Why would my case go through a county court instead of a city court?

Because the listed trial courts for this area are the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County and Palm Beach County Court. Personal injury lawsuits are handled in those county-level state courts, not by a municipal court run by Palm Beach Gardens.

I live in Palm Beach Gardens but my crash happened elsewhere. Which location matters?

Usually the crash location matters more than your home address. If you were injured outside Palm Beach Gardens, the responding agency, report, and court process usually follow the place where the collision occurred, even if you live in Palm Beach Gardens.

How do I get the crash report for a Palm Beach Gardens-area collision?

Florida crash reports are requested through the state's crash report portal at https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/. The claims data for this page also notes that Florida crash reports are confidential for 60 days after filing, with limited access during that period.

Does it matter whether Palm Beach Gardens police, the sheriff, or FHP wrote the report?

Yes. The report number, the agency record system, and sometimes the follow-up process can differ depending on whether the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, or the Florida Highway Patrol handled the scene.

Palm Beach County

Palm Beach Gardens Car Accident Claims Guide

If you were hurt in Palm Beach Gardens, or you live here and were injured on the way to another part of Palm Beach County, the practical steps usually run through county and state systems rather than the city alone. This page focuses on that local setup so you can see which agency, court, and crash location may matter most.

Estimate my case All Florida rules

194

People killed, 2023

50%

Fault bars recovery above

Free estimate

Estimate your Palm Beach Gardens case in about a minute

Florida is already selected. Your answers, your documented losses, and Florida's fault and insurance rules produce the range.

Who responded

Agencies that respond to crashes in Palm Beach Gardens

Which agency attended determines who to contact about an incomplete or incorrect report.

Palm Beach Gardens Police Department

City police

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

County sheriff

Florida Highway Patrol

State patrol

Your crash report

How to get your Palm Beach Gardens crash report

Where to request it: https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/

Venue

Courts that hear Palm Beach County civil cases

Circuit Court for Palm Beach County

General civil claims

Palm Beach County Court

Smaller civil claims

Local factors

County systems matter more than the city line

Palm Beach Gardens has its own police department, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, but many injury claims here still depend on county and state infrastructure. A crash may be handled by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office or the Florida Highway Patrol, and court cases are generally filed in the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County or Palm Beach County Court rather than in a city court.

If you live in Palm Beach Gardens but were injured somewhere else in Palm Beach County, the claim usually follows where the crash happened, not your home address. That is one reason the responding agency matters so much: Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, and Florida Highway Patrol do not handle the same scenes, and the crash report request process runs through Florida's statewide portal at flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/.

Scale matters here. Palm Beach Gardens had a population of 63,284, but the broader county system handles a much larger share of serious crash consequences. In Palm Beach County, the 2023 NHTSA FARS national file reports 182 fatal crashes and 194 fatalities, which is why it is important to identify the exact crash location, the responding agency, and the county court that would hear the case if a claim cannot be resolved informally.

Florida law

How fault is allocated in Florida

Florida follows modified comparative negligence with a 50% bar. Below that line your recovery is reduced in proportion to your fault. Above it, you recover nothing at all, which makes the fault allocation the central dispute in most contested claims.

As an example, a $100,000 claim in which you are found 20% responsible would yield $80,000. The same claim with 51% responsibility attributed to you would yield nothing, because Florida bars recovery above 50%.

Deadlines

Florida filing deadlines

Missing a deadline generally ends a claim regardless of how strong it is. Government claims are on a much shorter clock than ordinary claims.

2 years

Personal injury

2 years

Wrongful death

3 years

Claim against a government agency

Reviewed 2026-07-29. Not yet reviewed by a licensed attorney. This is general information, not legal advice.

Case types

Claims we can estimate in Palm Beach Gardens

Auto accident Personal injury Medical malpractice Workplace injury Product liability Wrongful death

Local questions

Palm Beach Gardens questions

It depends on where the crash happened. Inside city jurisdiction, the responding agency may be the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. In other parts of Palm Beach County it may be the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, and on state highways it may be the Florida Highway Patrol.

Transparency

Sources and review dates

Every figure on this page traces to one of the sources below. Geography and population come from the U.S. Census Bureau.

U.S. Census Bureau — Palm Beach Gardens place GEOID 1254075, population 63,284 (2024 Population Estimates), land area 58.713 sq mi (2023 Gazetteer).
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national file · reviewed 2026-07-30
HIFLD Local Law Enforcement Locations, derived from the BJS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (2008), imagery-validated to 2018 · reviewed 2026-07-30
Florida Constitution Article V, and the Florida State Courts System trial court structure · reviewed 2026-07-30
Fla. Stat. § 95.11 — Limitations other than for the recovery of real property · reviewed 2026-07-29
Fla. Stat. § 768.81 — Comparative fault · reviewed 2026-07-29
Fla. Stat. § 627.736 — Required personal injury protection benefits · reviewed 2026-07-29
Fla. Stat. § 768.28 — Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions · reviewed 2026-07-29
Florida DHSMV — Insurance requirements · reviewed 2026-07-29
North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan, 219 So. 3d 49 (Fla. 2017) · reviewed 2026-07-29
Fla. Stat. § 768.73 — Punitive damages; limitation · reviewed 2026-07-29

About this page

State law on this page was last reviewed 2026-07-29 and has not been reviewed by a licensed attorney. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Local commentary on this page was prepared 2026-07-31 and checked automatically against the sources cited on this page. It has not been individually reviewed by a person.

We do not publish attorney profiles or rankings, and nothing on this page recommends or endorses any attorney. CaseValuation.com is operated by LuxeLaw LLC, which is not a law firm.

See what your Palm Beach Gardens claim could be worth.

Built from your answers, your documented losses, and Florida's own fault and insurance rules. You can get the estimate without agreeing to be contacted by anyone.

Get my free case estimate