If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft as a tourist in Florida, going home, even to another country, doesn’t change the rules for your crash. Florida’s rules on rideshare insurance, no-fault (PIP) insurance, and filing deadlines still apply.
What changes when you return is the logistics: you can generally pursue the claim from home, request records remotely, continue treatment where you live, and deal with insurers by phone and email.
If you’re back from your trip with a neck brace, a folder of hospital discharge papers, and an email or voicemail from an insurance adjuster, our attorneys and staff can talk it through with you in English or Spanish.
If you’re still in Florida, start with our guide to what to do after an Uber or Lyft accident. For other injuries on a trip, see our guide to tourist injuries.
Medical Care and PIP Benefits after You Head Home
Florida’s no-fault coverage, called personal injury protection (PIP), pays certain benefits regardless of who caused the crash. It also sets conditions on the medical care it covers, and several depend on who provided that care, which matters once you see doctors back home.
Which PIP Coverage May Apply to a Tourist
The rideshare car you rode in may not have had PIP. During a ride, Florida’s rideshare law, Section 627.748, requires only the PIP a limousine must carry. The state’s required-insurance law, Section 627.733, doesn’t require limousines to carry PIP, so whether that car had it depends on its actual policy.
If it did, you may be able to use it. The PIP statute, Section 627.736, directs the insurer of a vehicle’s owner to pay PIP benefits for injuries in the state to other people occupying, or riding in, the vehicle. The rule applies to you if you don’t own a vehicle Florida requires to be insured and aren’t entitled to PIP through someone who owns one.
A car you keep back home doesn’t count. Under the same required-insurance law, a nonresident’s car generally needs Florida coverage only after more than 90 days in the state during the preceding 365 days.
The 14-Day Rule for Your First Medical Visit
PIP medical benefits depend on initial care within 14 days after the crash. An emergency room visit in Florida the night of the crash counts. One of the following, licensed or registered in Florida, must provide, supervise, order, or prescribe that first care:
- A hospital, or a facility that owns a hospital or is wholly owned by one, such as a hospital’s own clinic
- A physician, dentist, or chiropractic physician
- An advanced practice registered nurse registered for independent (autonomous) practice
- An ambulance or other emergency transport and treatment provider
A doctor or hospital licensed only where you live isn’t on the list, so a first visit there may not count. If the 14 days have passed, other claims, like one against the at-fault driver, may still be open.
PIP’s full $10,000 limit for medical care depends on a finding that you had an emergency medical condition, meaning symptoms serious enough to need immediate care. A physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse licensed in Florida has to make that finding. Our guide to PIP after a rideshare crash explains what happens without it.
What PIP’s Follow-Up Rules Say About a Doctor Back Home
Follow-up care needs a referral from a provider on that first list and has to be consistent with the first diagnosis. PIP’s follow-up rules list only providers licensed in Florida, or practices owned by someone who is, which leaves out a doctor licensed only where you live. An attorney can check whether any of your care back home still qualifies.
Keep getting the care you need. Your health or travel insurance may pay under its own terms, and medical bills PIP doesn’t pay can be part of your claim against the at-fault driver.
Records and Referrals to Bring to Your Next Appointment at Home
You can ask the hospital or provider in Florida for your discharge papers, imaging reports, and any referral before you leave or from home. Bring them to your next appointment, and tell each provider the injury came from a car crash and when it happened, so your records connect the two.
Handling Florida Insurers from Home
More than one insurer may contact you, and each may handle a different part of your claim.
| Claim | Who may handle it | What to keep in mind |
| PIP medical and disability (lost-income) benefits | The insurer of any PIP on the rideshare vehicle, or your own PIP insurer if you have a Florida policy | The 14-day initial-care rule applies. |
| Liability claim for your injuries | The at-fault driver’s liability insurer. If that’s the rideshare driver, it may be the insurer providing the required rideshare coverage. | When Florida’s no-fault injury threshold applies, you must meet Section 627.737 to recover pain-and-suffering damages. A permanent injury is one of the injuries it lists. |
| Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage | Any such coverage on the rideshare vehicle, subject to a valid rejection or lower-limit selection by the policyholder, and any personal or household coverage that applies | Review the policies before assuming a particular limit or order of payment. |
| Your own auto, health, or travel insurance | Your own insurer | Its policy terms control what it pays, including any medical payments coverage, and whether it seeks repayment from money you recover. |
View our guide to claims against the rideshare companies themselves: Can You Sue Uber or Lyft for an Accident in Florida?
