Hollywood, FL Car Accident Lawyer | Attorney Dean Levy
Last reviewed by Attorney Dean Levy on April 20, 2026. This page is reviewed quarterly to reflect current Florida personal injury law.
TL;DR
- Broward County logged 36,871 crashes in 2025 per FLHSMV data.
- Seek medical treatment within 14 days to preserve PIP benefits.
- Florida’s statute of limitations is 2 years from crash date.
- Florida does not require bodily injury liability coverage.
- Contingency-fee basis: no fees unless we recover compensation.
Hollywood sits at the intersection of heavy I-95 commuter traffic, Seminole Hard Rock casino crowds, and coastal A1A tourist flow. These traffic patterns produce distinctive car accident cases that require local knowledge and Florida-specific legal strategy. This page explains how Hollywood car accident cases work, what Florida law requires, and how Dean Levy Injury Law approaches them.
What does a Hollywood car accident lawyer do?
A Hollywood car accident lawyer investigates the crash, identifies all liable parties, activates insurance coverage sources (PIP, UM/UIM, BIL), negotiates with adjusters, and files suit when settlement offers are inadequate. The lawyer removes the insurance burden from you while you focus on physical recovery from the crash.
Core tasks include obtaining Florida Highway Patrol or Hollywood Police Department reports, preserving surveillance footage before it is overwritten, interviewing witnesses, retaining accident reconstruction experts when needed, and calculating past and future damages including medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
What is Florida’s 14-day rule after a car accident?
Florida’s 14-day rule requires car accident victims to seek medical treatment within 14 days of the crash to preserve Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits. Miss this window and you forfeit the $10,000 in medical coverage your own insurer would otherwise provide under Florida Statute 627.736.
Qualifying providers include emergency rooms, urgent care, primary care physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists. Memorial Regional Hospital on Johnson Street, HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, and local urgent care centers all satisfy the requirement for Hollywood residents.
How long do I have to file a Hollywood car accident claim?
Florida’s statute of limitations for most car accident claims is 2 years from the crash date. The deadline was shortened from 4 years under 2023’s HB 837 tort reform. Uninsured motorist claims may have different contractual deadlines set by your own policy terms.
Practical timelines are shorter than the statute suggests. Surveillance footage gets overwritten within 30 days. Witnesses lose memory of details. Insurance adjusters document your delays as evidence that injuries are not serious. Early attorney involvement preserves evidence that would otherwise disappear.
What are Hollywood’s most dangerous roads and intersections?
Hollywood’s crash patterns cluster along I-95, Hollywood Boulevard, Sheridan Street, and the Seminole Hard Rock area at Stirling Road and State Road 7. Broward County recorded 36,871 total crashes in 2025 per FLHSMV preliminary data, with 11,301 of those being hit-and-run crashes resulting in 2,392 injuries and 25 deaths.[1]
| Location | Crash Type | Primary Hazard |
|---|---|---|
| I-95 Exit 21 (Hollywood Blvd) | Rear-end, merging | Tourist and rideshare traffic |
| I-95 Exit 20 (Sheridan St) | Rear-end, truck | Commercial truck volume |
| Young Circle roundabout | Pedestrian, yield | Roundabout confusion |
| Stirling Rd at SR-7 | T-bone, DUI | Hard Rock casino traffic |
| Hollywood Blvd at US-1 | Left-turn, pedestrian | High-volume intersection |
| A1A along Hollywood Beach | Pedestrian, bicycle | Tourist pedestrian density |
What if I was hit by a drunk driver leaving the Hard Rock?
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino draws large crowds to the Hollywood area, and drunk driver crashes in surrounding corridors are a recurring case pattern. Your claims include direct liability against the driver, potential punitive damages under Florida Statute 768.73, and in narrow circumstances a dram shop claim against the serving establishment.
Florida’s dram shop statute, Florida Statute 768.125, permits dram shop liability only against establishments that served a person known to be habitually addicted to alcohol or served a person known to be under 21. The Seminole Hard Rock sits on tribal land, which creates jurisdictional complexity that requires experienced counsel.
What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
Florida does not require bodily injury liability coverage, producing one of the nation’s highest uninsured-driver rates. When the at-fault driver has no coverage, your own Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM) coverage becomes the primary source of recovery for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Other recovery sources include resident-relative UM policies, the vehicle owner under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the driver’s employer if the crash occurred during work, and third-party claims where facts support them. Our complete guide to uninsured driver cases walks through every option.
What happens if I was partially at fault for the crash?
Under Florida’s 2023 modified comparative negligence law, you can still recover if you are 50% or less at fault, but your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. The statute is Florida Statute 768.81.
