Miami Beach mixes residents, hotel guests, commuters, and day visitors in a small area, and that mix shows up in injury claims: a pedestrian struck at a crosswalk, a rideshare passenger hurt on the causeway, a guest who falls in a hotel lobby or a restaurant. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau reported 28.3 million visitors to Greater Miami and Miami Beach in 2025, according to a June 5, 2026 trade report of its annual data. Visitors hurt here may live somewhere else, which raises questions about treatment, deadlines, and where a case would be handled.
This page covers car accidents, slip and falls, and truck accidents with details drawn from public sources. Attorney Ily Lopez, Florida Bar No. 1027852, leads Lopez Law, which is based in Coral Gables and takes Florida injury cases in English and Spanish.
Car accidents in Miami Beach
Miami Beach's traffic funnels through a handful of corridors. FDOT's 2025 counts show about 45,000 vehicles a day on the MacArthur Causeway (SR A1A) between Bridge Road and Alton Road, on the Miami Beach side, and about 82,500 a day on the Miami side, near the US-1 end. Alton Road (SR 907) is counted at about 28,500 to 36,500 vehicles a day depending on the segment, and SR A1A between Alton Road and Collins Avenue at about 34,000. When a crash blocks any of these routes, delays spread quickly, and witnesses can be hard to find afterward.
Pedestrians and cyclists feature in the serious-crash data. Using the county's public Vision Zero crash dataset, we counted 346 killed-or-seriously-injured (KSI) crashes in Miami Beach from 2019 through 2024; 105 involved a pedestrian, 43 a bicyclist, and 69 a motorcycle. For 2023, NBC 6 reported 59 KSI crashes in Miami Beach, citing county Vision Zero data; the same report counted 61 people killed or seriously injured in them. The county's 2024 Vision Zero Action Plan lists Pine Tree Drive (West 63rd to 23rd Street) with 16 KSI crashes over about three miles, West Avenue (17th to 5th Street) with 10, and Dade Boulevard (Venetian Way to 23rd Street) with 7 for 2018 through 2022. Those numbers cover serious crashes only.
Many people in Beach crashes are visitors who will head home within days, so collect what you can at the scene: the other driver's license and insurance details, the plate number, the names and phone numbers of witnesses, and photos of the vehicles and the street. Ask for the crash report number, and write down the name of the hotel or address where you were staying, because medical bills and follow-up letters will need a mailing address.
If you were a passenger in a rideshare or taxi, or a rental car driver visiting from out of state, more than one insurance policy may be involved, and the answers differ by situation. Our rideshare accident page explains the layers. If you were on foot or a bike, see the pedestrian and bicycle pages.
Whatever the vehicle, a few rules apply. PIP benefits require initial treatment within 14 days; up to $10,000 is available if a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse finds an emergency medical condition, and $2,500 otherwise. A person found more than 50% at fault for their own harm cannot recover damages under Fla. Stat. 768.81(6). For negligence claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023, the general filing deadline is two years.
Slip and falls in Miami Beach
Hotels, restaurants, clubs, shops, pool decks, parking garages, and older apartment buildings are where many Beach falls happen. Part of the building stock is historic: the Miami Beach Architectural District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1979, in an area roughly bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Miami Beach Boulevard, Alton Road, and the Collins Canal. Older buildings can have steps, thresholds, and changes in floor level that are easy to miss, though whether any of that mattered depends on the evidence in a given case.
If a fall involves a spill or a wet floor in a business, Fla. Stat. 768.0755 requires proof that the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition. Constructive knowledge can be shown by circumstantial evidence that the substance had been there long enough that the business should have found it, or that such conditions occurred regularly. For a hotel or restaurant, that points to housekeeping logs, camera footage, and staff statements, so a written request to preserve them should go out quickly. Take photos of the spot, your shoes, and the surroundings.
One of the results on our results page involved a Miami Beach hotel. A guest who fell needed knee surgery; the insurer's initial offer was $27,000, and the claim resolved for $225,000. Past results do not guarantee a similar result, and each fall turns on its own facts.
For emergency care, Mount Sinai Medical Center at 4300 Alton Road in Miami Beach lists its Emergency Center as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Get seen and keep the discharge papers.
If a case is filed, Miami-Dade's court locations page lists the Miami Beach Court Facility at 1130 Washington Avenue as temporarily closed by the City of Miami Beach (checked October 5, 2026), so it should not be assumed to be a filing location. The Miami-Dade Clerk states that circuit civil cases may be filed at the Soto Justice Center in downtown Miami or at district court locations.
Truck accidents in Miami Beach
Trucks in Miami Beach can include deliveries to restaurants and hotels, waste and utility trucks, and construction vehicles. FDOT's 2025 counts show how that plays out on Collins Avenue, where trucks made up about 13% of the roughly 20,000 vehicles a day between 15th and 26th Streets, about 2,600 trucks a day. On the MacArthur Causeway, trucks were about 6% of traffic on the Miami Beach segment, around 2,700 a day, and about 4% on the Miami side, around 3,300 a day. Pedestrians and cyclists share these streets, which matters when a large vehicle turns or backs up.
Commercial vehicles are a small share of serious crashes in the county's 2019 to 2024 data: 20 of the 346 KSI crashes in Miami Beach were flagged as involving a commercial motor vehicle. Even so, a truck involved in a pedestrian or cyclist crash can be significant for the injuries it causes, so it is worth identifying the company early.
Legal rules for commercial vehicles: federal hours-of-service rules (49 CFR 395.3) allow a property-carrying driver 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, bar driving after the 14th consecutive hour on duty, and require a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, with exceptions. Not every local delivery driver is covered the same way, because short-haul exceptions exist, so the first step is finding out which rules apply to the vehicle. Carriers must keep records of duty status and supporting documents for six months. Florida sets minimum liability limits by weight, from $50,000 for 26,000 to under 35,000 pounds up to $300,000 at 44,000 pounds and above.
A written preservation request, sent soon, helps protect dash camera video, delivery routes, and maintenance records. See our truck accident page for the general process.
Miami Beach injury questions
I fell at a Miami Beach hotel. What do I have to prove?
For a spill or other temporary hazard, Fla. Stat. 768.0755 requires proof that the hotel knew, or should have known, of the condition. That is often shown through video, housekeeping records, and how long the hazard was there. Report the fall to the hotel in writing and keep a copy.
I live out of state and was hurt while visiting. Is the deadline different?
For negligence claims that accrued on or after March 24, 2023, the general Florida deadline is two years. Where a case is filed and which state's law applies can depend on the facts, so talk to a lawyer promptly.
I was hurt in an Uber or Lyft on the causeway. Who is responsible?
It depends on who caused the crash and on the insurance in place. Our rideshare accident page outlines the options.
Can we talk by phone or video if I am not in Florida?
Yes. Attorney Ily Lopez meets clients by phone, video, or in Coral Gables.
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 those from Miami Beach. 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