The Rideshare Coverage on Your Ride
Florida’s rideshare law requires primary auto insurance for your ride, not backup coverage. From the time your ride is accepted until the last passenger exits, the liability limits must be at least $1 million total for bodily injury, death, and property damage. That coverage matters if your rideshare driver caused the crash; if another driver did, your injury claim is generally with that driver’s insurer. Payment still depends on liability (who is legally responsible), covered losses, and policy limits. Our guide to who pays after an Uber or Lyft accident covers the rules at other times.
Before You Give a Statement, Sign a Release, or See the Insurer’s Doctor
An insurer may ask you for a recorded statement (a taped interview about the crash), a medical authorization, or a signature on a release. A medical authorization lets the insurer collect your medical records, and a release generally ends the claim it covers. You can talk to a lawyer before you give a statement or sign anything.
A PIP insurer can also ask you to see a doctor it picks. The PIP statute requires that medical exam to be held near where you’re treated or where you live, at the insurer’s cost. Unreasonably refusing or missing the exam can end later PIP benefits.
If a settlement with the at-fault driver’s liability insurer wouldn’t cover your whole claim, underinsured motorist coverage may still apply. Before you settle, Section 627.727 requires you to give written notice, by certified or registered mail, to each underinsured motorist insurer that provides coverage. Don’t sign a release before you complete that step; our guide to uninsured and underinsured Uber or Lyft drivers explains it. Your own insurance policy may also set its own notice terms.
Getting Your Crash Report and Ride Records from Home
You can get your crash report and trip receipt without flying back. The Florida Crash Portal sells the Florida Traffic Crash Report, currently for $10 per report plus a $2 convenience fee. A report may take up to 10 days to become available. Florida’s rideshare law also requires the company to send the rider an electronic receipt listing the start and end points, time, distance, and fare. Check your email or app, or ask whoever booked the ride. Our guide to rideshare accident evidence explains what each record shows.
Florida’s Filing Deadlines Keep Running after the Trip Ends
Trips end quickly, but deadlines can come up even quicker. Speak with a lawyer immediately after your accident to avoid running out of time.
Two Years to File a Negligence Lawsuit
You generally have two years to file a negligence lawsuit, claiming someone’s carelessness caused your injuries, under Section 95.11 (the state’s statute of limitations). Claims under an insurance policy, such as a PIP claim, can have a different deadline, and exceptions can move the date.
Going Home Does Not Pause the Two-Year Deadline
Under Section 95.051, only the circumstances it lists toll, or pause, a limitations period, such as a defendant’s absence from the state when they can’t be served with court papers. Your own absence from Florida isn’t one of them. Living elsewhere doesn’t stop a lawsuit from being filed on time.
Where a Lawsuit over a Rideshare Crash Can Be Filed
If a lawsuit becomes necessary, it can generally be filed in the Florida county where the crash happened, and where you live doesn’t affect that. Venue laws, which determine the county, cover claims against people (Section 47.011) and against companies such as Uber or Lyft (Section 47.051). Different venue rules apply when the person being sued lives outside Florida.
Frequently Asked Questions About Uber and Lyft Accidents for Tourists in Florida
These are the questions we hear most often from tourists who were hurt in a rideshare and have since gone home.
Do I have to come back to Florida for my claim?
Generally, no. You can get key records from home, and a PIP insurer’s medical exam has to be held near where you’re treated or where you live. A trial could mean a trip back, and a claim can settle without one.
I flew home to another country. Can I still make a claim in Florida?
Generally, yes. Florida’s rules, including the 14-day rule for PIP and the two-year deadline for negligence lawsuits, apply to visitors from other countries too. Your travel insurance may help with medical bills under its own terms.
Should I hire a lawyer back home or one in Florida?
If the claim goes to a Florida court, a lawyer from back home can’t appear there on their own. Under Rule 2.510, the court rule on out-of-state attorneys, a lawyer licensed in another U.S. state needs the court’s permission to appear. A member of The Florida Bar must also be on the case as an attorney of record.
Talk to Stabinski Law About an Uber or Lyft Accident on Your Florida Trip
Tell us where the crash happened, what treatment you’ve had since you got home, and what the insurers have told you or sent you to sign. Our rideshare accident lawyers handle Uber and Lyft injury claims in Miami and throughout Florida, including for tourists who have already gone home. We can start by phone, video call, or email, review which policies may apply, and keep you updated while you’re home.
Stabinski Law has represented injured people in Florida since 1970, through two generations of the same family. You can expect personal attorney attention: an attorney reviews your inquiry and explains your options in plain language. Our bilingual attorneys and staff can discuss your questions, documents, and next steps in Spanish.
Consultations are free. If we accept your case on a contingency-fee basis, you pay no attorney’s fees upfront. Your written agreement explains our fee from any recovery and how case costs are handled. Contact Stabinski Law or call 305-643-3100 to talk through the crash and your options from wherever you are now.
