Where Central Florida’s serious crashes happen
Orange County alone records more than 30,000 crashes and about 200 traffic deaths a year, and Polk, Volusia and Brevard each lose 100 or more; the I-4 corridor between Tampa and Daytona Beach has been named the most dangerous interstate in the country in several national studies. The corridors that fill our Central Florida files:
- I-4 from Lakeland through Orlando to Daytona Beach: the attractions traffic, the commuters and the freight on one road, with the downtown Orlando interchanges, the SR 408 and SR 417 junctions and the Volusia County stretch producing rear-end chains and wrong-way crashes week after week.
- I-95 and US-1 from Palm Coast through Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Titusville to Melbourne and Palm Bay: high-speed run-off-road crashes, the Dunlawton and International Speedway interchanges and the beachside pedestrian crossings.
- Florida’s Turnpike, SR 528 and SR 417: the toll roads that carry Orlando’s traffic to Kissimmee, Poinciana, the airport and the coast, with high-speed ramp crashes.
- US-192, US-441 (Orange Blossom Trail) and SR 50 (Colonial Drive): Orlando’s and Kissimmee’s arterials, six and eight lanes of hotels, plazas and bus stops, with the region’s worst pedestrian crash counts.
- US-27 and US-17 through Polk County and the Haines City-Winter Haven corridor, and SR 200 and US-441 through Ocala and The Villages: two- and four-lane roads carrying the growth of the last decade at highway speed.
- Alafaya Trail, Semoran Boulevard, Pine Hills Road and US-17-92: the Orlando connectors with school, university and commuter traffic and stop-controlled side streets.
If you were hurt on one of these roads, cameras, event data and witnesses exist for days, not months. Contact us as soon as you can so we can preserve them.
Personal injury cases we handle in Central Florida
Car accidents
I-4 rear-end chains, Turnpike and SR 528 ramp crashes, US-192 and Orange Blossom Trail left turns, tourist drivers unfamiliar with the roads, and uninsured drivers, which in Orange and Osceola counties means roughly one driver in five. Florida’s no-fault rules, the permanent-injury threshold and comparative fault decide these cases, and we explain each below. See the car accident practice page.
Truck and commercial vehicle accidents
The I-4 and Turnpike freight, the theme-park and convention deliveries, the citrus and phosphate trucks of Polk County and the construction traffic on every Central Florida project. These cases turn on federal hours-of-service and maintenance records and on reaching the truck’s data before it is overwritten. Truck accidents.
Motorcycle accidents
Central Florida is a year-round riding region, from Daytona’s Bike Week to the Ocala back roads, and drivers turning across US-1, A1A and the arterials are the riders’ main danger. Drivers who “didn’t see” a rider are still responsible for the injuries they cause. Motorcycle accidents.
Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
Orlando has had one of the highest pedestrian death rates of any metro area in the country for years, on Orange Blossom Trail, Semoran, Colonial Drive, US-192 and the Daytona beachside roads. Pedestrians and cyclists have the same right to recover as anyone else, and your own PIP policy covers you on foot. Pedestrian accidents.
Rideshare, hit-and-run and drunk-driving crashes
Uber and Lyft crashes, hit-and-run claims paid through uninsured motorist coverage, and drunk-driving cases that can include a dram shop claim against the bar.
Slip and fall and premises injuries
The theme parks and resorts, International Drive hotels and attractions, the malls and outlet centers, grocery and big-box stores, apartment complexes, retirement communities and parking lots. Florida requires proof the business knew or should have known of the hazard, and surveillance video is overwritten within days. Slip and fall accidents.
Negligent security
Assaults and shootings at apartment complexes, gas stations, bars and motels where the owner ignored known crime and skipped basic lighting, cameras or staffing. Negligent security.
Dog bites
Strict liability for the owner, usually paid by homeowner’s insurance. Dog bites.
Wrongful death
When a crash or a fall takes a family member, Florida’s Wrongful Death Act allows the estate and the surviving spouse, children and parents to recover lost support, funeral and medical expenses and the loss of companionship. Wrongful death.
Insurance and PIP disputes
Carriers that cut off benefits, deny treatment as unrelated or lowball uninsured motorist claims. Insurance claims and personal injury protection.
