Where New Port Richey’s serious crashes happen
Pasco County averages roughly 100 traffic deaths and more than 1,000 serious injuries a year, and about 125 of those deaths and serious injuries involve pedestrians or bicyclists, according to the five-year figures the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization reports from FLHSMV crash data. New Port Richey’s share is concentrated on a handful of corridors we see in case after case:
- US-19. The coastal highway through New Port Richey and Port Richey is routinely called one of the deadliest roads in the country, and Pasco County has approved mid-block crosswalks and FDOT lighting and signal projects to try to change that. Left turns across six lanes at Trouble Creek Road, Main Street, Marine Parkway and Ridge Road, and pedestrians crossing between signals near Gulf View Square Mall, account for many of the worst injuries.
- State Road 54. The main east-west route between US-19, Little Road, Seven Springs Boulevard and Trinity. Rear-end and turning collisions cluster at the Little Road and Rowan Road intersections, and commuter traffic toward the Suncoast Parkway keeps speeds high.
- Little Road (County Road 1). The north-south connector from Trinity through New Port Richey to Ridge Road, passing the West Pasco Judicial Center and the county government complex, with heavy local traffic turning in and out of plazas and medical offices.
- Ridge Road and Massachusetts Avenue. Ridge Road now carries traffic to the Suncoast Parkway extension, and the intersections at Little Road and US-19 see high-speed crashes; Massachusetts Avenue feeds school and neighborhood traffic into both.
- Downtown: Main Street, Grand Boulevard and Madison Street. Pedestrian traffic around Sims Park, the Hacienda Hotel, downtown restaurants and Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, where drivers and walkers share narrow streets, especially during events on the Cotee River.
- Trouble Creek Road and Rowan Road. Residential arterials with frequent driveway and side-street conflicts, and a steady record of motorcycle and bicycle injuries.
Hurt on one of these roads? Photographs, intersection camera footage and witness names disappear quickly. Contact us the same day if you can, and we start preserving evidence while you focus on treatment.
Personal injury cases we handle in New Port Richey
Car accidents
Rear-end collisions on US-19, left-turn crashes at SR 54 and Little Road, and uninsured drivers are the New Port Richey cases we handle most. Florida’s no-fault system pays the first $10,000 of your medical bills through your own PIP coverage, and only an attorney who knows how to prove a permanent injury can reach the at-fault driver’s policy and your own uninsured motorist coverage. Read more on our New Port Richey car accident page and our Florida car accident practice page.
Truck and commercial vehicle accidents
Delivery vans, dump trucks serving the Starkey Ranch and Ridge Road construction, and semis on US-19 and the Suncoast Parkway. Truck cases involve federal hours-of-service rules, black-box data and corporate insurers who send investigators to the scene the same day; we do too.
Motorcycle accidents
Pasco’s motorcycle crashes are a small share of collisions and nearly a third of its road deaths. Drivers who “didn’t see” a rider on US-19 or Ridge Road are still responsible for the injuries they cause. Motorcycle accidents.
Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
US-19 and Grand Boulevard are among the most dangerous places in Tampa Bay to walk or ride. Florida law gives pedestrians and cyclists the same right to recover as anyone else, and your own PIP policy covers you even when you are on foot. See our Florida pedestrian accident lawyer page.
Rideshare, hit-and-run and drunk-driving crashes
Uber and Lyft policies carry up to $1 million in coverage when a driver is on a trip; hit-and-run victims recover through uninsured motorist coverage; and people hurt by drunk drivers may also have claims against bars and restaurants under Florida’s dram shop law.
Slip and fall and other premises injuries
Wet floors at grocery stores and pharmacies along US-19 and SR 54, broken stairs and railings at apartment complexes, unlit parking lots. Florida requires proof that the business knew or should have known about the hazard, and surveillance video is often 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
Florida holds dog owners strictly liable for bites, and homeowner’s insurance usually pays the claim. Dog bite cases.
Wrongful death
When a crash or a fall takes a family member, Florida’s Wrongful Death Act allows the estate and surviving spouse, children and parents to recover lost support, medical and funeral expenses, and the loss of companionship. Wrongful death.
Insurance and PIP disputes
Carriers that cut off PIP benefits, deny a claim as “not related,” or lowball an uninsured motorist claim. Insurance claims and personal injury protection.
Florida law that decides a New Port Richey injury claim
You have two years, not four. Since March 24, 2023, Florida’s statute of limitations for negligence claims is two years from the date of injury (Florida Statutes § 95.11), the same as for wrongful death. Claims against a city, the county or a state agency add their own notice requirements under § 768.28. Two years passes quickly when treatment runs for months, so the claim should be opened early even if it settles late.
If you were more than half at fault, you recover nothing. Florida moved to modified comparative negligence in 2023 (§ 768.81). A jury that finds you 50 percent or less responsible reduces your award by that share; a finding of 51 percent or more bars recovery entirely. Insurers know this and push fault onto injured people in recorded statements. Do not give one without counsel.
No-fault comes first. Florida still requires every registered car to carry $10,000 in personal injury protection (§ 627.736). PIP pays 80 percent of reasonable medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to that limit, but only if you are seen by a medical provider within 14 days of the crash, and only $2,500 of it unless a physician documents an emergency medical condition. Miss the 14-day window and your own insurer can deny the benefit.
