Car Accidents in Boca Raton
A car accident claim is not one file moving along one path. Medical care, crash evidence, and insurance coverage develop at the same time. A problem on any one track can reduce the benefits or compensation available later.
Drazen Mancini, P.A. helps injured people coordinate those moving parts: opening the correct claims, preserving evidence, documenting injuries, and responding when an insurer disputes fault or treatment. Car accident cases fall within the firm’s broader Palm Beach County personal injury practice, but they involve a distinct sequence of Florida insurance rules.
Boca Raton FL Injury Practice Areas
Learn more about our Palm Beach County FL Personal Injury practice.
- Car Accidents in Boca Raton FL
Drazen Mancini, P.A.
Car accident legal help
The First Days Set Up the Entire Claim
Your health comes first. Once you are safe, the goal is to create reliable records without guessing about fault or minimizing symptoms that may still be developing.
When possible:
- Report the collision to law enforcement and obtain the report number.
- Photograph vehicle positions, damage, debris, traffic controls, skid marks, and anything blocking a driver’s view.
- Get witness names and contact information before people leave.
- Notify your insurer, but avoid speculation in recorded or written statements.
- Save medical papers, repair estimates, towing receipts, work notes, and insurance correspondence.
Do not repair or dispose of a severely damaged vehicle before considering whether it contains important evidence. Nearby video, vehicle data, and electronic records may also disappear unless someone acts promptly to preserve them.
How Florida Car Accidents Move Through PIP
Florida’s no-fault system usually begins with personal injury protection, or PIP. This coverage pays qualifying benefits without first deciding who caused the crash.
Under Florida’s PIP statute, PIP generally pays 80% of reasonable and medically necessary covered treatment and 60% of gross income lost because an injury prevents you from working. Medical and disability benefits share a limit of up to $10,000, subject to policy terms and any deductible.
Access to the full medical benefit generally requires a qualifying provider to determine that the injured person had an emergency medical condition. Without that determination, medical reimbursement may be limited to $2,500. This makes the initial evaluation and the provider’s documentation important even when the full extent of an injury is not yet known.
PIP can also become disputed during treatment. An insurer may question whether care is related or medically necessary and may request a medical examination. An unreasonable refusal or failure to attend can end responsibility for later PIP benefits. Drazen Mancini, P.A. can review requests, benefit explanations, and denials before a misunderstanding interrupts payment.
The Crash Report Starts the Investigation but Does Not Finish It
A police report helps identify drivers, vehicles, witnesses, insurers, and the officer’s observations. It does not automatically decide civil responsibility.
Florida’s crash-report law generally prevents the report and protected statements made to complete it from being used as trial evidence. A citation—or the absence of one—also may not answer every question about fault.
A complete investigation may require:
- Scene, vehicle, and injury photographs
- 911 recordings, body-camera footage, and independent witness accounts
- Dashcam, doorbell, business, or traffic-camera video
- Vehicle event data and inspection findings
- Phone records, signal timing, roadway plans, or maintenance records
- Medical records connecting the collision to the diagnosed injuries
Drazen Mancini, P.A. examines the evidence behind the report, particularly when drivers disagree about lane position, right of way, following distance, or the sequence of a multi-vehicle collision.
Which Insurance Policy Pays After PIP
PIP rarely answers the entire compensation question. It does not necessarily cover every medical bill, all lost income, or the broader effect of a serious injury.
The next step is identifying every potentially available policy:
- The at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage under an applicable policy
- Coverage for a vehicle owner, employer, delivery company, or commercial operator
- Specialized coverage when an Uber, Lyft, or another platform is involved
Proof that a driver had insurance does not establish that adequate bodily injury coverage exists. The Florida Department of Financial Services explains that uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can pay injury damages when the at-fault party has no bodily injury coverage or insufficient limits. Florida law requires UM coverage to be offered with qualifying bodily injury policies unless it is rejected or reduced in writing.
A crash involving an app-based driver may require a separate analysis of the driver’s activity at the time. The firm provides additional information about these claims on its rideshare accident page.
The Medical Record Determines When the Claim Is Ready
An early settlement offer may arrive before doctors know whether an injury will heal, require future treatment, or cause lasting limitations. Accepting a bodily injury settlement normally requires a release, so the claim cannot simply be reopened if the condition later worsens.
