JONES LAW GROUPYour Lawyers for Life! Personal Injury Law Firm in St. Petersburg
Reviewed by Bobby Jones, Personal Injury Attorney, Jones Law Group | Published | Updated
Clearwater driving has a particular rhythm: the US-19 rush, the Gulf-to-Bay crawl, and every spring, a wave of visitors in rental cars trying to find the beach while looking at their phones. When one of them hits you, the wreck is over in seconds, but what follows drags on: the tow yard, the ER, the missed shifts, and an adjuster whose job is to close your claim cheap. A Clearwater car accident lawyer changes who is doing the negotiating. At Jones Law Group, we have recovered more than $50 million for injured clients across Pinellas County and Tampa Bay, and we handle car accident cases on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win.
We work these cases from our office on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, about 25 minutes down US-19, and if your case has to be filed, it gets filed at the courthouse in downtown Clearwater, where we litigate.
The first hour and the first two weeks decide how strong your claim will be. Take these steps in order.
Adjuster already asking for a recorded statement? You are not required to give one. Call (727) 571-1333 for a free consultation first.
Three rules control nearly every Clearwater car crash claim, and they trip up people who wait too long or trust the process to be fair.
The first is no-fault insurance: your own PIP policy covers your first $10,000 in medical bills and lost wages no matter who caused the wreck, but only if you get initial treatment within 14 days. The second is the escape hatch. Because $10,000 barely covers an ER visit, Florida Statute § 627.737 lets you leave the no-fault system and pursue the at-fault driver directly when your injury is significant and permanent, involves permanent scarring or disfigurement, or results in death. That is where pain-and-suffering compensation lives.
The third is timing and fault. Florida Statute § 95.11, cut from four years to two by HB 837 in , gives you two years from the crash to file suit. And under modified comparative negligence, your recovery shrinks by your percentage of fault and vanishes entirely above 50%, which is precisely the lever adjusters pull. Our guide to Florida’s two-year injury deadline covers the exceptions.
US-19 through Clearwater is the spine of the problem: high speeds, frontage roads feeding on and off, and interchanges at SR 60, Drew Street, Sunset Point, and Countryside Boulevard that mix local and through traffic badly. Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard and McMullen Booth Road carry the commuter volume, the Courtney Campbell Causeway funnels Tampa traffic into town, and in season, the Memorial Causeway to Clearwater Beach turns into a slow river of visitors, rental cars, and distracted navigation-app driving.
The causes are the usual ones, made worse by unfamiliarity: drivers who do not know which lane exits, sudden braking for missed turns, red-light running, tailgating, and impairment on weekend nights. We use Pinellas crash data from Forward Pinellas to show how the specific intersection where you were hit behaves, which strengthens the fault case when the other driver’s story shifts.
Each crash pattern comes with its own evidence problems, and we build the case around them.
The trailing driver is usually presumed at fault, so the fight moves to damages, where insurers minimize the soft-tissue and spine injuries these crashes actually cause.
Right-of-way disputes at US-19 frontage roads and Gulf-to-Bay intersections turn on camera footage and witnesses, both of which vanish quickly if no one moves to preserve them.
A visitor in a rental adds layers: the rental company’s coverage, the driver’s out-of-state policy, and sometimes a driver who flies home before anyone takes a statement. We sort the coverage stack and lock down the record early.
Florida has one of the highest uninsured-driver rates in the country. Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage often pays these claims, and many drivers do not know they carry it until we read the policy.
Impairment or texting behind the wheel can support a larger claim. We use the citation, the criminal file, and phone records to prove what the driver was doing.
Rideshare wrecks hinge on the driver’s app status, which decides whether a personal policy or a $1 million commercial policy applies. Our Clearwater rideshare accident lawyer page breaks down the phases.
Honest answer: it depends on your injuries, the liability evidence, and the insurance available, and any lawyer who quotes a number on day one is selling, not advising. What Florida law does define is the categories. Economic damages are the documented losses: medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and your vehicle. Non-economic damages are pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent scarring, which often carry the most value in a serious case and draw the most resistance from insurers.
What moves the number: injury severity and permanence, how clean the fault picture is, the coverage limits in play, your own fault share under comparative negligence, and documentation quality. For the deeper math, read our guide on how much a Florida car accident settlement is worth.
Got a settlement offer that feels low? It probably is. We will review it free before you sign anything. Call (727) 571-1333.
Jones Law Group is led by attorney Bobby Jones, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Stetson Law graduate with more than 20 years of personal injury practice in Tampa Bay. We have recovered over $50 million for injured clients, hold a 4.9 rating on Google, and try cases at the Pinellas County courthouse in downtown Clearwater, which means an insurer that lowballs a Clearwater client knows we can and will file there. We work on contingency, so we only get paid when you do. See everything we handle on our Clearwater personal injury lawyer page.
Two years from the date of the crash, in most cases, under Florida Statute § 95.11 as amended by HB 837 in 2023. A separate and much shorter deadline also applies: you must get medical treatment within 14 days of the crash to keep your PIP benefits.
Yes, and within 14 days, or your Florida PIP benefits are forfeited. Whiplash, concussions, and soft-tissue injuries commonly take days to produce symptoms, and a prompt exam protects both your health and the medical record your claim will be built on.
You can usually still recover. Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and recovery is barred only if you are found more than 50% responsible. Insurers routinely inflate a victim’s share, which is why the fault evidence matters.
You still have a claim, but the insurance picture is layered: the rental company’s coverage, the driver’s own out-of-state policy, and potentially your uninsured motorist coverage can all be involved. Acting quickly matters because visiting drivers leave town and become harder to pin down.
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can pay for injuries caused by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver, and PIP still covers your initial medical bills. We review your policy to find every layer of available coverage.
Jones Law Group works on a contingency fee: no up-front cost, no hourly bill, and a fee only if we recover money for you. The initial consultation is free.
If a crash that was not your fault has you buried in bills and adjuster calls, hand us the fight. Tell us what happened in a free consultation, with no obligation and no fee unless we win.
Jones Law GroupDisclaimer: This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The $50 million figure reflects total amounts recovered for clients over time, not a promise about any individual case. If you have a specific legal question, contact a licensed Florida attorney.
Speak with us before time runs out! In Florida, you have a limited window to file a personal injury case, so speak to an Attorney today.
Call our personal injury law office directly at (727) 512-9847
Jones Law Group is a dedicated personal injury lawyer in St. Petersburg, FL, serving the Tampa Bay area since 2006. Our experienced attorneys specialize in car accidents, slip and fall cases, employment law disputes, construction law issues, and overtime wage claims, fighting for maximum compensation on a contingency fee basis. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Call our personal injury law office at (727) 512-9847
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