How to Report an Injury at a Florida Airport

How to Report an Injury at a Florida Airport: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you are hurt at Miami International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Tampa, Orlando International, or any other Florida airport, what you do in the first minutes and days can decide whether you are able to recover compensation. Airports are government-operated in most of Florida, which means strict notice deadlines apply, and surveillance footage at airports is typically retained for only 30 to 90 days and may be overwritten sooner if storage capacity is limited — making early legal action to issue a preservation letter essential. This guide walks you through exactly how to report an airport injury and protect your rights.

Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Near You

(855) 529-0269

For a free consultation with a Florida Airport Injury Lawyer, call (855) 529-0269.

Chalik & Chalik Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me

(855) 529-0269

Step 1: Report the Injury to Airport Personnel Immediately

Find the nearest airport employee, airline representative, or airport operations staff member and report what happened right away. Ask specifically that a written incident report be created, and request the name and badge number of the person taking the report. If your injury occurred at an airline gate or jet bridge, both the airline and the airport authority may have responsibility — jet bridges are often airport-owned but operated jointly with the airline and maintained by contractors. Ask both airport operations and airline staff to generate reports wherever possible, as overlapping responsibility is common. . Do not leave the airport without making sure a report was started, and write down a reference or report number if one is provided.

Click to contact Chalik & Chalik's Personal Injury Lawyer today

Step 2: Get the Names of Everyone Involved

Identify which entity controls the area where you were hurt. This matters enormously later, because the airport authority, an airline, a janitorial contractor, an escalator maintenance company, and the TSA are all separate parties with separate insurance. Note the badge numbers and employers of any staff who responded. If a contractor’s employee was nearby, such as a cleaning crew or maintenance worker, record the company name printed on their uniform or equipment.

For a free legal consultation with a Chalik & Chalik lawyer serving Florida, call

(855) 529-0269

Click to contact a Florida airport injury lawyer today.

Step 3: Document the Scene With Photos and Video

Before anything is cleaned up or repaired, photograph and video everything: the hazard itself (the wet floor, the broken escalator step, the unmarked obstacle), the surrounding area from several angles, any warning signs that were or were not present, the lighting conditions, and your visible injuries. Capture the exact location — the terminal, concourse letter, gate number, or nearest store. These details disappear fast once airport staff respond, so photograph first and ask questions second whenever you safely can.

Step 4: Identify Witnesses

Other travelers who saw you fall or saw the hazard are some of the most valuable evidence in an airport case, and they scatter to their flights within minutes. Politely ask for names, phone numbers, and email addresses. Even a single independent witness can make the difference in a claim against a government airport that disputes how the injury happened.

Step 5: Seek Medical Attention Right Away

Many airports have on-site medical staff or first-aid stations; use them, and then follow up with a hospital or your own doctor as soon as possible. Prompt medical care does two things: it protects your health, and it creates a documented, dated link between the airport hazard and your injury. Gaps in treatment are the first thing insurers use to argue that an injury was not serious or was caused by something else.

For a free legal consultation with a Chalik & Chalik lawyer serving Florida, call (855) 529-0269.

Step 6: Do Not Give Recorded Statements or Sign Anything

An airport’s risk-management department, an airline, or an insurance adjuster may contact you quickly and ask for a recorded statement or offer a fast settlement. Politely decline until you have spoken with a lawyer. Early recorded statements are routinely used to minimize claims, and early settlement offers are almost always far below what a claim is actually worth.

Step 7: Understand the Deadlines — They Are Shorter Than You Think

This is where airport cases differ most from ordinary injury claims. Because Miami International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Tampa, and Orlando International are operated by government entities, a claim against the airport is governed by Florida’s sovereign immunity statute, Florida Statutes § 768.28. Before you can sue a government entity, you generally must serve a formal written notice of claim on both the appropriate government agency (e.g., the airport authority) and the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the entity is then allowed up to 180 days to investigate before a lawsuit can be filed — unless the claim is formally denied in writing before that period expires. Failure to notify both entities can permanently bar the claim. . If your injury involved the TSA or another federal agency, a completely different process applies under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim first. That administrative claim must be filed within two years of the date of injury — and if the agency denies the claim, the injured person then has six months to file suit in federal court. Missing either deadline is fatal to the claim. Missing any of these steps can permanently end an otherwise strong case. Generally, the clock starts the day you are injured, though the discovery rule may apply where an injury was not immediately apparent. In either case, contacting a lawyer as early as possible is the single best thing you can do to protect your claim. . For more on who must be notified, see Who Is Liable for an Injury at an Airport in Florida?

Step 8: Contact a Florida Airport Injury Lawyer

An experienced airport injury attorney can immediately send evidence-preservation letters to prevent surveillance footage from being overwritten — airports typically retain footage for 30 to 90 days but may overwrite it sooner , identify every responsible party, draft and serve the correct government notices on time, and handle all communication with insurers so you can focus on recovering. Chalik & Chalik has done this for injured Floridians since 1995, and there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Contact Chalik & Chalik

If you were injured at a Florida airport, do not wait. Call or text (855) 529-0269 or fill out the online form for a free consultation. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Se habla español.

Call or text Chalik & Chalik

(855) 529-0269