away. Here are the ones I evaluate most often.

If any of this sounds like what you're feeling, please don't talk yourself out of an evaluation because the discomfort seems manageable today. Early is easier to treat.

How I evaluate car accident injuries

When you come in after a crash, I don't start treatment right away. I first want to understand exactly what happened, because the direction and force of the impact often tell me which tissues were most likely injured. A rear-end collision stresses the neck differently than a side impact.

Here's what a thorough accident evaluation involves and why each part matters:

• Your history and the mechanism of injury: how the crash happened, what you felt at the scene, and what's changed since. This shapes everything that follows.
• Orthopedic and neurological testing: specific tests that help me tell whether we're dealing with muscle and ligament injury, joint irritation, or nerve involvement.
• Range of motion and muscle testing: measuring how your neck and back move, and where they're guarded or restricted.
• Palpation: examining by hand for areas of spasm, tenderness, and misalignment that testing alone can miss.
• Digital X-rays when appropriate, and a referral for MRI or advanced imaging if I believe something deeper needs to be ruled out.
• Clear documentation of every finding: this protects your health and your claim (I'll come back to this).

If your examination suggests you'd be better served by another specialist (an orthopedist, a neurologist, a pain-management physician), I'll tell you honestly and help coordinate that care. My job is to find out what's actually wrong, not to fit every patient into the same treatment.

How I approach treatment

I don't believe every accident patient should get the same adjustment or the same plan. Two people can walk in with "neck pain" and need completely different care. Your plan is built from your examination findings, your symptoms, your imaging when it's needed, and how your body responds as we go.

My approach is conservative and non-surgical first. That usually means some combination of:

• Chiropractic adjustments and spinal manipulation to restore motion to restricted joints.
• Manual and soft-tissue therapy to address the injured muscles and ligaments that drive so much accident pain.
• Therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation to rebuild strength and stability so the injury doesn't keep returning.
• Supporting therapies such as spinal decompression, laser or shockwave therapy, and other modalities, chosen for your specific injury rather than applied to everyone. (Availability varies by office.)

I monitor your progress and adjust the plan as you improve. Recovery isn't a straight line, and part of my job is recognizing when to change course. If something isn't responding the way I'd expect, that tells me something, and we adapt.

The sooner an injury is identified, the sooner the right plan can begin. If your symptoms are lingering, it's worth having them properly evaluated.

Why documentation matters more than most people realize

Here's something competitors' pages rarely explain. After a Florida car accident, the medical record isn't just about your care. It's the evidence that ties your injuries to the crash. If your records don't clearly connect the two, a PIP insurer can deny the claim on that basis alone.

From your first visit, we document your injuries, your examination findings, your diagnosis, and your progress over time. When you're working with an attorney, we coordinate and provide the records, progress notes, and evaluations they need. We handle direct billing to your auto insurer and assist with the paperwork so you're not fighting that battle while you're trying to heal.

Over the years, more than 100 Florida personal-injury attorneys have referred patients to us for exactly this reason: careful examinations and objective, thorough documentation. Whether or not you end up needing a lawyer, that same standard of documentation protects you.

A related point worth knowing: Florida's negligence statute of limitations (§95.11) for most injury claims is now two years from the date of the accident (shortened from four in 2023 by HB 837). If you think you may have a claim, that's a good reason not to let things drift. We're not attorneys and don't give legal advice, but we'll make sure your medical documentation is solid from day one.

Meet the team caring for you

Dr. Gady Abramson, DC, PA, our founder. I earned my Doctor of Chiropractic from Life University in 1997 and have spent more than 22 years treating auto accident and personal-injury patients across South Florida. I built Back To Mind Injury Center around a simple belief: every patient deserves a plan based on their specific injuries, not a standard protocol. My focus is on finding the underlying cause of your pain and treating it as safely and efficiently as possible. (I see patients in English and Hebrew.)

Back To Mind Injury Center is a group of eight licensed chiropractors practicing across nine offices in South and Central Florida, so the depth of experience on our team is considerable. As one example, Dr. David Ledwitz brings more than 30 years of experience with auto and sports injuries, disc herniations, and hands-on techniques like Cox flexion-distraction, Active Release, and Graston. Doctors may practice at different locations, but the standard of care (thorough evaluation, individualized treatment, and honest communication) is the same at every office.

Why injured Floridians choose Back To Mind Injury Center

• 22+ years focused on auto accident and personal-injury recovery.
• More than 36,000 patients treated across the group.
• 1,100+ Google reviews and a BBB A+ rating.
• Nine offices from Orlando to Miami, so there's usually one near you.
• Trusted by 100+ Florida personal-injury attorneys for injury evaluations and documentation.
• We coordinate with primary-care physicians, orthopedists, pain-management specialists, and imaging centers when your recovery calls for it.

None of this means we can promise a particular outcome. No honest provider can. Every injury and every body is different. What we can promise is a careful evaluation, a plan built around you, and a team that explains every finding along the way.

What recovery actually looks like

I try to set realistic expectations from the start, because false promises help no one. Some patients feel meaningful relief early; others need more time, especially with disc involvement or more significant soft-tissue injury. Healing is gradual, and it isn't perfectly linear. There are good days and slower days along the way.

What I can tell you is that we monitor your progress closely, we adjust the plan as your body responds, and we're honest with you about what we're seeing. Recovering from a car accident is a process, and having someone track it carefully makes a real difference.

Frequently asked questions