Grappin Clinic: Florida Car Accident Injury & Automobile Insurance Facts

What happens when you get injured in a car accident in Florida? What rights do you have to insurance coverage? Florida law generally requires motor vehicle owners to carry PIP insurance. "PIP", which stands for Personal Injury Protection, provides insurance coverage to the motor vehicle owner for bodily injuries sustained in consequence of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle. In other words, if you get injured in a car accident, you should be able to recover insurance benefits from your own PIP insurer.

What is specifically covered under PIP? PIP generally covers up to 80% of your reasonable medical expenses, 60% of your lost wages, and the expense of your household-related services which are needed to be performed during your incapacity due to the car accident. However, current law in Florida will only permit you to recover medical expenses under PIP if you received medical attention within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident. That is why it is very important for you to get medical attention right away after you sustained injuries in a car accident.

What are the limits of PIP? PIP provides insurance benefits, as defined by Statute, up to a limit of $10,000. However, the PIP Statutes will limit your right to recover to $2,500 if a medical provider determines that you did not have an "emergency medical condition." The PIP Statutes define an emergency medical condition as a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity that could result in serious jeopardy to the patient's health.

What happens when you exhaust your PIP benefits? If your damages exceed what you were able to recover under PIP, then you may be able to seek recovery from the person whose negligence caused your injuries and/or that party's insurance carrier. There is also the potential of recovering benefits from your uninsured motorist insurance carrier. Uninsured motorist coverage is not mandated under Florida law. As a general rule, if you have this coverage, your uninsured motorist carrier will cover you for any damages you sustained which exceeded what you were able to recover from the liability insurance carrier of the person who caused your injuries.

So, if you get in a car accident in Florida, you would (a) seek coverage from your PIP insurer, (b) seek to recover any additional damages from the liability insurer of the person causing your accident, and (c) seek any additional coverage from your uninsured motorist carrier.

Since these matters can get complicated, you would most certainly need the assistance of a trained attorney.

We hope this article helps.