I used to defend drivers and their insurers.Now I fight them.
Palm Harbor has no city government, so county roads and county deputies handle everything. US 19 and Alternate 19 carry most of the traffic, and Tampa Road backs up toward Oldsmar every rush hour.
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The three things people ask first.
You can recover if you are 50% or less at fault. Your award is reduced by your share. Fla. Stat. § 768.81
In a car crash, your own PIP pays first: up to $10,000 if a doctor finds an emergency medical condition. Fla. Stat. § 627.736
I used to advise insurers on these moves. Here’s how to answer each one.
An adjuster calls within days. Friendly, concerned, and recording. “I’m feeling okay” becomes evidence you weren’t hurt. What you do: Don’t give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement. Send them to me.
A check shows up before you know how bad the injury is, with a release attached. What you do: Don’t sign anything. Once you sign the release, the claim is over for good.
Any gap between the crash and your first visit, or between appointments, gets used to argue you weren’t really hurt. What you do: Get checked within 14 days and keep your appointments.
If the cars don’t look bad, they’ll say the crash couldn’t have hurt you. What you do: Photograph the damage and keep the repair estimate. I’ve made this argument for insurers. I know how to answer it.
Hit by a commercial vehicle? See truck accidents. Lost a family member? See wrongful death.
I lock down video and witnesses early, so their version doesn’t get the last word.
I get the phone records and the criminal file.
What the driver was doing in the app decides which policy pays. I pin it down early.
Your own UM coverage is usually the answer. I make sure it pays.
Get the evidence first. Crash report, photos, 911 calls, witness names, and any video from nearby businesses before it’s recorded over.
Find every policy. Your PIP (the part of your own car insurance that pays medical bills no matter who caused the crash), the other driver’s bodily injury coverage, your UM coverage, and any commercial or rideshare policy in play.
Help you find care. If you need treatment, I can share names of doctors near you who accept PIP and that past clients have spoken highly of. The choice is always yours.
Document the injury. Medical records, bills, lost wages, and how this changed your day to day life.
Handle the adjusters. You stop taking their calls. I take them.
Handle your property damage claim, free. Your repair or total loss and your rental car. I don’t charge a fee for that part.
Push back on their arguments. Gaps in treatment, prior injuries, low property damage. I’ve made those arguments. I know how to answer them.
File suit when they won’t be fair. Every case gets prepared as if it’s going to trial.
The roads. US 19, Alternate US 19, Tampa Road, Alderman Road, Belcher Road, and Curlew Road. Note the nearest exit or cross street, the lane, and your direction of travel. On a surface road, note any businesses with cameras.
Where you treat. Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor and Mease Dunedin Hospital are the closest.
Pinellas Trail crossings. Walkers and cyclists cross Alternate 19 and the side streets at trail intersections. Drivers turning across the trail don’t always look.
Tampa Road. Heavy rush hour traffic between Palm Harbor and Oldsmar. Rear end and lane change crashes.
Your Palm Harbor crash report.
Palm Harbor is unincorporated, so the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office handles most crashes. Florida Highway Patrol covers the major highways. Reports are confidential for 60 days except to the people involved and their lawyers. You can buy yours on the FLHSMV portal. If you hire me, I get it and pay for it.
Where it’s filed. Pinellas County cases go to the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Palm Harbor is unincorporated, so Pinellas County handles everything.
My office is on North Dale Mabry in Carrollwood, a short drive from Palm Harbor. Come in if you like, or I’ll meet you at home or at the hospital. Most clients handle everything by phone, text, and email.
Bring what you have: photos, the exchange form, insurance letters, medical bills. It doesn’t need to be organized. That’s my job.
Call or text me at (813) 547-4707.
PIP pays first, up to $10,000, no matter who caused the crash. Get treated within 14 days or you can lose it. My Florida PIP guide covers the details.
The at fault driver pays the rest. For pain and suffering, Florida requires a permanent injury or similar serious harm. Proving it takes the right doctors and records.
When the adjuster calls, get their name and claim number. Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Call me first.
Steps that protect your claim.
Call 911 if anyone’s hurt. See a doctor within 14 days, even if you feel fine.
Both cars, the scene, the road, your injuries. Only if it’s safe.
The other driver, their insurance, and any witness.
If you don’t know the speed or the distance, say so.
Before you talk to their insurer.
Palm Harbor is unincorporated, so usually the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. On US 19 and the major highways, sometimes Florida Highway Patrol.
Often the driver who turned across the trail without looking. Your own PIP can cover you even on a bike or on foot. See bicycle accidents.
Pinellas County’s Sixth Judicial Circuit, usually at the courthouse in Clearwater.
Two years to file suit for most Florida crashes. The PIP treatment window is only 14 days. Negotiating with an adjuster does not stop the clock. Florida Statutes § 95.11
Nothing unless we win. My fee and case costs come out of the recovery. If there’s no recovery, you owe nothing.
Yes. You call or text, I answer.
Every case is handled by me. Not assistants, case managers, or call centers.
I also handle other injury cases in Palm Harbor.
Nearby communities I serve: Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Oldsmar, East Lake, Largo.
See all areas I serve. I represent injured people across Florida.
Written by Jacob Gordon, Florida Bar No. 125004 · Updated October 2026