Florida requires drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, which pays 60% of your lost wages up to your policy limit (typically $10,000) regardless of who caused the accident. To recover more than your PIP limit covers, or to recover the remaining 40%, you need to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver. That requires meeting Florida’s serious injury threshold under Florida Statute 627.737.

You need three things: a physician note specifically stating you could not work due to your injuries and for how long; an employer letter confirming your days absent and rate of pay; and pay stubs or tax returns establishing your earnings baseline. Self-employed claimants typically need two to three years of tax returns. The NHTSA data from this calculator can supplement those records as a federal floor argument.

Yes. Under Florida law, you are entitled to recover the value of sick leave or PTO you were forced to use because of the accident. You earned those benefits. Being compelled to spend them due to someone else’s negligence is a compensable loss. Your employer letter should document this specifically.

NHTSA’s Crash Investigation Sampling System records work absences up to a maximum of 62 days. For serious injuries (AIS 3 and above), virtually all employed workers in the dataset hit that ceiling, meaning the federal data confirms they missed at least 62 recorded workdays. The 62-day figure is a floor — a minimum baseline supported by federal crash data — not a ceiling on what your actual missed time may be.

The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) is an internationally standardized system used by trauma surgeons, crash investigators, and insurance industry experts to classify injury severity. AIS 1 is minor (soft tissue, contusion, mild strain). AIS 2 is moderate (fracture, disc herniation). AIS 3 is serious (complex fracture, significant nerve involvement). AIS 4 is severe (spinal cord injury). AIS 5 is critical. AIS 6 is unsurvivable. Your treating physician’s diagnosis can typically be mapped to an AIS level.

For salaried workers: divide your annual gross salary by 260 working days. For hourly workers: multiply your hourly rate by your average daily hours (typically 8). For self-employed workers: divide your average annual net income by 260. The calculator uses 260 working days as the standard full-year baseline, which excludes weekends.

This is one of the most important findings in the dataset. Minor spinal/back injuries (AIS 1) genuinely do resolve faster than minor injuries to other body regions for most people — the 3-day median is a real, uncensored figure backed by 566 records. However, 22% of workers with minor back injuries still hit the 62-day cap, reflecting significant variability. The mean of 17.4 days reflects that full distribution. This honest framing — low median, meaningful mean — actually strengthens the credibility of the higher floor values for serious injuries.

As of 2023, Florida reduced the statute of limitations for negligence claims, including car accidents, from four years to two years. This means you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Lost wages claims are part of your overall personal injury claim and are subject to the same deadline. Do not wait to consult an attorney.