Kendall is built around long, wide roads: Kendall Drive, the Palmetto Expressway, the Turnpike, and the numbered avenues and streets that cross them. When someone is hurt here, the first questions are usually practical. Where do I get treated, who pays the bills for now, and what should I say to the insurance company? This page walks through car accidents, slip and falls, and truck accidents in the Kendall area, with details taken from public sources.
Most of Kendall lies in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. In those areas the county acts as both county and city government, which affects who handles roads, sidewalks, and parks. Attorney Ily Lopez, Florida Bar No. 1027852, leads Lopez Law, which takes Florida injury cases and works in English and Spanish.
Car accidents in Kendall
Kendall Drive (SR 94) is the area's main east-west route, and FDOT's 2025 counts show how much it carries. Between SW 127th Avenue and SW 117th Avenue, about 87,000 vehicles a day use it, and between SW 137th and SW 127th Avenue the count is about 70,500. Just north of Kendall Drive, the Palmetto Expressway carried about 102,000 vehicles a day in the same count.
The county's public crash data adds detail. In the 2019 to 2024 data, we counted 140 killed-or-seriously-injured (KSI) crashes within about a quarter mile of Kendall Drive between SW 152nd Avenue and US-1; 21 involved a death and 25 involved a pedestrian. The most frequent crash types were left-entering, rear-end, and pedestrian. The county's 2024 Vision Zero Action Plan also lists SW 104th Street (SW 157th Avenue to SW 117th Avenue) with 30 KSI crashes over about four miles from 2018 to 2022, and SW 117th Avenue between SW 88th and SW 152nd Street with 16. NBC 6 reported that the intersection of SW 88th Street and SW 112th Avenue had two fatal crashes in 2023.
If you were hurt, medical care comes first. Florida's PIP (no-fault) coverage generally pays only if you receive initial treatment within 14 days of the crash. It pays up to $10,000 when a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse finds an emergency medical condition, and is limited to $2,500 when no such finding is made. PIP is paid regardless of fault, but it does not cover everything, and a separate claim against the at-fault driver may be available.
Fault disputes are common at intersections, especially left-turn crashes, where each driver may say the other had the light or the right of way. Under Fla. Stat. 768.81(6), someone found more than 50% responsible for their own harm cannot recover damages. Intersection video from nearby businesses, the traffic signal timing, and the crash report all help sort out what happened. For negligence claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023, suit generally must be filed within two years.
A recent event in the area is described on our post about the SW 56th Street restaurant crash in west Kendall. To read about the process in general, see our car accident lawyer page.
Slip and falls in Kendall
In Kendall, falls tend to happen in places where people spend time: supermarkets, restaurants, medical offices, gyms, parking lots, and apartment or condo common areas. Florida treats these as premises liability cases. If the cause was a transitory foreign substance such as a spill, tracked-in rainwater, or a leaking cooler, Fla. Stat. 768.0755 applies. The injured person must show that the business knew about the condition or should have known, and circumstantial evidence can support the second route: the condition existed long enough that the business should have discovered it, or it happened regularly enough to be foreseeable. How long the floor was wet is often the central question. Surveillance footage, inspection logs, and the time between the last walk-through and the fall are the details that decide it.
Because most of Kendall sits in unincorporated Miami-Dade, a fall on a county sidewalk, in a county park, or at a county building raises a different set of rules. Miami-Dade's FY 2025-26 budget describes the county as providing both county and municipal services to residents of the unincorporated area, including local roads and parks. Under Fla. Stat. 768.28, a claim against a county generally requires written notice within three years, suit within four, and damages are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. Those deadlines differ from private-property cases, so early advice matters.
For treatment, HCA Florida Kendall Hospital at 11750 SW 40th Street is listed as a Level I trauma center on the Florida Department of Health's list updated July 23, 2026. A trauma designation relates to the hospital's capabilities; it does not decide fault or compensation, but the medical records created there are part of a claim.
If a case has to be filed, the Miami-Dade Clerk states that circuit civil cases can be filed at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 NW 1st Avenue, in downtown Miami, or at district court locations. Not every fall claim requires a lawsuit; many are first presented to the property's insurer once the medical records and the property's own records are gathered.
Truck accidents in Kendall
Kendall's roads handle delivery vans, box trucks, and tractor-trailers, not only cars. According to FDOT's 2025 counts, trucks made up about 8% of traffic on Kendall Drive between SW 107th and SW 97th Avenue, roughly 4,160 trucks a day, and about 10% on the stretch closest to US-1, roughly 4,030 a day. The Turnpike segment that ends near Kendall Drive carried about 144,000 vehicles a day, with trucks around 6.5%, or more than 9,000 a day.
Serious truck crashes are a small share of the total. In the county's 2019 to 2024 data, 205 of 3,689 KSI crashes in unincorporated Miami-Dade, about 5.6%, were flagged as involving a commercial motor vehicle. These cases are fewer in number, but they usually involve more evidence than a typical collision.
Rules that apply: federal hours-of-service regulations (49 CFR 395.3) limit a property-carrying driver to 11 hours of driving following 10 consecutive hours off duty, prohibit driving after 14 consecutive hours following coming on duty, and require a 30-minute interruption after 8 hours of driving, subject to exceptions. A carrier must retain records of duty status and supporting documents for at least six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)). Florida law sets minimum liability coverage by vehicle weight: $50,000 for 26,000 to under 35,000 pounds, $100,000 for 35,000 to under 44,000, and $300,000 at 44,000 pounds and above, with reference to federal minimums as well. A minimum is not a ceiling or an estimate of value.
After a truck collision, the useful records include the driver's logs or electronic logging data, the company's dispatch and maintenance records, load documents, and photographs of the vehicle, the lane, and the debris. Several parties can be involved: the driver, the carrier, and sometimes the company that loaded the truck or maintained it. Our truck accident page outlines how a claim is typically handled.
If you were in a crash with a commercial vehicle on or near Kendall Drive or the Turnpike, keep every document and avoid recorded statements until you have talked to a lawyer.
Kendall injury questions
I went to a Level I trauma center after a crash in Kendall. Does that change my claim?
Not by itself. A Level I designation describes the hospital's capabilities. What matters to the claim is the medical record: your symptoms, tests, diagnoses, and treatment plan. PIP's 14-day rule applies to initial treatment whichever hospital you use.
Where would a Kendall injury lawsuit be filed?
Kendall is in Miami-Dade County, in the 11th Judicial Circuit. According to the Miami-Dade Clerk, circuit civil cases may be filed at the Soto Justice Center or at district court locations. Where a particular case is filed depends on its type and facts.
I went to the ER right after the crash. Do I still have to worry about the 14 days?
The 14-day rule is about initial services, so a prompt ER visit generally meets it. Follow-up treatment still needs to be consistent, and the $10,000 PIP level depends on an emergency medical condition determination.
How much does a consultation cost?
It is free, and the firm charges no fee unless we recover.
Where we take cases
Lopez Law is based in Coral Gables at 2151 S Le Jeune Rd, Suite 305, Coral Gables, FL 33134, and takes Florida injury cases, including Kendall. Attorney Ily Lopez meets clients by phone, video, or in Coral Gables. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Call 305-605-6739. We work in English and Spanish, and the consultation is free.
Nearby areas we cover
Related pages
This is general information, not legal advice.
Lopez Law2151 S Le Jeune Rd, Suite 305
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phone: 305-605-6739
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Phone: 305-605-6739
Office: 2151 S Le Jeune Rd, Suite 305, Coral Gables, FL 33134
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm