What Does a Car Accident Attorney Do For a Car Crash Victim in Plantation, Florida?

The crash is over, but your day still revolves around it. Your car needs repairs. Pain makes it difficult to work or sleep. Medical bills arrive, and an insurance company wants answers before you know how much treatment you’ll need. You’re trying to get back to your routine while making decisions you’ve never faced before.

You may be wondering: what does a car accident attorney do, and how would hiring one help with what you’re facing? An attorney investigates the collision, reviews insurance coverage, documents your losses, handles claim communications, and negotiates compensation. If a lawsuit becomes necessary, your attorney prepares the case and represents you in court.

For you, that means help with questions that can keep you awake: Who will pay these bills? What if the insurance company blames you? How will you know whether an offer covers what you’ve lost? If you’ve been injured in Plantation or nearby Fort Lauderdale, an attorney can help you address those questions while you attend appointments and work toward resuming your daily life.

At a Glance

• A car accident lawyer investigates fault, reviews available coverage, and documents how your injuries affect your finances and daily life.
• Florida’s no-fault insurance provides limited benefits for eligible medical bills and lost income. It does not pay for vehicle damage or pain and suffering.
• Your attorney evaluates settlement offers with you. You decide whether to accept an offer.
• A Florida car accident negligence lawsuit is subject to a two-year filing deadline, with exceptions that require individual review.

Where Do You Start When Everything Needs Attention?

After a car accident, several problems can demand your attention at once. You need medical care, transportation, and answers about missed paychecks. You may hesitate to call a lawyer because you’re still waiting for a diagnosis or don’t know what your claim involves. You can ask for advice before you have those answers.

During an initial consultation, a car accident lawyer asks about the collision, your symptoms, treatment, and insurance communications. Bring whatever you have, such as photographs, a police report number, insurance documents, and medical bills. Explain what has changed since the crash and what concerns you most.

An attorney can explain whether the facts support a claim, identify deadlines, and discuss the representation agreement. Serious injuries, disputed fault, continuing symptoms, or pressure to sign a release are reasons to seek advice early.

Once you hire an attorney, you have someone to help you manage the car accident claim process. Your lawyer explains what needs attention now, what information to save, and what to expect next, so you’re not left guessing each time a letter or insurance request arrives.

Who Pays Your Medical Bills While You’re Receiving Care?

Your first medical bills may arrive long before a liability claim is resolved. That can be confusing when you believe the other driver caused the crash.

Florida’s no-fault system provides certain benefits without requiring you to prove fault first. For covered injuries, personal injury protection, or PIP, is an initial source of payment. Florida requires owners of covered registered vehicles to maintain $10,000 in PIP coverage.

Under Florida law, PIP pays 80% of eligible, medically necessary medical expenses and 60% of qualifying lost income, subject to applicable limits and deductibles. To qualify for medical benefits, you must receive qualifying initial services and care within 14 days of the car accident. Access to the full medical benefit limit depends on an authorized provider’s emergency medical condition determination; medical benefits can be limited to $2,500.

When PIP does not cover everything

Florida no-fault insurance does not cover pain and suffering or property damage. PIP limits can also leave unpaid medical bills and wage losses.

Your lawyer reviews:

• Your PIP coverage: Which policy applies, what has been paid, and whether a PIP claim has been reduced or denied.
• Bodily injury liability coverage: Whether the at-fault driver has coverage available for your injury claim.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage: Whether an applicable policy provides another source of compensation.
• Vehicle coverage: Whether property damage liability or your collision coverage can address repairs.

Florida’s no-fault system does not eliminate an at-fault driver’s responsibility for the crash. PIP provides limited benefits regardless of fault, while your attorney evaluates claims against responsible parties and reviews other available coverage.

What Happens When the Other Driver Blames You?

You remember the other driver entering your lane. Their insurance company says you caused the collision. Suddenly, you’re being asked to defend your account while coping with pain and appointments.

