Being Sued After a No-Fault Crash Finding in Florida

Attorney Answer

Probably yes — she can still bring a claim, and her expired tag does not bar it. Whether she can recover much is a very different question, and that is where your defense lives.

Start with the phrase “no fault,” because it can mean two things and neither one ends her case. If you mean that the investigating officer assigned no fault or issued no citation, that is a law enforcement conclusion, not a court's. It does not decide a civil case. Florida law goes further in your favor here: under Fla. Stat. § 316.066(4), "Except as specified in this subsection, each crash report made by a person involved in a crash and any statement made by such person to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of completing a crash report required by this section shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting. Such report or statement may not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal." That privilege has limits in the same subsection — officer testimony at a criminal trial where self-incrimination is not violated, and test results, which are not confidential. If you instead mean Florida's no-fault (PIP) system, it pays her first medical bills through her own coverage; it does not immunize you.

Her expired registration is the second thing that will not do what you hope. Florida has no statute stripping an injured person of damages because their tag lapsed or because they carried no insurance. The only bar of that kind is Fla. Stat. § 768.36, and it is about impairment, not paperwork: it needs both impairment (or 0.08 or higher) and, as a result, more than 50 percent fault for their own harm.

The real limit on a case like this is the injury threshold. Where PIP applies, Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2) permits recovery of pain-and-suffering damages only in defined circumstances: "a plaintiff may recover damages in tort for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation, or use of such motor vehicle only in the event that the injury or disease consists in whole or in part of: (a) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function. (b) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement. (c) Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement. (d) Death." A single broken finger may or may not clear that bar; it depends on medical proof of permanency, not on how the number in a demand letter sounds. Economic damages — bills and lost income beyond what PIP paid — are not gated by that threshold.

Fault is then shared rather than switched on or off. For accidents before March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 768.81(2) provided: "In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault, but does not bar recovery." That was pure comparative fault: a percentage reduced what she could recover and barred nothing. The Legislature changed that rule in 2023 for later accidents. Which version governs an older crash is a question for a lawyer, not for a page.

What you can do

1. Send the lawsuit papers, or the demand letter, to your auto insurer today. Most policies require prompt notice, and the insurer normally owes you a defense.

2. Do not answer the lawsuit yourself. A response is due on a court deadline and is a filing, not a letter — let the defense lawyer your insurer assigns, or a Florida attorney you hire, handle it.

3. Keep everything that already exists: photos, the crash report, repair estimates, text messages. Preserve; do not create new written accounts.

4. Ask a Florida attorney whether her injury can meet the § 627.737(2) threshold, and what her medical records actually show.

5. Ask that attorney about your exposure above your policy limits.

6. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who practices in Florida is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Florida's limitation periods for injury claims sit in Fla. Stat. § 95.11. For a crash before March 24, 2023, the period that applied to a negligence claim was the former four-year period; the Legislature shortened it to two years in 2023 for later accidents, and which version reaches an older crash is exactly the kind of question a lawyer should answer on your facts. Your deadline as a defendant to respond to served papers is far shorter and is set by the papers themselves. Do not count any date yourself. Have a Florida attorney review both clocks now.