Example: with $100,000 in damages and a jury finding you 20% at fault, you recover $80,000. Find you 51% at fault and you recover zero. Strong liability evidence (dashcam, surveillance, witness statements, reconstruction) keeps your fault percentage low.
How much is my Hollywood car accident case worth?
Case value depends on injury severity, permanence of impairment, medical costs (past and future), lost earnings and earning capacity, available insurance coverage, and liability clarity. Florida has no cap on compensatory damages in most car accident cases.
Typical soft-tissue cases settle in the $5,000 to $25,000 range. Cases involving surgery, spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or permanent impairment reach six or seven figures. Wrongful death cases carry additional statutory damages. Honest case evaluation requires reviewing your specific facts, injuries, and coverage limits in a free consultation.
How long will my Hollywood car accident case take?
Most Florida car accident cases resolve in 6 to 18 months from crash date. Straightforward cases with clear liability and modest injuries settle faster. Cases involving disputed liability, catastrophic injuries, or litigation can extend to 2 or 3 years.
Timeline factors include medical treatment duration (cases rarely settle before maximum medical improvement), insurance carrier cooperation, whether suit must be filed, and Broward County court scheduling. Dean Levy prioritizes the right outcome over the fast one. Quick settlements are usually cheap settlements.
Should I take the insurance company’s first offer?
No. First offers are designed to close the case before full injury value becomes apparent. Medical bills accumulate over months. Many injuries (soft tissue, concussion, spinal) do not manifest full symptoms for weeks after the crash. Once you sign a release, you cannot reopen the claim.
Have counsel evaluate any offer before accepting. Adjusters expect counter-offers, and a firm that knows how to present injury severity and liability strength routinely recovers multiples of the initial offer amount.
Why work with Attorney Dean Levy for a Hollywood car accident?
Dean Levy Injury Law is a Hollywood hometown practice. Dean grew up in Hollywood, knows the streets and intersections, and personally handles every case from intake through resolution. Admitted to the Florida Bar in November 2018 with over 7 years of experience, Dean has spent his practice representing injured Hollywood and Broward County clients.
| Feature | Volume Billboard Firms | Dean Levy Injury Law |
|---|---|---|
| First contact | Intake call center | Attorney Dean Levy |
| Case handler | Associate or paralegal | Attorney Dean Levy |
| Hollywood knowledge | Minimal | Native, born-and-raised |
| Caseload per attorney | 100-400 | Deliberately limited |
| Trial willingness | Rare | Trial-ready reputation |
| Contingency fee | 33-40% | 33-40% (competitive) |
Hollywood car accident? Talk to a Hollywood native, not a call center.
(888) 613-3326 — Free ConsultationNo fees unless we win. Attorney Levy personally handles every case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Call 911, get medical attention, document the scene with photos, exchange information carefully, and decline to give recorded statements to any insurance adjuster. Get medical treatment within 14 days to preserve PIP benefits. Contact an attorney before speaking substantively with any insurance company.
Your own PIP coverage pays 80% of medical bills up to $10,000 regardless of fault. For serious injuries beyond PIP limits, recovery comes from the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage, your UM/UIM coverage, and potentially health insurance (with subrogation rights back to the settlement).
Florida law requires reporting any crash involving injury, death, or property damage over $500. Even for apparently minor crashes, the police report documents fault determination and insurance information that becomes central to any later claim. Always call police to the scene.
Florida law applies to crashes occurring in Florida regardless of the driver’s home state. Multi-state insurance coordination is handled by your attorney. Out-of-state policies generally cover Florida crashes, but coverage terms and limits may differ from Florida policies.
No. Florida does not require UM coverage, but insurers must offer it and drivers must reject it in writing. Given Florida’s high uninsured-driver rate and absence of mandatory bodily injury liability, UM coverage is the most valuable optional coverage for Florida drivers.
Yes, if you meet Florida’s serious injury threshold: permanent injury, significant scarring or disfigurement, significant loss of important bodily function, or death. Most injuries requiring medical treatment beyond initial ER care meet this threshold. Pain and suffering damages often exceed economic damages.
When the at-fault driver was working (delivery, rideshare, commercial driving), the employer is typically liable under respondeat superior. Commercial and business policies carry far higher coverage limits than personal auto policies, often ranging from $1 million to $5 million or more.
Related Topics
- Hollywood personal injury lawyer (all injury cases in Hollywood, FL)
- Florida’s 14-day rule playbook (protect PIP benefits after a crash)
- At-fault driver with no insurance (UM coverage and recovery options)
- Drunk driver cases (dram shop and punitive damages)
Dean Levy Injury Law | 955 South Federal Hwy, Suite 416, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 | (888) 613-3326