Pedestrian Struck by a Commercial Shuttle Van on Private Property

Attorney Answer

Standing in a no-parking zone does not bar your claim. In Florida, where you were standing is a fault argument, not a defense that ends the case. At most it reduces what you recover, and how much depends on when the crash happened. A driver still has to watch for people on foot, and a delivery worker on a resort property is a person the driver should expect to be there.

Start with medical coverage, because it moves first. Florida's personal injury protection statute, § 627.736(1), covers not only a policy's named insured and passengers but "other persons struck by the motor vehicle and suffering bodily injury while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle" — a struck pedestrian. PIP pays 80 percent of reasonable, medically necessary expenses, up to a $10,000 combined limit for medical and disability benefits, plus 60 percent of lost income. It carries a hard deadline written into the statute: benefits are payable "if the individual receives initial services and care pursuant to subparagraph 1. within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident." Which policy pays a struck pedestrian first depends on what coverage exists in your own household, and that ordering is worth asking a lawyer about immediately.

Beyond PIP, Florida splits your damages in two. Section 627.737(2) allows a plaintiff to recover in tort "for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience because of bodily injury" only where the injury consists in whole or in part of 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. That threshold gates pain and suffering only. Medical bills and lost wages beyond what PIP paid are not gated by it.

On fault, the answer depends on the crash date, and this is the trap in Florida right now. For an accident before March 24, 2023, § 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." Any share of fault assigned to you reduced your recovery and never ended it. For an accident on or after that date, the current subsection (2) is "subject to subsection (6)," and § 768.81(6) provides that "any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages." Which regime governs a particular crash is a question for a lawyer, not a page.

A commercial van also changes who can be responsible. Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine generally holds a vehicle's owner responsible for a permissive driver's negligent operation, and an employer is generally answerable for an employee's negligence in the course of the work — both judge-made rules this page can describe but not cite. Section 324.021(9)(b)3. caps a natural-person owner's exposure for lending a vehicle, but subparagraph (9)(c)1. excludes owners using vehicles in commercial activity, so a shuttle operator does not get that cap.

What you can do

1. Get evaluated by a doctor now if you have not, and tell them this was a motor vehicle crash. The 14-day PIP window in § 627.736(1)(a) does not extend for good reasons.

2. Open a PIP claim with your own auto insurer, or with a resident relative's insurer if you have no policy.

3. Ask the resort and the shuttle operator, in writing, to preserve any video of the area and the vehicle's data. Do it now, while retention periods are still running.

4. Photograph the location, the signage, the van, and your injuries. Get the shuttle's number and the operator's name off the vehicle if you can.

5. Report the injury to the delivery platform you were working through and note what coverage they say applies.

6. Do not give a recorded statement to the shuttle operator's insurer, and do not sign a release, before a lawyer has reviewed it.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — the crash date, who owns the van, and what your doctors say about permanency — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The deadline turns on the crash date: for an accident before March 24, 2023, the former four-year negligence period under the earlier text of § 95.11 applied; for an accident on or after that date, § 95.11(5)(a) sets two years. The PIP 14-day treatment trigger is separate and much shorter. If a government entity turns out to be involved, § 768.28(6)(a) adds a written presuit notice requirement. A Florida attorney should check all of these against your facts. This page does not calculate any date.