The Miami car accident lawyer, Jonathan Perazzo, knows that when a Florida crash involves a government vehicle and one or more private vehicles, a victim is not filing one claim — potentially two, each running under different rules. The private-driver claim follows ordinary negligence and comparative-fault law. Any claim against a government agency runs under a separate sovereign-immunity statute with its own notice period, damage caps, and legislative claims-bill process for amounts above the cap.
What Happened in Northwest Miami-Dade
The Perazzo Law Firm has learned, according to CBS News Miami, that a three-vehicle crash occurred Wednesday, September 2, 2026, around 7:42 p.m. near NW 51st Terrace and 33rd Avenue in northwest Miami-Dade. The vehicles involved were an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle driven by a deputy and two civilian vehicles, according to CBS News Miami.
One civilian driver was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition and later died, according to CBS News Miami. A second civilian driver was also hospitalized, CBS News Miami reports. The deputy was treated at the scene by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and was not hospitalized, according to the same CBS News Miami report. No names — of the deputy or either civilian driver — had been released as of that report, and CBS News Miami noted the investigation was still open at the time of publication.
Nothing in this article assigns fault or cause to any driver, including the deputy. The investigation referenced by CBS News Miami remains open, and no citations or charges had been announced as of publication.
Why a Mixed-Defendant Crash Creates Two Separate Legal Tracks
A three-vehicle crash with one government driver and two civilian drivers is not automatically one lawsuit against one defendant. Depending on how fault ultimately gets assigned, a surviving driver or an injured victim’s estate may be looking at two tracks running on different clocks, under different statutes, with different ceilings on recovery.
Track One: The Claim Against the Other Private Driver
A claim against the other civilian driver in the crash proceeds like any ordinary Florida car accident case — filed within the standard negligence limitations period, evaluated under Florida’s comparative-fault framework, with no notice requirement and no cap on damages beyond what a jury or settlement supports. If liability and damages are established, this claim is resolved the same way any car accident claim against a private driver would be.
Track Two: A Potential Claim Against Miami-Dade County
If the deputy is found to share fault, a separate claim against Miami-Dade County proceeds under Florida’s sovereign-immunity statute, Fla. Stat. § 768.28, on a very different footing than the private-driver claim: a mandatory written presuit notice, a per-person and per-incident damage cap, and a legislative claims-bill process for any judgment above that cap. The table below breaks down the specific notice period, response window, and cap figures.
How Florida Apportions Fault Between a Private Driver and a Government Defendant
Florida no longer allows a plaintiff to collect the full judgment from whichever defendant has the deepest pockets. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(3), “the court shall enter judgment against each party liable on the basis of such party’s percentage of fault and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several liability.” In a crash with three vehicles and potentially three at-fault parties, the other civilian driver answers only for their own percentage of fault. The county — if the deputy is found at fault — answers only for its percentage, subject to the § 768.28 cap. Neither defendant is on the hook for the other’s share.
Florida’s comparative-fault statute also sets a bar for the claimant: under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), “any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages.” A claimant found more than 50 percent responsible for their own injuries in a mixed-defendant crash like this one cannot recover from either defendant, private or governmental.
The Deceased Driver’s Claim Continues Through the Estate
Because a civilian driver died after being taken to Ryder Trauma Center, according to CBS News Miami, the surviving family’s legal options are not limited to a personal injury claim. Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16–768.26, allows the deceased driver’s estate — through a personal representative — to pursue a wrongful death claim against whichever party or parties are found at fault, on the same two-track, apportioned-fault basis described above: ordinary rules against the other private driver, § 768.28 rules against the county if the deputy shares fault. If the county track applies, note that Florida sets a shorter presuit notice period and a shorter agency response window for wrongful death claims specifically than it does for an ordinary injury claim against the county — see the deadlines table below.
Deadlines That Apply
| Claim type | Governing statute | Deadline / key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary negligence claim against a private driver | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) | 2 years from the date of the crash |
| Wrongful death claim (any defendant) | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(e) | 2 years from the date of death |
| Presuit notice to the county — ordinary injury claim | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(a) | Written notice within 3 years of accrual, required before suit can be filed |
| Presuit notice to the county — wrongful death claim | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(a) | Written notice within 2 years of accrual (shorter than the ordinary 3-year period) |
| County’s response window — ordinary injury claim | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(d) | 6 months, or the claim is deemed denied |
| County’s response window — wrongful death claim | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(d) | 90 days, or the claim is deemed denied (shorter than the ordinary 6-month window) |
| Damage cap on a claim against Miami-Dade County | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)(a) | $200,000 per person / $300,000 per incident, absent a legislative claims bill |
Missing the notice requirement against the county does not eliminate a claim against the other private driver — the two tracks run independently. But missing either deadline on its own track can end that portion of the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter that the deputy’s car was unmarked?
An unmarked vehicle does not change which statute applies. If the deputy was acting within the scope of employment, a claim against the county for the deputy’s conduct still runs under Fla. Stat. § 768.28, whether the vehicle was marked or not.
What if the county is never found at fault?
Then there is no claim against the county, and the sovereign-immunity notice period, caps, and claims-bill process never come into play. The claim against the other private driver proceeds on its own under ordinary negligence rules and the standard § 95.11(5)(a) limitations period.
How long do I have to file if my claim is only against the private driver?
Two years from the date of the crash under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a). That clock is not extended or shortened by the presence of a government vehicle in the same crash.
What’s a claims bill?
It’s a separate act of the Florida Legislature required to pay any portion of a judgment against a government entity that exceeds the § 768.28 caps. The lawsuit and the claims bill are two distinct processes.
Does the wrongful death claim replace the driver’s own injury claim?
The Florida Wrongful Death Act, Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16–768.26, allows the estate to pursue damages related to the death itself. It runs through the personal representative rather than the individual, but the two-track apportionment between a private driver and the county still applies to a wrongful death claim the same way it applies to a personal injury claim.
Talk to a Miami Car Accident Attorney About a Mixed-Defendant Claim
A crash involving both a government vehicle and a private driver puts two different legal clocks and two different sets of rules on the table at once, and missing the notice deadline on one track does not extend the other. If you or a family member was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Miami-Dade County, contact The Perazzo Law Firm for a free evaluation of your Miami car accident case at 888-PERAZZO (888-737-2996). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Car accident lawyer in Miami advertising. This page is for general information only and is not legal advice; contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The Perazzo Law Firm’s North Miami Beach office serves Miami-Dade County. Miami Attorney Jonathan Perazzo is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia, and Texas.