The roads that fill our Hillsborough County files
Hillsborough County records about 25,000 crashes a year, roughly 70 a day, with around 170 deaths and more than 15,000 injuries, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ crash dashboard, and nearly a quarter of its crashes are hit-and-runs. The corridors that fill our Hillsborough files:
- I-275 and I-4 through Tampa: the downtown interchange, the Howard Frankland approach, the Westshore and Ybor stretches, and the I-4 run east to Brandon and Plant City, with high-speed rear-end chains and the ramp merges at every exit.
- Dale Mabry Highway and Hillsborough Avenue (US-92): the six-lane commercial strips of the city, a driveway or a signal every few hundred feet, left turns across traffic and red-light running at the big intersections.
- Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Fowler Avenue and Fletcher Avenue: the USF and New Tampa corridors, commuter speed and the I-75 interchanges.
- US-301, Brandon Boulevard (SR-60) and the Selmon Expressway: the routes to Brandon, Riverview and the port, with truck traffic, the Crosstown ramps and the Big Bend Road growth that outran the roads.
- Gunn Highway, Ehrlich Road, Sheldon Road and the Veterans Expressway: northwest Hillsborough, Citrus Park, Carrollwood and Westchase, with the left-turn crashes at the plazas and the toll-road ramps.
- US-41, SR-39 and the county roads of Plant City, Seffner, Ruskin and Wimauma: two- and four-lane roads at highway speed, agricultural and truck traffic, and long response times when a crash happens far from the hospitals.
Cases we handle in Hillsborough County
- Car accidents: I-275 and I-4 rear-end chains, Dale Mabry and Hillsborough Avenue left turns and red-light crashes, and the uninsured drivers Florida’s no-BI-requirement law puts on every road. See our Tampa car accident page.
- Truck accidents: the port and distribution freight on I-4, US-301 and the Selmon, the delivery fleets on every arterial, and the carriers, brokers and federal rules those cases involve.
- Motorcycle accidents: Hillsborough recorded about 500 motorcycle crashes and nearly 30 rider deaths in 2025; Gunn Highway, Dale Mabry and the causeways are where drivers turn across riders. See our Citrus Park motorcycle page.
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: the Tampa Bay region ranks among the deadliest in the country for people walking and riding; Hillsborough saw about 680 pedestrian crashes with about 50 deaths and about 750 bicycle crashes with 20 deaths in 2025.
- Slip and fall and negligent security: the malls and plazas, the hotels and bars of Ybor and downtown, the apartment complexes, and the parking lots in every part of the county.
- Wrongful death: for families who lost someone to any of the above.
The Florida law that decides a Hillsborough County injury claim
Florida is a no-fault state for the first $10,000: your own personal injury protection pays 80 percent of medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages, only if you are seen within 14 days. A claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering requires a permanent injury under section 627.737. Florida’s modified comparative fault rule under section 768.81 bars recovery for anyone found more than 50 percent at fault and reduces it by any smaller share. The deadline to sue for a negligence claim is two years from the injury under section 95.11, as amended in 2023, and a claim against Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace or Plant City, HART, the School District, the Port or the state requires written notice under section 768.28 before suit, with that statute’s damage limits.
Hillsborough County resources after an accident
In an emergency, call 911. These are the courts, agencies and hospitals a Hillsborough County injury claim runs through.
Courthouse
Civil cases are filed in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 East Twiggs Street, Tampa, FL 33602, with the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court in the same building. It is the busiest civil circuit in Tampa Bay, and our attorneys appear there regularly. Most of our cases settle without a lawsuit; the ones that do not are filed here.
Police and crash reports
Crashes inside Tampa are investigated by the Tampa Police Department; inside Temple Terrace and Plant City by their police departments; in the unincorporated county, which includes Brandon, Riverview, Carrollwood, Citrus Park, Westchase, Town ‘N’ Country, Seffner, Lutz and Ruskin, by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, 2008 East 8th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605; and crashes on I-275, I-4, I-75 and the Veterans Expressway often by Florida Highway Patrol Troop C. Reports are available through the state’s crash portal.
Hospitals
Tampa General Hospital, 1 Tampa General Circle, Tampa, FL 33606, is the region’s Level I trauma center and the destination for the county’s worst crashes, including many flown from Pasco, Hernando and Pinellas; St. Joseph’s Hospital, 3001 West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607, and St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz; AdventHealth Tampa, 3100 East Fletcher Avenue, Tampa, FL 33613, and AdventHealth Carrollwood; HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital; HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, 119 Oakfield Drive, Brandon, FL 33511; and South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue respond countywide, and their run reports are part of every file we build.
