Surfside, Florida car accident claims
If you were hurt in or near Surfside, the practical steps usually run through Miami-Dade County systems, not just the town itself. Surfside has a population of 5,719, and many residents travel into the wider county for work, shopping, and medical care, so the place of the crash often matters more than your home address.
60,000
Miami-Dade County crashes, 2024
29,354
People reported injured
282
People killed, 2024
50%
Fault bars recovery above
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Miami-Dade County crash snapshot
60,000
Reported crashes in 2024
29,354
People reported injured
164
Crashes per day, on average
Source: Florida Health CHARTS — Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes, Ten Years Data by County (Florida Department of Health, from FLHSMV records). Miami-Dade is published as a rounded figure of 60,000 for 2024.. Reviewed 2026-07-29.
Agencies that respond to crashes in Surfside
Surfside Police Department
City police
Miami-dade County Police Department - Sheriff and Port Services Bureau
County sheriff
Florida Highway Patrol
State patrol
How to get your Surfside crash report
- Where to request it
- https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/
Courts that hear Miami-Dade County civil cases
Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County
General civil claims
Miami-Dade County Court
Smaller civil claims
County systems usually control the claim
In Surfside, the local response may start with the Surfside Police Department, but many important parts of a claim sit at the county or state level. The listed agencies for this area also include the Miami-dade County Police Department - Sheriff and Port Services Bureau and the Florida Highway Patrol, and civil cases are handled in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County or the Miami-Dade County Court rather than a Surfside town court.
That county focus matters because many Surfside residents are injured somewhere else in Miami-Dade while commuting. In 2024, Miami-Dade County reported 60,000 total crashes and 29,354 injury crashes in Florida Health CHARTS using FLHSMV records, and the county's major corridors include I-95 through Miami, US-1 / South Dixie Highway, the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826), and Biscayne Boulevard. If your crash happened on one of those routes, the claim usually follows the place of the crash and the agency that investigated it, not the fact that you live in Surfside.
The same outward-looking rule applies to records and deadlines. Florida crash reports are confidential for 60 days after filing except for the people and entities allowed by statute, and the report request link for this area goes through FLHSMV rather than the town. The page's Florida law sections cover the state's no-fault and filing rules, so the immediate question here is usually which Miami-Dade or state agency made the report and which Miami-Dade court would hear the case.
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%.
Florida filing deadlines
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.
Claims we can estimate in Surfside
Surfside questions
Sources and review dates
- U.S. Census Bureau — Surfside place GEOID 1270075, population 5,719 (2024 Population Estimates), land area 0.557 sq mi (2023 Gazetteer).
- Florida Health CHARTS — Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes, Ten Years Data by County (Florida Department of Health, from FLHSMV records). Miami-Dade is published as a rounded figure of 60,000 for 2024. · reviewed 2026-07-29
- FLHSMV Crash Dashboard · reviewed 2026-07-29
- 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.
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