The Florida law that decides a Central Florida injury claim
Two years to file. Florida’s statute of limitations for negligence is two years from the injury (Florida Statutes § 95.11), the same as for wrongful death. Claims against Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia, Brevard, Polk, Lake, Sumter or Marion County, a city, LYNX or another transit agency, the airport authority, the expressway authority, a school district or a state agency carry separate notice requirements under § 768.28 and should be opened early.
Modified comparative negligence. Under § 768.81 a jury’s finding that you were 50 percent or less at fault reduces your award by that share; 51 percent or more bars recovery. Insurers build your share in recorded statements. Do not give one without counsel.
No-fault first. Florida requires $10,000 of personal injury protection on every registered car (§ 627.736). It pays 80 percent of medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to that limit, only if you are seen by a medical provider within 14 days, and only $2,500 of it unless a physician documents an emergency medical condition.
Pain and suffering needs a permanent injury. Non-economic damages against the at-fault driver require proof of a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant scarring, or death (§ 627.737). Consistent treatment and imaging supply that proof.
Uninsured drivers. Florida does not require bodily injury coverage and roughly one driver in five carries none. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, and on the policies of relatives in your household, is often the largest source of recovery in a Central Florida crash. We read every policy in the household before we value a case.
Premises and security cases. A business owes its customers reasonable care; for a fall on a transitory substance, § 768.0755 requires proof the business knew or should have known of it, which is why video, inspection logs and incident reports matter. For negligent security, prior crime at and around the property is the evidence, and county public records make it available.
What changed in 2023. Juries now hear what was paid or owed for treatment rather than billed charges; letters of protection are disclosed with the referral; and bad-faith claims against insurers require the insurer to have been given a fair chance to pay. Cases built correctly from the first appointment do well under these rules.
What you can recover. Medical expenses past and future, lost wages and earning capacity, out-of-pocket costs, property damage, and, where the injury is permanent, pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life. Florida places no cap on these damages in an ordinary negligence case. A spouse may claim loss of consortium.
Central Florida resources after an accident
In an emergency, call 911. These are the courts, agencies and hospitals a Central Florida injury claim runs through.
Courthouses
Orange County cases are filed in the Ninth Judicial Circuit at the Orange County Courthouse, 425 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801, and Osceola cases at the Osceola County Courthouse, 2 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee, FL 34741; Seminole and Brevard cases in the Eighteenth Circuit in Sanford and at the Moore Justice Center in Viera; Volusia and Flagler cases in the Seventh Circuit at the Volusia County Courthouse, 101 North Alabama Avenue, DeLand, FL 32724; Polk cases in the Tenth Circuit at the Polk County Courthouse, 255 North Broadway Avenue, Bartow, FL 33830; and Marion, Lake and Sumter cases in the Fifth Circuit at the Marion County Judicial Center, 110 Northwest 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34475, in Tavares and in Bushnell. Most of our cases settle without a lawsuit; the ones that do not are filed in the county where the crash happened.
Crash reports and police
Crashes are investigated by the city police department where one exists (Orlando, Kissimmee, Sanford, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Ocala and the rest), by the Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia, Brevard, Polk, Marion, Lake and Sumter County Sheriff’s Offices in the unincorporated areas, and on the interstates and toll roads by the Florida Highway Patrol. Reports are available to the people involved through FLHSMV’s Florida Crash Portal within a few days; we obtain them for every client, along with body-camera and dash-camera video.
Trauma centers and hospitals
Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, 52 West Underwood Street, Orlando, FL 32806, is the region’s Level I trauma center; AdventHealth Orlando, 601 East Rollins Street, is its largest hospital. The Level II trauma centers are HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, 700 West Oak Street, Kissimmee, FL 34741; Halifax Health Medical Center, 303 North Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114; Holmes Regional Medical Center, 1350 Hickory Street, Melbourne, FL 32901; Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, 1324 Lakeland Hills Boulevard, Lakeland, FL 33805; and HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, 1431 Southwest 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471.
If you were treated at any of these facilities after someone else’s negligence, keep every discharge paper and bill; they are the first documents we ask for.
