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If it was partly your fault, yes, you can likely still file a claim. Florida law only shuts the door completely if you’re found more than half responsible for what happened. Below that line, you can still recover compensation; it’s just reduced by your share of the blame.
That threshold changed a few years ago, and it catches a lot of people off guard. If someone’s told you your claim isn’t worth pursuing because you played a part in the crash, a Boca Raton personal injury attorney can tell you where your case is likely to land.
Has Florida’s fault law changed recently?
Yes. Until March 2023, Florida let you recover something no matter how much of the accident was your fault; even a driver found 90% responsible could still collect that remaining 10%. That’s no longer the rule.
Since then, Florida law has drawn a hard line: if you’re found more than half at fault for your own injuries, you can’t recover anything. At 50% or less, you can still recover, just reduced by your share of the blame. One important wrinkle: this newer rule only applies to accidents that happened on or after March 24, 2023. If your crash happened before then, the older, more forgiving rule may still apply to your case, even if you’re only filing now.
Does this rule apply to medical malpractice claims?
No. Birth injury cases, misdiagnosis claims, and other cases arising from medical negligence still follow the older, more forgiving rule, and you can recover compensation for your share of the harm no matter how much fault you carry. Claims based on someone’s intentional actions, rather than negligence, work differently too.
How do we figure out who’s at fault?
Fault gets built from evidence — sometimes negotiated with the insurance company, sometimes decided by a jury.
Picture a crash at Military Trail and Glades Road: you’re going straight, the light turns yellow as you enter the intersection, and a driver coming the other way turns left across your lane. His insurance company says you had room to stop. Yours says he failed to yield. Neither side is lying; they just each remember it differently. That’s how a claim ends up contested, and what ultimately decides it is the evidence: police reports, photos of the scene and the damage, dashcam footage, data pulled from the vehicle’s event recorder, witness accounts, and medical records tying your injuries to the crash. That data recorder download is worth asking about early, before the vehicle gets repaired or sold.
What you say at the scene can be used against you
Apologizing after a crash is a natural reflex, but insurance adjusters read it as an admission of fault. Stick to what you know for certain, like your direction of travel and what you saw, and don’t guess at things like your speed or what caused the crash.
What can you still recover if you shared the blame?
The same types of compensation as anyone else: medical bills and future treatment, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, scarring, and the toll the accident has taken on your daily life. All of it gets reduced by your share of the fault, but none of it disappears just because you carry some blame.
Have a Boca Raton attorney put a number on your share of fault
You don’t have to accept the first offer from the insurance company, even if they imply that you won’t get a better one. Get a professional review of your personal injury case. Call (561) 655-1990 or contact us online for a free consultation about your personal injury case.
Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath has represented injured Floridians for more than 40 years, with 21 attorneys and an office at 2700 N. Military Trail in Boca Raton. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees unless compensation is recovered.