Pinellas Park Personal Injury Attorney

You were driving down Park Boulevard, crossing 49th Street North, or pulling onto US-19 when someone else stopped paying attention. Now you’re hurt, the bills are starting, and an adjuster has already called. The Reyes Firm represents injured people in Pinellas Park and throughout Pinellas County, and the first thing worth knowing is that Florida gives you a very short window to protect your own insurance benefits.

Do you need a Pinellas Park personal injury attorney?

You need one when someone else’s carelessness left you with injuries, and especially when an insurance company is already deciding what your claim is worth. Adjusters are trained, experienced, and paid to close files cheaply. You are recovering from an injury and doing this for the first time.

You may not need a lawyer for a fender bender with no injuries. Once there’s ongoing treatment, missed work, or any argument about who caused the crash, the gap between what an unrepresented person gets offered and what the case is worth tends to widen fast.

Consultations are free, so finding out where your situation falls costs you nothing.

⚠️ Deadline Warning: Under Florida Statute § 95.11(3)(a), you have two years from the date of your crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline almost always means losing your right to recover anything. Don’t wait to call a lawyer.

You have 14 days to see a doctor, or you lose your PIP benefits

This is the deadline that catches Florida drivers off guard, and it runs far faster than the two-year one.

Under Florida Statute § 627.736(1)(a), you must receive initial medical care within 14 days of a motor vehicle crash to be eligible for Personal Injury Protection benefits. Wait until day 15 because you assumed the soreness would pass, and your own PIP coverage — up to $10,000 — is gone.

There’s a second trap inside the same statute. PIP pays up to $10,000 only if a qualifying medical provider determines you have an emergency medical condition. Without that determination, benefits are capped at $2,500. The difference is decided by what your treating provider documents in the first days after the crash, not by what you tell the adjuster later.

If you were hurt in a Pinellas Park crash and haven’t seen a doctor yet, do that before you do anything else.

💡 Did You Know? Florida’s deadline for filing most personal injury lawsuits was cut in half in 2023. HB 837 shortened the general negligence statute of limitations from four years to two. Source: Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(a), leg.state.fl.us. Many websites still quote the old four-year figure.

What kinds of injury cases does the firm handle in Pinellas Park?

The firm represents people hurt by another party’s negligence, including:

• Car accidents — rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, and the merge-and-turn wrecks that fill the US-19 and Park Boulevard corridors
• Truck and commercial vehicle crashes — where an employer, a carrier, and a commercial policy all enter the picture
• Motorcycle accidents, which follow different insurance rules because motorcycles carry no PIP
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
• Slip and fall and premises liability — wet floors, uneven walkways, poor lighting, and negligent security
• Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries
• Nursing home abuse and neglect
• Wrongful death, when a family loses someone to another party’s negligence

If your situation isn’t on this list, call anyway. You’ll get a straight answer about whether it’s something the firm handles or something better referred elsewhere.

What has to be proven in a Florida personal injury case?

Negligence, and it breaks into four parts:

1. Duty — the other party owed you a duty of reasonable care. Every driver owes this to everyone else on the road.
2. Breach — they failed to meet it, by speeding, running a light, ignoring a spill, or looking at a phone.
3. Causation — that failure actually caused your injury. This is where insurers fight hardest, usually by blaming a pre-existing condition.
4. Damages — you suffered real losses: medical bills, lost income, physical pain, disruption to your life.

Proof comes from the crash report, photographs, surveillance footage, witness accounts, your medical records, and where needed expert analysis. Most of that evidence has a shelf life. Store camera footage often overwrites within days.

What if the insurance company says the crash was partly your fault?

Expect them to say it. Under Florida’s modified comparative fault rule, your compensation drops by your percentage of fault, and if you’re found more than 50% responsible you recover nothing. That threshold gives insurers a strong financial reason to assign you blame early, often before anyone has reviewed the evidence.

Being partly at fault doesn’t end your claim. It changes the math, and the math is worth fighting over.

🛡️ Your Rights Under Florida Law: Under Florida Statute § 768.81, your compensation is reduced by your share of fault, and you may be barred from recovery if you are found greater than 50% responsible for your own harm. An experienced Pinellas Park personal injury lawyer works to protect the facts, challenge unfair blame, and keep your percentage of fault as low as the evidence allows.

What compensation can you recover?

Economic damages cover what the injury cost you in money: emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and out-of-pocket costs like transportation to appointments or help around the house.

Non-economic damages cover everything else: pain and suffering, mental anguish, scarring and disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium for a spouse.

Punitive damages are rare, reserved for conduct beyond ordinary negligence such as a drunk driver or someone who fled the scene.

