How Long to Report an Accident: Find Out the Time Limit

May 31 2024

Accidents can be incredibly difficult to deal with. One minute, you’re living your life, and the next you’re having to reassess everything from your working situation to your finances in light of long-term medical care.

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That’s a lot to deal with, and it’s hardly surprising that reporting your accident might be at the bottom of your list of priorities. Unfortunately, delays in accident reporting may end up costing you at a time when money could be incredibly important to your recovery.

Unfortunately, this is a mistake that many people make and, according to recent surveys, it’s one that means the majority of insurance payouts come in at less than $10,000. You deserve more after experiencing an injury, and reporting what’s happened promptly is key to securing it.

When you report an accident, you leave a reliable paper trail about what’s happened. Plus, getting your story in as quickly as possible makes it easier for a personal injury lawyer to disprove any false claims from a second party or insurance provider later on.

The question is, how long do you have to report an accident, and to whom should you report it to during that period?

1. Reporting Accident: Time Limits

Florida law dictates that an accident should be reported immediately if it involves death, injury, or over $500 of damage to personal property. This report should be made to the local police or the nearest station of the Florida Highway Patrol in the case of auto accidents.

Your next course of action after orally reporting an accident depends on whether the accident in question is investigated by law enforcement after your initial contact. If yes, then law enforcement will complete any official reports. For auto accidents, this should include the Florida Traffic Crash Report if your accident involves –

Death or injury
A second party who fled the scene
A drunk or intoxicated second-party
Inoperable damage to a vehicle

If no investigation occurs, the Florida Statutes § 316.066 mandate states that you have 10 days to file a written report with the Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This is the only way to ensure accurate reporting of what’s happened, and a go-to paper trail for any accident claims that you make later.

2. Reporting to Insurance: Deadlines

As well as reporting an accident to the local authorities, individuals involved in a car accident should contact their insurance provider, even if they’re at fault. Again, the sooner that you do this, the more likely it is that you’ll receive ample payouts later on, though the exact deadlines for accident reports can vary depending on insurance providers.

In Florida, the majority of insurance companies request that claims be made quickly after an accident, with some even stating that this must be within 24 hours, at the risk of policy cancellation otherwise. It’s therefore crucial to check your insurance documents as soon as possible after an accident and to contact your provider in the stated time frame.

To ensure the quick handling of your case, always keep all important information about your accident on hand when you do report to your insurer, including –

Your policy details
Names of everyone involved
Date and time of the accident
Accident location
Attending officer details (name, badge ID)
Any witness names

3. Filing a Claim: Time Frame

Filing a claim means demanding accident compensation from a defendant or your insurance company if they attempt to avoid a payout. The claims process should follow a time frame that includes –

Police reporting within ten days
Insurance reporting according to your policy
Seeking medical care within no more than 14 days
Filing your claim through a personal injury lawyer within 2 years according to the Statute of Limitations

Taking each of these steps in order ensures that the paperwork on your case is up to date, difficult to refute, and far more likely to result in a successful claim. Especially if you have an experienced personal lawyer fighting your case.

4. Reporting to Police: Time Constraints

Police reports like the Florida Traffic Crash Report outline crucial information including –

Location and time of an accident
Names and contact information of all parties
The name or badge number of the police officer on the scene.

These reports are crucial for filing a claim later on, but falling outside of stated time constraints could potentially limit their viability. Namely, police reporting should be completed within ten days after an accident. Otherwise, paperwork may be unreliable, and considered unusable down the line.

5. Accident Reporting: Claim Deadlines

If proper accident reports have been filed within specified timelines, the Statute of Limitations in Florida states that an individual has up to 2 years to claim for bodily injury and property claims after an accident. This is so that long-lasting, well-documented damage and medical complaints can be compensated as necessary. Some individuals, including minors under 18, may also be eligible for minor extensions that they can secure with the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer.

It is worth noting, however, that, to be effective, claims should ideally be filed before the deadline to file a lawsuit if that should become necessary. This deadline is typically two years.

6. Reporting to Insurance: Time Restrictions

For an insurance claim to result in a payout or remain legitimate in court, it should meet any outlined policy time restrictions, as well as a more generalized set of legal time restrictions regarding the days and weeks after your accident.

Even if you contact your insurance company at the scene, you may still fail to meet those time restrictions if you don’t also get your claim in order by –

Filing an official long-form accident report within 10 days
Seeking medical care within 14 days
Filing any lawsuits within two years

7. Reporting a Car Accident: Insurance Timeline

Following the correct timeline when reporting an accident to your insurer is crucial for ensuring that they can’t dispute your claim. The steps you should take in the direct aftermath of your accident therefore include –

Contacting the police
Contacting your insurance provider
Contacting a personal injury lawyer
Seeking medical care
Filing your claim

If all of this has been completed according to outlined deadlines, your insurance company then has 60 days to ensure the legitimacy of your case. If your case is watertight, as it should be if you’ve followed this timeline, then they have 30 days to pay your claim or raise a dispute. If they exceed this timeline, or you disagree with their dispute, your personal injury lawyer can help you to file a lawsuit.

8. When to Report an Accident: Time Frame

It’s all too easy to skip crucial steps after an accident, and, given that you won’t have legal aid in your corner when you should be taking those first steps, that could see you missing out on deserved compensation later on.

Considering a complete time frame for the reporting of your accident is the best way to ensure a proper paper trail that considers details that could make all the difference to your case, but may otherwise get lost along the way. After an accident, it’s therefore crucial to follow a time frame that includes –

At the scene of the accident: Report to police or local authorities depending on accident severity. Report to your insurance provider. Contact a trusted local personal injury lawyer with experience in cases like yours.
In the next two weeks: Seek a medical report from a medical professional. Report any results to your insurance provider, and arrange follow-up appointments to keep track of ongoing medical issues.
In the next two years: Continue seeking ongoing medical reports as your condition or injury develops. Using these reports, you should file a lawsuit in no longer than two years if you intend to do so.

Report Your Accident to a Trusted Personal Injury Lawyer

Whether you’ve been involved in a car accident, or a trip or fall elsewhere, reporting the accident quickly to the right authorities and insurance providers is key to building a watertight case. Make sure that the case is handled with the expertise necessary to ensure the compensation you deserve by also remembering to report to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Cary C. Woods II is a trusted, experienced personal injury lawyer working in Miami across specializations that include –

The sooner you contact Mr. Woods about your case, the better able he’ll be to build a reliable, stress-free case that secures the compensation you deserve. Mr. Woods will also be able to advise you on deadlines for everything from police reporting to lawsuits, ensuring that you never miss a crucial date for building the strongest case possible.

Mr. Woods’ history of representing insurance providers and big companies means that he has the industry knowledge necessary to foresee and offset any potential issues with your claim. Simply take care of these crucial reporting processes, and let us take care of the rest when you get in touch with Mr. Woods at (786)750-7872 or online today.