Auto Accident Demand Letter - Florida

DEMAND FOR SETTLEMENT - MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION

STATE OF FLORIDA

[FIRM NAME]
Attorneys at Law
[Street Address]
[City, Florida ZIP]
Telephone: [Phone]
Facsimile: [Fax]
Email: [Email]

DATE: [Date]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

[Adjuster Name]
[Insurance Company Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]

RE: SETTLEMENT DEMAND - MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION
Our Client: [Client Full Name]
Date of Loss: [Date of Accident]
Your Insured: [At-Fault Driver Name]
Claim Number: [Claim Number]
Policy Number: [Policy Number]

Dear [Adjuster Name]:

This firm represents [Client Name] in connection with the motor vehicle collision that occurred on [Date of Accident] in [County] County, Florida. This letter constitutes our formal demand for settlement.

I. FLORIDA-SPECIFIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK

A. Statute of Limitations - IMPORTANT CHANGE

For negligence causes of action accruing on or before March 24, 2023: Counsel must apply the version of Fla. Stat. § 95.11 then governing; former subsection (3)(a) supplied a four-year period.

For causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023: The statute of limitations is two (2) years under amended Fla. Stat. Section 95.11(5)(a) (HB 837). (HB 837 restructured Section 95.11; the general-negligence limitation now appears in subsection (5)(a) — "WITHIN TWO YEARS" — not the former (3)(a).)

Accident date: [Date]. Counsel-supported accrual date: [Date]. Applicable classification, tolling, and special-party rules: [Describe]. Working filing deadline: [Date]. This demand does not toll or determine that deadline.

B. Modified Comparative Negligence - IMPORTANT CHANGE

For actions filed on or before March 24, 2023: Counsel must apply the version of the comparative-fault law governing that filing.

For causes of action filed after March 24, 2023: Florida follows modified comparative negligence (51% bar) under Fla. Stat. Section 768.81 (HB 837). A plaintiff cannot recover if found to be more than 50% at fault. Do not substitute the accident or accrual date for HB 837's filing-date transition rule.

Our client bears no fault for this collision.

C. Florida No-Fault / PIP Requirements

For a vehicle covered by Fla. Stat. § 627.733, the policy or other qualifying security supplies the PIP benefits described in § 627.736. Section 627.737(1) provides a tort exemption to the extent those benefits are payable or would be payable but for a statutory exclusion. Under § 627.737(2), damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience require one of the following injuries:

"Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function; permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability; significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; or death."

Our client meets the serious injury threshold because: [Describe how threshold is met - permanent injury, significant scarring, etc.]

D. PIP Benefits Status

Our client's PIP benefits [have been exhausted / are being applied]. PIP carrier: [Carrier Name]. PIP benefits paid: $[Amount].

II. PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE

YOU ARE HEREBY DIRECTED TO PRESERVE ALL EVIDENCE, including:

☐ The insured vehicle and all components
☐ Event Data Recorder (EDR) / "Black Box" data
☐ Photographs and documentation
☐ Complete claims file
☐ All recorded statements

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. The Collision

On [Date of Accident], at approximately [Time], our client was [describe activity and location] in [City], [County] County, Florida.

Your insured [describe negligent conduct].

[Detailed description of collision]

B. Police Investigation

The [Florida Highway Patrol / Local Police Department] prepared Florida Traffic Crash Report No. [Number]. [Describe findings].

IV. LIABILITY ANALYSIS

A. Negligence

Your insured breached the duty of reasonable care by:

☐ [Specific breach with Florida Statute citation if applicable]
☐ [Specific breach]
☐ [Specific breach]

B. Negligence Per Se

[If a statute or ordinance is implicated:] Counsel should identify the exact provision, protected class, protected harm, admissible proof, and whether current controlling law treats the violation as negligence per se, evidence of negligence, or neither before including that theory.

C. Comparative Fault - Inapplicable

Our client exercised due care and is not comparatively at fault.

V. INJURIES AND MEDICAL TREATMENT

A. Threshold Injuries

Our client sustained the following threshold injuries:

☐ [Permanent injury description]
☐ [Significant scarring/disfigurement description]
☐ [Loss of bodily function description]

B. Treatment Summary

[Detailed treatment chronology]

C. Prognosis

[Current status, permanency opinions, future treatment needs]

VI. DAMAGES

A. Medical Expenses

Less PIP Payments: ($[Amount])
Net Medical Specials: $[Amount]

B. Lost Wages

C. Property Damage

D. Pain and Suffering

[Describe non-economic damages - threshold must be met]

E. Summary of Damages

VII. SETTLEMENT DEMAND

Based upon the clear liability of your insured and the substantial damages incurred, we hereby demand:

$[DEMAND AMOUNT]

[OR - Policy Limits Demand:]

TENDER OF FULL POLICY LIMITS OF $[AMOUNT]

VIII. LIABILITY-CLAIM RESPONSE

Please evaluate the enclosed liability and damages evidence and communicate this demand to the insured as appropriate. Fla. Stat. § 624.155(4) provides a 90-day liability-claim framework measured from actual notice accompanied by sufficient supporting evidence; subsection (5) also makes mere negligence insufficient and permits consideration of whether the claimant and representative acted in good faith when furnishing information, making demands, setting deadlines, and attempting settlement. This letter is not labeled as a statutory civil-remedy notice and does not purport to shorten, waive, or conclusively satisfy any statutory period or element.

Claimant-selected response date, after counsel review: [Date].

IX. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

Please direct your response to the undersigned. Settlement funds should be made payable to "[Client Name] and [Firm Name], Trust Account."

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: _________________________________
[Attorney Name]
Florida Bar No. [Number]
Attorney for [Client Name]

ENCLOSURES:
☐ Medical records and bills
☐ Police report
☐ Photographs
☐ Wage verification
☐ PIP log

cc: Client

FLORIDA-SPECIFIC PRACTICE NOTES

☐ SOL Change (HB 837): Section 95.11's amendment applies by cause-of-action accrual, not automatically by accident date; document accrual and any special period or toll

☐ Comparative Fault Change (HB 837): Section 768.81(6)'s greater-than-50-percent bar uses HB 837's filing-date transition; do not substitute accident or accrual date

☐ Serious Injury Threshold: Must prove permanent injury, significant scarring, or death to recover non-economic damages

☐ PIP: For a qualifying policy, § 627.736(1) provides a combined $10,000 medical-and-disability limit; medical reimbursement is generally 80%, qualifying disability benefits are 60%, and medical reimbursement is capped at $2,500 absent an emergency-medical-condition determination but may reach $10,000 with a qualifying determination

☐ 14-Day Rule: Section 627.736(1)(a) conditions medical benefits on qualifying initial services and care within 14 days after the accident; it does not itself promise "full" benefits

☐ Liability-claim timing: Do not present the claimant-selected response date as the statutory bad-faith clock; review § 624.155(4)-(6), the evidence supplied, competing claims, policy terms, and current controlling law

☐ Other issues: Analyze UM/UIM, punitive damages, collateral sources, setoffs, liens, venue, and any governmental or special defendant separately; this form states no automatic result on those subjects