How Kemp Law Group handles Central Florida cases
Our office is at 11567 Trinity Boulevard in Trinity, in Tampa Bay, and we have represented clients across Florida from it since 2008. For a Central Florida case that means the work you never see happens the same way it does for a client down the street: we open the claim and sign you up by phone, video and e-signature the day you call; we order the crash report, the 911 audio, the body-camera and business video and the medical records from Orlando Health, AdventHealth, Halifax, Holmes or whichever hospital treated you; our investigators photograph the scene and find the witnesses; and we negotiate with the same insurers, who are not local either. When a serious injury keeps you at home or in the hospital, we come to you. If your case has to be tried, it is filed in your county and tried there; Florida Bar admission is statewide, and our attorneys appear in every circuit. Most of our clients outside Tampa Bay never make the drive, and nothing about the case requires it.
Results for injured clients across Florida
Kemp Law Group has recovered over $400 million in settlements since 2008. Recoveries confirmed from the firm’s case records include:
- $2,415,000 for a motorcycle rider with a traumatic brain injury struck by a car
- $2,000,000 for the family of a driver killed by a commercial carrier’s truck
- $2,000,000 for a 64-year-old pedestrian struck while crossing the road
- $1,500,000 for a driver rear-ended in stopped traffic by a commercial truck whose driver fell asleep
- $1,250,000 for a motorcyclist hit by a truck that failed to yield
- $1,150,000 for a passenger in a pickup struck by a semi on State Road 56 in Pasco County
- $1,102,000 for a driver hit by a landscaping company’s vehicle
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a particular outcome. See more case results.
Who handles your Central Florida case
Stacy Kemp Ferrari founded Kemp Law Group in 2008 and owns it today. A graduate of Stetson University College of Law, admitted to The Florida Bar in 2008, she has represented injured people across Florida for her whole career; the firm is based in Tampa Bay and handles cases in every Florida circuit. Florida Bar admission is statewide, so the firm’s attorneys appear in your county’s courts the same as in ours; cases that need a courtroom are prepared by the litigation team under managing litigation attorney Ian Boettcher. From your first call, a member of our team takes the time to understand what happened, and an attorney reviews every case and stays involved from intake to resolution.
The firm’s office holds a 4.9-star rating across more than 900 Google reviews, from clients across Florida.
Central Florida personal injury questions
Do you have an office in Central Florida?
No. Our office is in Trinity, in Tampa Bay, and we represent clients throughout Central Florida from it by phone, video and e-signature, with home and hospital visits for serious injuries; if a case is tried, it is tried in your county, where our attorneys appear the same as in ours. Nothing about a personal injury case requires you to come to us, and none of our Central Florida clients pay more because of the distance.
How long do I have to file a claim in Orange, Volusia or Polk County?
Two years from the date of injury for negligence and wrongful death claims, anywhere in Florida. Claims against a county, a city, a transit, airport or expressway authority, a school district or a state agency have earlier notice deadlines, so call sooner if a government vehicle or property was involved.
What if the insurer says I was partly at fault?
Florida reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it entirely at 51 percent or more. Adjusters assign fault to limit payouts; we investigate independently, pull camera footage and vehicle data, and advise clients not to give recorded statements before speaking with us.
The driver who hit me had no insurance.
We look first to the uninsured motorist coverage on your policy and on the policies of relatives you live with, then to any other responsible party: an employer, a vehicle owner, a bar that over-served a drunk driver.
I was hurt at a theme park, resort or attraction. Is that a case?
Often, yes. Parks, resorts and attractions owe their guests reasonable care, and the ride-incident, security and medical records they keep are the evidence. Their claims departments are experienced and well lawyered, which is why these cases should be opened by counsel early.
Will I have to travel to Tampa Bay?
No. The consultation, the paperwork, the updates and the settlement are all handled by phone, text, video and e-signature; our investigators and records requests go to your area, not the other way round. If a case is tried, the trial is in your own county.
What does a Central Florida personal injury lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery set by Florida Bar rules and explained in writing before you sign, and you owe no fees and no costs unless we win. The consultation is free.
Talk to a Central Florida personal injury lawyer today
The insurer already has adjusters, investigators and lawyers on your case. You should have the same. Call or text 727-847-4878 or contact us online for a free consultation, 24 hours a day. We will tell you honestly whether you have a case, what it is likely worth, and what happens next, and you owe no fees and no costs unless we win.
Kemp Law Group, 11567 Trinity Boulevard, Trinity, FL 34655. Serving Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Poinciana, Sanford, Alafaya, Pine Hills, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Palm Coast, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Winter Haven, Lakeland, The Villages, Ocala and all of Central Florida, by phone, video and e-signature, with home and hospital visits for serious injuries.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