Communities we serve in Hillsborough County
We represent injured people in every part of Hillsborough, and each of these pages covers the roads, courts and hospitals of one community:
- Tampa: I-275, I-4, Dale Mabry, Hillsborough Avenue and the bridges
- Brandon: SR-60, US-301 and the I-75 and Selmon interchanges
- Riverview: US-301, Big Bend Road and the I-75 corridor
- Carrollwood: North Dale Mabry, Ehrlich Road and Gunn Highway
- Citrus Park: Gunn Highway, Sheldon Road and the Veterans Expressway
- Westchase: Linebaugh, Sheldon and Countryway
- Town ‘N’ Country: Hillsborough Avenue west, Waters Avenue and the airport approaches
- Westshore: Kennedy Boulevard, Westshore Boulevard and the Howard Frankland
- Seffner: US-92, I-4 and Parsons Avenue
- Temple Terrace: Fowler, Fletcher and 56th Street
- Plant City: I-4, SR-39 and the east county roads
- Lutz: US-41, Dale Mabry and SR-54 at the Pasco line
How Kemp Law Group handles Hillsborough County cases
Our office is at 11567 Trinity Boulevard in Trinity, 30 minutes from northwest Hillsborough by the Veterans Expressway and 40 to 60 minutes from Tampa, Brandon and the east county. Partner Kelly Cook, a Tampa native and former partner at a Tampa civil trial defense firm, leads the firm’s Hillsborough County cases. Most Hillsborough clients handle their cases by phone, text and video and meet us in person by appointment; when a serious injury keeps you at home or in the hospital, we come to you. We order the crash report, the 911 audio, the body-camera and business video and the medical records from Tampa General, St. Joseph’s, AdventHealth or whichever hospital treated you, our investigators photograph the scene and find the witnesses, and if the case has to be tried it is tried at the Edgecomb courthouse before judges our attorneys appear in front of regularly.
Results for injured clients in Hillsborough County and across Florida
Kemp Law Group has recovered more than $400 million for injured clients since 2008, including $2,415,000 for a motorcyclist struck by a car that violated his right of way, $2,000,000 for a family in a wrongful death truck accident, $2,000,000 for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, and $1,150,000 for a driver rear-ended at a stoplight and spun into oncoming traffic in an eight-vehicle crash. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee an outcome. See our case results.
Who handles your Hillsborough County case
Stacy Kemp Ferrari founded Kemp Law Group in 2008 and owns it today; admitted to The Florida Bar in 2008, she has spent her career representing injured people across Tampa Bay. Kelly Cook, born and raised in Tampa, leads the firm’s Hillsborough County cases with the perspective of years spent defending insurers. 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 950 Google reviews, many from clients in Tampa, Brandon, Riverview and the rest of Hillsborough County.
Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough County injury claims
Where is your office from Hillsborough County?
At 11567 Trinity Boulevard in Trinity, about 30 minutes from Carrollwood, Citrus Park and Westchase by the Veterans Expressway, 40 from downtown Tampa, 50 from Brandon and Riverview and an hour from Plant City. We meet Hillsborough clients by appointment, at home or in the hospital, and handle most of the case by phone, text and video.
How long do I have to file a claim in Hillsborough County?
Two years from the date of injury for negligence and wrongful death claims. Claims against Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, HART, the School District, the Port or a state agency require written notice under section 768.28 before suit, so call sooner if a government vehicle or property was involved.
Who decides who was at fault?
The evidence does: the crash report, the cameras, the vehicle data and the witnesses, measured against Florida’s comparative fault rule under section 768.81. The other driver’s account and the adjuster’s opinion are not the last word, and a share of fault under 50 percent reduces a claim rather than ending it.
The other driver had no insurance. What can I do?
Claim under your own uninsured motorist coverage or a household member’s, which pays what the at-fault driver should have; Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage, so UM is often the largest source of recovery in Hillsborough cases.
Which courthouse hears my case?
The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in downtown Tampa, for every part of the county. Most cases settle without a lawsuit, and most lawsuits settle before trial; we prepare every case as though a Hillsborough County jury will hear it.
I was hit by a HART bus, a county truck or a city vehicle. Is that different?
Yes. Claims against a government agency are allowed under Florida law but carry written notice requirements and damage limits under section 768.28, with larger recoveries possible only through a claims bill in the Legislature. We open those claims immediately, because the agency gets six months to investigate before suit can be filed and the evidence does not wait.
What does a Hillsborough County injury lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee within the Florida Bar’s maximum percentages, paid only from a recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee.
Serving Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Carrollwood, Citrus Park, Westchase, Town ‘N’ Country, Westshore, Seffner, Temple Terrace, Plant City, Lutz, Ruskin, Apollo Beach and every community in Hillsborough County, with meetings by appointment and home and hospital visits anywhere in Tampa Bay. Call (727) 847-4878 or contact us online; we answer 24/7, in English and Spanish, and you pay no fee unless we win.
