Safir Injury and Criminal Defense Law
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The Safir Lawyer Blog

Florida DUI, criminal defense, and personal injury, explained by a forensic lawyer-scientist and former public defender. Seven running series cover the science behind the evidence, the cases in the news, the injury claims, and how a defense actually gets built, all in plain English.

Rory Safir

Every post here is written by Rory Safir, one of only six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida, the author of The Florida DUI Trial Manual, and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa.

About Rory →

The Series

Seven running series, each with its own beat. Pick a lane or read them all.

The Safir WireThe Safir WireLegal news, court rulings, and law changes, read the way a lawyer-scientist reads them.Explore the series ➞Called SafirCalled SafirAthlete and celebrity arrests, broken down by a criminal defense lawyer.Explore the series ➞SafircrackingSafircrackingForensic science, taken apart piece by piece: breath, blood, DNA, drug testing, and the crime lab.Explore the series ➞Fail-SafirFail-SafirFalse alerts, misused databases, and lab failures, and what they mean in a real case.Explore the series ➞Safir HarborSafir HarborHow cases actually get defended, from the first night to the last motion.Explore the series ➞Better Safir Than SorryBetter Safir Than SorryCar crashes, insurance tactics, and what an injury claim is actually worth.Explore the series ➞Rory SafirAsk SafirHave a question about a DUI, an arrest, or an injury claim? Ask it, and the answer may become the next post.Ask your question ➞
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Who Can Recover in a Florida Wrongful Death Case?

When a family loses someone to another person's carelessness, the legal questions arrive at the worst possible time, and the answers are not obvious....
  • Rory Safir
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Criminal Court Speaks Its Own Language. Here Are Three Translations That Matter.

The night you're arrested, someone reads you your rights in English. Then the system switches languages. Booking. Capias. Nolo. Withhold. Docket sounding....
  • Rory Safir
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Florida Motorcycle Accidents: No PIP, No Injury Threshold, and the Helmet Myth

A motorcycle crash is not just a car crash on two wheels, and a rider's legal situation is meaningfully different in Florida, in ways that can cut for the rider....
  • Rory Safir
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The Warning Signs of Nursing Home Neglect, and the Rights Florida Gives Your Loved One

Every so often a video or a news story out of a care facility goes viral, and families across Florida feel the same cold worry about the person they placed in someone else's care....
  • Rory Safir
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Do I Have to Give the Insurance Company a Recorded Statement?

Within a day or two of a crash, the other driver's insurance company often calls, friendly and helpful, asking for a quick recorded statement to process the claim. It sounds routine. It is not....
  • Rory Safir
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How Impairment Is Proven When a Drunk Driver Hurts You

When a drunk driver injures someone, many folks assume the impairment will simply speak for itself. In a civil case it does not....
  • Rory Safir
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Hit by a Car While Walking in Florida? You Have More Rights Than the Driver Will Admit

People walk all over Tampa Bay, and every year the roads here prove how dangerous that is. In Smart Growth America's Dangerous by Design report, the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater metro has ranked among the deadliest in the nation for pedestrians and the most dangerous in Florida....
  • Rory Safir

Thanks to You: A 2025 Tampa’s Best Silver Winner

Some recognition comes from panels and peer committees, and I am grateful for those. This one is different, and honestly, it means more....
  • Rory Safir
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The First Night After an Arrest: Three Things I Tell Every Worried Family

The first night is the worst part. I tell people that up front because it's true. If you're reading this a few hours after an arrest, or while someone you love waits in a county jail to see a judge, the fear and the racing thoughts you're feeling right now...
  • Rory Safir
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Florida Dog Bite Law: There Is No “One Free Bite” Here

Florida is one of the better states in the country to be a dog bite victim, because the law does not give the owner a free pass for the first bite. If a dog bit you, the owner is responsible whether or not the dog had ever shown a mean...
  • Rory Safir
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How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Florida? (It Got Shorter)

If your sense of the deadline comes from anything you heard before 2023, it is probably wrong, and that mistake can be fatal to a claim. Florida used to give injury victims four years to file. It does not anymore....
  • Rory Safir
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Florida Bicycle Accident Law: The 3-Foot Rule, the Helmet Myth, and Your Rights on the Road

The most useful thing to know after a bicycle crash in Florida is that the law is already on the rider's side of the road. A cyclist is not an intruder in traffic....
  • Rory Safir
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Nobody Read Me My Rights: Why That Doesn’t End Your Case (and What Does Matter)

Somewhere between the handcuffs and the holding cell, you noticed something missing. Nobody read you your rights. No card, no speech, nothing like the movies promised. And by now a friend, a cousin, or a stranger in an online forum has told you the magic words: the case gets thrown...
  • Rory Safir
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What Happens to My Case if I Was Partly at Fault in Florida?

Many people assume that if they were even a little to blame for a crash, they have no case. That is not how Florida works, though a 2023 change did raise the stakes. Being partly at fault reduces your recovery, and past a certain line it now ends it, so...
  • Rory Safir
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Florida’s Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages Is Gone. Here Is What That Means.

For years, Florida law put a hard ceiling on the pain and suffering a medical malpractice victim could recover, no matter how severe the harm....
  • Rory Safir
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Florida Leads the Nation in Boating Accidents. Here Are a Victim’s Rights.

Florida leads the country in registered vessels and in boating accidents, and the risk peaks in exactly the weeks when the water is most crowded, the summer weekends and the holidays....
  • Rory Safir

Rory Safir Named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 for Criminal Defense in Florida

The National Trial Lawyers has selected Rory Safir of Safir Injury & Criminal Defense Law PLLC for its Top 40 Under 40 list for criminal defense in Florida....
  • Rory Safir

Rising Stars 2025: Selected for the Second Straight Year

Last January I shared that I had been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for the first time. This January the letter came again: I have been selected to the 2025 Rising Stars list, my second consecutive year....
  • Rory Safir

Selected to the 2024 Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars List

Some news you get by mail still feels good in an email world. I am honored to share that I have been selected to the 2024 Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in criminal defense and DUI defense....
  • Rory Safir

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Arrested for DUI in Florida, the bookI wrote the book on Florida DUIFree to anyone facing a charge in Tampa Bay. Plain English, nineteen chapters, no law degree required.Get your copy →ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist badgeForensic Lawyer-ScientistOne of six attorneys in Florida with the ACS-CHAL designation from the American Chemical Society.What that means for your case →

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Case Results

Acquittal, Pinellas County: DUI jury acquittal after the HGN eye test was challenged.

Past results are examples only and do not predict, promise, or guarantee the outcome of any other case.

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“Rory rescued me. His professionalism and knowledge of criminal law turned what could have been a terrible situation into freedom. One of the best attorneys in the state, in my opinion.”

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