You don’t have to resolve that disagreement through repeated calls with an adjuster. A car accident attorney can gather evidence to establish how the crash happened. That includes reviewing the police report, interviewing witnesses, examining photographs, and seeking available video or vehicle data. Your attorney may send preservation requests before relevant evidence is erased or discarded.

Even if the police report leaves questions unanswered, your attorney can investigate further. The goal is to establish whether another person’s failure to use reasonable care caused the crash and your injuries.

Why allegations of shared fault need attention

Florida has a modified comparative negligence rule. In an applicable negligence action, your share of fault reduces your damages. If you are found more than 50% responsible for your own harm, you cannot recover damages.

Being blamed by an insurance company does not mean you must accept its version of events. Your lawyer examines the evidence and challenges claims that assign you more responsibility than the facts support.

You can help by preserving original photographs, witness information, messages, and documents. If you were taken from the scene for medical attention, tell your attorney what you remember and who might have additional information. Getting medical care was the priority; your lawyer can investigate evidence you weren’t able to collect yourself.

How Does Your Lawyer Document What the Crash Has Cost You?

At first, you may count the emergency room bill and days missed from work. Over time, other losses become apparent. You cannot lift your child, drive comfortably, or complete the same tasks at your job. Ongoing treatment creates expenses you did not anticipate.

Your attorney builds the car accident compensation claim around documented losses, including:

• Medical expenses and reasonably supported future care costs
• Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity
• Necessary out-of-pocket expenses related to your injuries
• Property damage, when included within the representation
• Pain, emotional distress, and other non-economic damages when legally available

Medical records help connect your injuries to the car accident. Employment records establish lost income. Your treating providers can explain restrictions, expected care, and whether you have permanent injuries.

Keep bills, receipts, appointment records, and notes about specific limitations. Tell your lawyer if treatment becomes difficult to obtain or if your symptoms change. Follow medical advice, and explain any barriers to attending appointments.

When can you seek pain-and-suffering damages?

PIP does not cover pain and suffering. Where Florida’s motor vehicle injury threshold applies, these non-economic damages require a qualifying injury: 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. Exceeding PIP limits alone does not establish that threshold.

Your attorney evaluates the medical evidence and applicable law before including these damages in your car accident claim.

What Do You Do When the Insurance Company Calls or Offers Money?

An insurance adjuster may contact you while you’re still learning how the injuries affect you. Questions can seem routine, and an early offer can feel like relief when bills are piling up.

After you hire a lawyer, you can refer insurance requests about the claim they’re handling to that attorney. Your lawyer responds to requests, presents supporting evidence, and addresses disagreements about fault or the extent of your losses. You can spend less time trying to decide how to answer each call.

Your own policy may require cooperation, including certain statements or examinations. Your attorney can explain what you’re required to provide and help you prepare. Before giving the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement or signing a medical authorization or release, ask your lawyer to review the request.

Evaluating an offer against your actual losses

When money is tight, accepting an offer can seem like the quickest way to get some breathing room. Before you decide, you need to know what the payment would cover and what expenses could remain.

Your lawyer prepares a demand supported by liability evidence, medical records, bills, and wage documentation. The insurance company may accept it, dispute portions, or make a counteroffer.

Your attorney explains how an offer compares with your documented losses, available policy limits, and the risks of continuing the case. If serious injuries require future care, accepting money before those needs are evaluated can leave you paying later expenses yourself.

A settlement release can end your right to pursue additional car accident compensation from the released parties for the same injuries. Before you sign, your lawyer explains which rights you would give up and whether the offer accounts for your documented future needs. The decision to accept belongs to you, with your attorney’s advice to help you weigh it.

What Happens If Your Car Accident Claim Requires a Lawsuit?

An insurance company may deny liability, dispute your injuries, or offer an amount you choose not to accept. If negotiations leave your claim unresolved, your attorney explains whether filing a personal injury lawsuit is appropriate and what it would involve for you.