Be skeptical of anyone who quotes you a number before reviewing your records. Value depends on injury severity, total treatment cost, available policy limits, and how fault gets apportioned.

What are the 5 steps to take after an accident in Pinellas Park?

These 5 steps protect your health and your case. The order matters.

1. Call 911 and get a report. Pinellas Park Police or the Florida Highway Patrol will document the scene. Write down the report number before you leave — it’s the first neutral record of what happened.
2. See a doctor within 14 days, ideally the same day. This protects your health and your PIP eligibility at the same time. Tell the provider about every symptom, including headaches and memory problems, not just the obvious injury.
3. Photograph everything before it’s cleaned up. Vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, the hazard that caused your fall, road conditions, and your visible injuries. Get witness names and phone numbers.
4. Don’t give a recorded statement to the other side’s adjuster. They call quickly and sound helpful. The questions are built to establish fault and minimize your injuries. You have no obligation to answer before speaking with a lawyer.
5. Call The Reyes Firm before signing anything. Once you sign a release, you waive your right to pursue further compensation, and early offers rarely account for treatment you still need. Call 833-4 BAD DAY for a free consultation.

How The Reyes Firm handles your Pinellas Park injury case

When someone else’s carelessness puts you or someone you love in the hospital, this isn’t paperwork. Life just split into before and after. The other side already has professionals protecting them. We make sure you do too.

When we take on a personal injury case, we typically:

• Move fast on evidence, sending preservation letters for surveillance footage, dashcam video, incident reports, and any data that can be overwritten or quietly disposed of
• Identify every responsible party and every policy, including drivers, vehicle owners, employers, property owners, contractors, and any coverage layered behind them
• Protect your PIP and coordinate your care, so treatment isn’t delayed by billing questions while your claim develops
• Work directly with your treating providers so your medical record reflects the full extent of your injuries and the care you’ll still need years from now
• Calculate full damages, covering past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and the real impact this has had on your daily life and your family
• Handle all insurance communication on your behalf, keeping you shielded from adjusters working to minimize what they pay, and preparing your case as if it will go to trial

No lawyer can promise an outcome. What we can promise is that we explain every decision in plain language, keep you in the loop, and treat your case as what it is — a serious matter with your future attached to it.

Frequently asked questions about injury claims in Pinellas Park

How long do I have to file an injury claim in Florida?

Generally two years from the date of injury under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(a), shortened from four years by HB 837 in 2023. Separately, you have only 14 days to seek medical care to preserve your PIP benefits, and claims against government entities carry their own shorter notice deadlines.

Do I have to drive to Tampa to work with The Reyes Firm?

No. The office is in Tampa, but consultations can happen by phone or video, and documents are handled electronically. Pinellas County civil cases are filed in Pinellas County — the courts sit in Clearwater and St. Petersburg — and being retained by a Tampa firm doesn’t change where your case is heard.

What if I already talked to the insurance adjuster?

It isn’t fatal. Call before the next conversation, and don’t sign anything or accept an offer in the meantime. What you’ve already said can usually be put in context; what you sign is much harder to undo.

How much does it cost to hire The Reyes Firm?

Nothing upfront. The firm works on a contingency fee basis, so legal fees come out of any recovery obtained for you, and you owe no attorney’s fee if there is no recovery. Consultations are free.

What if the driver who hit me had no insurance?

Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may apply, and it’s worth checking your policy even if you think you declined it. Your PIP still applies regardless of fault, subject to the 14-day rule.

How much is my case worth?

It depends on injury severity, total past and future medical costs, lost income, available insurance limits, and how fault is apportioned. A realistic range usually isn’t clear until you approach maximum medical improvement, because settling earlier risks leaving future treatment uncovered.

How long will my case take?

Straightforward claims often resolve within several months. Cases with serious injuries, disputed fault, or multiple policies can take a year or more, particularly if a lawsuit is filed. Your medical recovery drives the timing more than anything else.

Does the firm handle cases in Spanish?

Yes — hablamos español. Both attorneys are bilingual, so you can handle your case in your own language rather than through a relative acting as translator.

About the Attorney

Edward Reyes, Esq.

Edward Reyes, Esq. is a Florida Bar-admitted personal injury attorney and the founder and managing attorney of The Reyes Firm in Tampa, Florida. Before law school he owned and operated a healthcare clinic treating injury and auto accident patients, and his practice now focuses on serious injury and wrongful death cases. Edward Reyes, Esq. represents injured Floridians across Tampa Bay, including Pinellas Park and Pinellas County, on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay nothing unless the firm recovers compensation for them.
Read more about Edward Reyes.

The information on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship with The Reyes Firm. Every case is unique. If you have been injured in an accident in Pinellas Park or elsewhere in Florida, consult a licensed Florida personal injury attorney about your specific situation.