Pain and suffering requires a permanent injury. To recover non-economic damages from the at-fault driver, Florida’s no-fault threshold (§ 627.737) requires proof of a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant scarring or disfigurement, or death. That proof comes from treating physicians and imaging, which is why consistent treatment matters as much to the claim as to your recovery.
Florida does not require bodily injury coverage. It is one of only two states that let drivers register a car with no insurance for the injuries they cause. Bills to replace PIP with mandatory bodily injury coverage have been filed every session, including HB 1181 in 2025, and none has become law as of October 2026. Until one does, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is often the largest source of recovery in a New Port Richey crash, and we review every policy in the household, because UM coverage can follow resident relatives.
Your medical bills are evidence, and the rules changed. Under the 2023 reforms, juries hear the amounts actually paid or owed for treatment rather than the billed amounts, and letters of protection must be disclosed with the referral behind them. Building the damages case correctly from the first visit is a large part of what a lawyer does on a Florida injury claim now.
What you can recover. Medical expenses past and future, lost wages and lost earning capacity, out-of-pocket costs, property damage, and non-economic damages for 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 also claim loss of consortium.
Results for injured clients in Pasco County and 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 who suffered a traumatic brain injury when a car struck him
- $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
- $1,010,000 for a bicyclist hit by the opened door of a rideshare vehicle
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a particular outcome; they show what the firm prepares every case to achieve. See more case results.
Who handles your New Port Richey case
Stacy Kemp Ferrari founded Kemp Law Group in 2008 and owns the firm today. A Stetson University College of Law graduate admitted to The Florida Bar in 2008, she has spent her career representing injured people in West Pasco and the Tampa Bay area. Cases that need a courtroom are prepared by the firm’s 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.
Our Trinity office holds a 4.9-star rating across more than 900 Google reviews, most of them from clients in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
New Port Richey resources after an accident
In an emergency, call 911. These are the agencies and facilities a New Port Richey injury claim usually runs through.
Courthouse
Civil cases from West Pasco are heard in the Sixth Judicial Circuit at the West Pasco Judicial Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey, FL 34654, with the Pasco Clerk & Comptroller’s records office in the same government complex. Most of our cases settle without a lawsuit; the ones that do not are filed here.
Crash reports and police
Crashes inside city limits are investigated by the New Port Richey Police Department, 6739 Adams Street, New Port Richey, FL 34652; crashes in unincorporated Pasco by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, 8700 Citizen Drive, New Port Richey, FL 34654; crashes on US-19, SR 54 and the Suncoast Parkway often by Florida Highway Patrol Troop C. Reports are available to the people involved through FLHSMV’s Florida Crash Portal within a few days; we obtain them for every client.
Hospitals
BayCare Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, 6600 Madison Street, New Port Richey, FL 34652, West Pasco’s only not-for-profit community hospital, with a 24-hour emergency department; HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, 9330 State Road 54, Trinity, FL 34655, a short drive from our office; and HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, 14000 Fivay Road, Hudson, FL 34667, the Level II trauma center where the most serious US-19 crash victims are taken. AdventHealth North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs serves the south end of the city.
Fire and EMS
Pasco County Fire Rescue responds countywide; New Port Richey Fire Rescue within the city.
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.
New Port Richey personal injury questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in New Port Richey?
Two years from the date of the injury for most negligence claims, including car accidents, falls and wrongful death. Claims against a government body, such as a county vehicle or a city-maintained sidewalk, carry separate notice requirements. The insurance claim should be opened within days, not years, so evidence and witnesses are preserved.
What if the insurance company says the crash was partly my 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, which is why we investigate independently, pull camera footage and crash data, and advise clients not to give recorded statements before speaking with us.
Does Florida’s no-fault law mean I can’t sue the other driver?
No. Your own PIP pays the first $10,000 of medical bills regardless of fault. Beyond that, you can claim against the at-fault driver for medical expenses and lost wages, and for pain and suffering once a physician documents a permanent injury. Property damage to your car is a separate claim with no threshold.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. Is there anything I can do?
Usually, yes. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage, so 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, such as an employer, a vehicle owner or a bar that over-served a drunk driver.
What does a New Port Richey injury lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. Kemp Law Group works on contingency: 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.
Where would my case be filed, and will I have to go to court?
Most cases settle with the insurer without a lawsuit. If one is needed, it is filed in Pasco County’s Sixth Judicial Circuit at the West Pasco Judicial Center on Little Road, and we prepare every case as though it will be tried there.
Do I have to come to your Trinity office?
No. We meet clients at 11567 Trinity Boulevard, about 15 minutes from downtown New Port Richey, but we also handle everything by phone, text and video, and we visit clients at home or in the hospital when injuries make travel hard.
How do I get my crash report?
If you were involved in the crash, you can download it from FLHSMV’s Florida Crash Portal a few days after the agency files it, or request it from the New Port Richey Police Department, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office or Florida Highway Patrol, whichever responded. Once you hire us, we obtain it and the officer’s body-camera and dash-camera footage where it exists.
Talk to a New Port Richey personal injury lawyer today
The insurer already has adjusters, investigators and lawyers working on your crash. 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 New Port Richey, Port Richey, Trinity, Hudson, Holiday, Odessa and all of Pasco County, with meetings by appointment across Tampa Bay and home and hospital visits anywhere in Florida.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