Florida law establishes a two-year limitation period for negligence actions. Filing an insurance claim or continuing settlement discussions does not, by itself, satisfy the lawsuit deadline. Your lawyer checks the deadline for your circumstances and whether additional requirements apply, such as those involving a government vehicle.

The prospect of a lawsuit can feel like another demand on your time and energy. Your lawyer handles the court filings and applicable Florida and Broward County procedures, while explaining when your participation is needed.

You may need to answer written questions, provide records, or attend a deposition. Before a deposition, your attorney explains the process and helps you prepare to answer questions truthfully about the crash, your injuries, and their effect on your life. Settlement discussions can continue after filing, including through mediation. If the case proceeds to trial, your attorney presents evidence and arguments to the judge or jury.

You still have a role in your case, but you have someone to prepare you for each step and answer questions along the way.

What Happens Before Settlement Funds Reach You?

Once you accept a settlement, you’ll want to know when you’ll receive the money and how much will be available to you. Before funds are distributed, your attorney reviews the release, receives the payment, and addresses valid liens or repayment obligations.

The amount you receive can differ from the settlement amount because of attorney fees, case costs, and applicable repayment claims. Your closing statement should show those deductions and the amount you will receive. Ask questions about any charge you don’t understand before approving the distribution.

At Cohen and Juda, we explain our fees and costs in a written contingency agreement before you hire us. You pay no attorney’s fees or costs unless we recover compensation on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a car accident lawyer if the insurance company already offered money?

An offer does not establish that all your losses have been evaluated. A lawyer can review the offer, your treatment needs, available coverage, and the release before you decide whether to accept it.

Can an attorney help if I did not collect evidence at the scene?

Yes. Accident victims who needed immediate care may have few photographs or witness details. Your attorney can investigate other sources, including police records, witnesses, nearby video, and vehicle evidence. Contact counsel promptly because some evidence may disappear.

Can I pursue compensation if my injuries do not meet Florida’s injury threshold?

Failing to meet the applicable threshold for pain-and-suffering damages does not automatically eliminate every claim. A lawyer can evaluate PIP benefits and claims for economic losses that Florida law permits. The coverage, injuries, and circumstances affect your options.

Will I have to go to court?

Hiring a lawyer does not automatically lead to trial. Your attorney first evaluates the claim and available routes to resolution. If a lawsuit is filed, you may participate in discovery or mediation even if the case settles before trial.

Can a lawyer help after a fatal car accident?

Yes. A fatal crash involves different legal questions. An attorney can evaluate a potential wrongful death claim, identify the personal representative who must bring it, determine eligible survivors, and review applicable deadlines and damages.

After a Plantation Car Accident, Work Personally With Founding Attorneys Cohen and Juda

When you’re dealing with injuries, missed work, and insurance calls, knowing who will handle your case can make the decision to hire a lawyer more personal. At Cohen and Juda, P.A., attorneys Harvey Cohen and Gary Juda will represent you personally, from the first consultation through settlement or verdict.

Mr. Juda began his legal career defending insurance companies in injury, wrongful death, and bad faith cases. Since 1994, he has devoted his practice to representing injured individuals. His background gives our firm insight into how insurers assess claims and dispute responsibility or compensation. We use that knowledge as we investigate your crash, document its effect on your life, and address the insurance company’s arguments in negotiations or litigation.

Your consultation is an opportunity to tell us what happened, ask questions, and discuss how our car accident lawyers can help. Call (954) 424-1440 or complete the confidential online form for a free consultation. You pay no attorney’s fees or costs unless compensation is recovered on your behalf. To learn how clients describe working with us, read their testimonials.

Proudly serving clients in Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Margate, Oakland Park, Miramar, Weston, Davie, Sunrise, Pompano Beach, and throughout Broward County.

Copyright © 2026. Cohen and Juda, P.A. All rights reserved.

The information in this blog post (post) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country, or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

Cohen and Juda, P.A.
8211 W Broward Blvd., Suite 310
Plantation, FL 33324
(954) 424-1440
https://www.cohenandjudaflorida.com/