Florida’s motor vehicle injury threshold generally permits recovery for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience when the injury involves a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death.
The threshold mainly controls noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. It does not mean that a nonpermanent injury has no value. Unpaid medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, and other financial losses still require careful review. The treating providers’ prognosis, future-care recommendations, work restrictions, and explanation of lasting limitations can therefore matter as much as the current bill total.
Drazen Mancini, P.A.
Car accident legal help
Fault Percentages Can Reduce or End Recovery
Florida uses modified comparative fault. Under Florida Statutes § 768.81, compensation is reduced by the injured person’s percentage of responsibility. A person found more than 50% at fault generally cannot recover damages in a negligence case.
Insurers may raise this issue by alleging speeding, distraction, an unsafe lane change, or a failure to avoid the collision. Photographs, video, vehicle data, and independent witnesses can make the difference between an unsupported allegation and a defensible fault assessment.
Two Florida Time Limits That Matter Most
14 days: Initial qualifying medical care must generally begin within 14 days of the collision to obtain PIP medical benefits. Waiting longer can prevent PIP from paying treatment even if the crash caused the injury.
2 years: Florida’s limitations statute generally allows two years to file a negligence lawsuit. Older crashes, government defendants, and other legal theories may involve different rules, so the filing deadline should be checked for the specific case.
Drazen Mancini’s Car-Accident Experience From Claim to Court
Founding partner Eugenio Mancini has devoted his legal career to car accident and slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall cases. He has handled thousands of matters before litigation and hundreds of litigated cases, and he assists clients in English and Spanish.
Founding partner Dan Drazen has handled motor vehicle and trucking cases through multiple stages of litigation, including depositions, court proceedings, and trial preparation. The firm’s published case results include a $240,000 rear-end accident recovery and a $100,000 recovery in a disputed-liability motor vehicle case. Past results do not guarantee the outcome of another matter.
When you contact Drazen Mancini, P.A., you can explain where the crash happened, what treatment you have received, and which insurers have contacted you. The firm can then identify immediate concerns, available coverage, missing records, and evidence that may need to be preserved.
The firm offers free consultations and handles injury matters on a contingency basis, meaning there is no legal fee unless it obtains a recovery. Call 561-783-4534 or use the firm’s contact page to discuss what happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays my medical bills after a Florida car accident?
An applicable PIP policy generally pays first for covered treatment, regardless of fault. Health insurance, medical payments coverage, the at-fault party’s bodily injury insurer, or UM coverage may address expenses that remain. Keep every bill and explanation of benefits so unpaid balances are not overlooked.
Should I give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement?
You generally do not have a contractual duty to provide a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Statements made before you know the diagnosis, coverage, or evidence can be used to challenge fault or minimize injuries. Your own policy may require cooperation, so review that request separately.
What if I was partly responsible for the collision?
Partial responsibility does not automatically defeat the claim. If you are 50% or less at fault, your damages may be reduced by your percentage of responsibility. Because more than 50% fault can bar recovery, investigate disputed lane changes, speed, visibility, and evasive actions instead of accepting an adjuster’s initial assessment.
How much is my Florida car accident claim worth?
The answer depends on fault, available insurance, unpaid medical costs, lost income, future treatment, permanence, and the injury’s effect on daily life. A meaningful evaluation usually requires the policy information and enough medical evidence to understand the prognosis—not just the first repair estimate or emergency-room bill.
Sources
- Drazen Mancini, P.A. Palm Beach County personal injury practice
- Drazen Mancini, P.A. contact page
- Eugenio Mancini attorney profile
- Dan Drazen attorney profile
- Drazen Mancini, P.A. case results
- Florida Statutes § 316.066 — Written crash reports
- Florida Statutes § 627.727 — Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
- Florida Statutes § 627.736 — Personal injury protection benefits
- Florida Statutes § 627.737 — Motor vehicle injury threshold
- Florida Statutes § 768.81 — Comparative fault
- Florida Statutes § 95.11 — Limitations of actions
- Florida Department of Financial Services automobile insurance overview
Drazen Mancini, P.A.
Car accident legal help
