Tampa motorcycle accident lawyer

Which Florida laws apply to a Tampa motorcycle accident claim

The rules are the same across Florida, so they are written out in full on one page rather than repeated here. They are explained on the statewide motorcycle accident page, with the statute text linked.

The short version, because it decides everything that follows: a motorcycle is not a motor vehicle for PIP purposes. Fla. Stat. § 627.732(3) defines one as self-propelled with four or more wheels, so there is no automatic first $10,000 behind a rider and no 14-day deadline to miss. A rider never had PIP — they did not lose it.

That removes the no-fault layer entirely, so the first question is where the money is: the at-fault driver’s bodily injury coverage, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and any resident relative’s policy. It also removes the § 627.737 threshold from the analysis, because that threshold only gates claims against an owner or operator of a vehicle covered by PIP. Under § 768.81 fault is apportioned and bars recovery above 50%, and the deadline is two years.

What follows is the part that is specific to Hillsborough County — where these claims arise, where you will be treated, which courthouse the case goes to, and how the records are obtained.

Why a rider has no PIP, and what that changes

This single fact reorganizes a motorcycle claim, and most riders learn it after the crash rather than before.

Fla. Stat. § 627.732(3) defines a motor vehicle for PIP purposes as a self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels. A motorcycle has two. So there is no automatic first $10,000, no 80 percent of medical bills regardless of fault, and no 14-day deadline to miss.

Say it precisely, because the usual phrasing is wrong: a rider did not lose PIP. A rider never had it. Nothing was forfeited by riding, and nothing can be recovered by arguing about it.

What it changes in practice is the order of work. In a car case the first move is to get PIP paying so treatment continues while fault is sorted out. In a motorcycle case there is no such layer, so the first move is finding coverage: the at-fault driver’s bodily injury limits, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, a resident relative’s policy, health insurance, or a letter of protection with a treating provider.

One thing it removes in the rider’s favor. The permanent injury threshold in § 627.737 gates claims against an owner or operator of a vehicle covered by PIP. A rider suing a driver is generally not in that posture, so the threshold that blocks many car claims for pain and suffering usually does not block a rider’s.

Where the coverage actually comes from in a Hillsborough County motorcycle claim

With no no-fault layer, the whole case rests on what policies exist — and Florida law makes that a real problem.

Florida does not require bodily injury liability coverage. PIP and property damage liability are mandatory; coverage for the harm a driver does to a person is not. So the driver who pulled across a rider’s path may carry nothing that pays for the injury.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is therefore the single most valuable thing a rider can own, and it reaches further than people expect — your own policy, and often a resident relative’s.

One trap, and it is expensive. Accepting the at-fault driver’s policy limits and signing a release without certified-mail notice to the UM carrier can destroy the UM claim under § 627.727(6)(a). The carrier gets 30 days to authorize the settlement or to preserve its subrogation by paying the offer itself. In a motorcycle case, where injuries are severe and the driver’s limits are often the statutory minimum, that notice is frequently the difference between a real recovery and a token one.

And treatment has to continue while this is worked out. Health insurance, or a letter of protection with a treating doctor, is what keeps the medical record continuous — and a continuous record is what the rest of the claim is built on.

I was not wearing a helmet. Does that end the claim?

No, and the law here is narrower than the argument an insurer will make from it.

Florida allows a rider 21 or older to ride without a helmet provided they are covered by an insurance policy providing at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries from a crash while operating or riding a motorcycle. Riders under 21 must wear one.

Riding without one is not negligence in itself, and it does not bar a claim. What it does is open a comparative fault argument under § 768.81 directed at the injuries rather than at the crash — and only at the injuries a helmet would plausibly have prevented. A broken femur is not a head injury.

The eye protection rule is separate and applies regardless of age or coverage.

In practice the helmet becomes one line of a damages argument, while the case itself still turns on what the driver did.

The Hillsborough County roads and the collisions that recur on them

Motorcycle crashes in this county are not random across the map. They concentrate where speed differential and turning conflict meet.

The left turn across the rider’s path is the single most common serious collision. A driver judges the gap, misjudges the closing speed of a narrow vehicle, and turns. "I never saw the motorcycle" is the standard account and it is not a defense.

Lane changes on multi-lane arterials and expressways are second, and they are where the speed differential between lanes turns a glancing contact into a serious injury.

Road surface matters more to two wheels than to four: a lane repair that a car crosses without noticing can put a motorcycle down, which brings a road authority or a contractor into the picture.

And year-round riding means exposure here is continuous rather than seasonal, with the afternoon storms adding sudden standing water to roads that drain unevenly.

Where the Tampa office is, and how to get there

DAPENALAW is at 4231 N Habana Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607, open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. The direct number is (813) 930-5422.

The office is on North Habana Avenue in West Tampa, a few minutes from I-275 and from Tampa General. From the interstate, exit at Columbus Drive or Dale Mabry and head toward Habana; there is parking on site. A first conversation can happen by phone or video from anywhere in the county, and home and hospital visits are available when someone cannot travel.

You do not have to come in. The first conversation can be by phone or video, documents are handled electronically, and where an injury makes travel difficult the meeting happens where you are. The Habana Avenue office serves Hillsborough County generally, and most often Tampa, Westshore, Town ’n’ Country, Ybor City, Temple Terrace, Carrollwood, Brandon, Riverview and Plant City, with Gibsonton, Apollo Beach, Ruskin and Wimauma to the south.

More about the Tampa office · All three offices