When you signed up for car insurance in Florida, you may not have paid a lot of attention to exactly what kind of coverage you purchased. If you get into a car accident, those insurance documents will become incredibly important. This is particularly true when it comes to your no-fault coverage.
Florida requires that all drivers purchase a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Your PIP insurance will pay for your initial medical bills and lost wages. If you suffered a serious injury, then you can pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver with the help of a Vero Beach personal injury attorney.
At Gould Cooksey Fennell, we are dedicated to helping our clients get compensation for their losses. We will thoroughly analyze your case to build the strongest possible claim for compensation, bringing it out of PIP coverage and pursuing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Vero Beach car accident lawyer, reach out to our law firm today.
What Is No-Fault Insurance?
No-fault insurance is a special type of car insurance that pays some of the policyholder’s losses after a car accident. It is also referred to as personal injury protection or PIP coverage. Florida is one of approximately a dozen states that require drivers to purchase no-fault/PIP coverage to register a vehicle in the state.
With PIP insurance, your own insurance company will pay for reasonable and necessary medical expenses after a car accident, up to policy limits. This coverage will kick in regardless of who caused the accident. For example, if you are in a rear-end accident, your PIP will pay for your initial medical expenses, whether you rear-ended the other vehicle or another driver rear-ended you.
By contrast, in fault states, your own car insurance won’t cover your losses right after an accident. Instead, the victim of a car accident has to pursue a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. This process can take time.
The purpose of a no-fault system is to ensure that car accident victims get immediate coverage for their medical expenses and lost income without worrying about filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit. This achieves several goals:
- Reducing litigation costs, as more minor motor vehicle accidents and injury claims can be handled through drivers’ own insurance.
- Speeding up claims processing because each driver in an accident will file a claim with their own insurer. This can eliminate the need for an investigation to determine liability before initial medical benefits are paid.
- Ensuring that victims get prompt access to funds for their medical bills and lost income can reduce uncertainty for car accident victims.
- Guaranteeing coverage so that even if a car accident victim is in a crash with an uninsured or underinsured driver, they can still get their initial bills paid.
If you are in a Florida car accident, you might have questions about how this works in practice. Read on to learn more about PIP coverage for Florida drivers. If you have additional questions, reach out to our law firm to schedule a free consultation with a Vero Beach car accident attorney.
How Florida’s No-Fault Insurance Works
In Florida, all drivers are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 in PIP coverage, in addition to a minimum of $10,000 in property damage liability insurance. PIP coverage will pay for certain expenses for the policyholder, their children, members of their household, and passengers in their vehicle who do not have their own PIP insurance. This PIP policy will also protect the policyholder and household members if they’re in an accident that does not involve their own car (such as being hit by a car in a pedestrian accident).
If you are hurt in a motor vehicle accident, your PIP insurance will pay:
- 80% of reasonably incurred medical expenses related to the accident;
- 60% of lost income resulting from the accident; and
- $5,000 in death benefits for fatal car accidents.
Medical expenses and lost income will be paid up to policy limits. If you have the state minimum $10,000 in PIP coverage, then the maximum benefits that you can receive will be $10,000.
PIP coverage does not pay for vehicle damage after a car accident. It also won’t pay for things like pain and suffering and other non-monetary losses. If you have suffered more than minor injuries or your vehicle needs to be repaired after a car crash, then you will need to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver.
Florida law imposes fairly strict limitations on PIP coverage. To collect PIP benefits, you must receive initial medical treatment within 14 days of the accident. If you wait longer than 2 weeks to go to the emergency room or see your doctor, then you almost certainly cannot file a claim for no-fault insurance benefits for your medical expenses.
In addition, you can only get full PIP coverage (up to $10,000 or higher policy limits) if a medical provider determines that you had an “emergency medical condition” from the accident. The medical treatment that you received must have been for that emergency medical condition. Otherwise, you are limited to $2,5000 in PIP benefits for medical treatment if a doctor or other healthcare professional determines that you did not have an emergency medical condition from the car accident.
So what exactly is an emergency medical condition? Florida’s insurance laws define it as: “a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, which may include severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in any of the following:
- Serious jeopardy to patient health, including a pregnant woman or fetus.
- Serious impairment to bodily functions.
- Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.”
This definition is pretty expansive. It can cover everything from a sore neck or back after a rear-end accident to a broken bone to a head injury. If you have very minimal injuries, such as a tiny scratch, then that may not qualify under this definition. For anything more than that, there is a good chance that you will get PIP coverage for your medical expenses.
In a nutshell, this is how no-fault insurance coverage works in Florida. If you’re in an accident, your own insurance company will pay your immediate medical bills and lost wages, no matter who was at fault for the crash. If you suffered more than minor injuries in a Treasure Coast car crash, our Vero Beach car accident attorneys can help you determine your rights and options for pursuing a legal claim.
When Can You File a Lawsuit for Car Accident Injuries in Florida?
As noted above, PIP coverage only pays for a limited amount of initial medical expenses and lost wages. In some cases, this is enough to pay your medical bills and cover the time that you had to take off work to recover from your injuries. In other situations, your losses might be more substantial.
Even in a no-fault state like Florida, it is still possible to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. First, you can file an insurance claim for any property damage to your car. Second, you can file a lawsuit to recover other compensation if you suffered a “serious injury.”
Under Florida law, you have a “serious injury” if you experienced any of the following as a result of a motor vehicle accident:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury, within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death
If your injuries are considered serious, this allows you to step outside of Florida’s no-fault system. While you will still be able to get your PIP coverage, you can also sue the at-fault driver for your additional losses.
With a lawsuit, you can recover compensation for all of your losses related to a car accident. This may include money for:
- Economic damages, including lost wages, reduced earning capacity, property damage, medical bills, and future medical treatment. This money can go above and beyond the limits of PIP coverage to more fully compensate you for your losses. For example, if you suffered a spinal cord injury after an accident that requires surgery and are out of work for 12 months, economic damages can pay for your more extensive medical costs as well as your lost wages. For serious injuries, $10,000 in PIP coverage will rarely be enough to fully cover medical bills and lost wages. A lawsuit can help you get the money that you deserve for these losses.
- Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, scarring, and disfigurement. You cannot get non-economic damages through a no-fault insurance claim. The only way to recover compensation for these losses is by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
- Punitive damages may be awarded in more unusual cases, where the at-fault driver caused the accident recklessly or intentionally. For example, if you were hurt in a drunk driving accident, you might be able to seek punitive damages against the driver.
To win a personal injury lawsuit in Florida, you will need to introduce evidence that the other driver caused your accident. In most cases, this involves proving that the at-fault driver was negligent (careless). Speeding, failing to yield, or changing lanes without looking are all examples of negligent behavior that could lead to liability in a car accident claim.
Of course, insurance companies are in business to make money. Insurers want your case to be handled through PIP alone, rather than paying out more money for a liability claim. For this reason, insurance adjusters will often try to downplay your injuries as minor, arguing that you do not qualify to step outside of the PIP system.
As experienced Vero Beach car accident lawyers, our job is to advocate for our clients. We have extensive experience proving that our clients’ injuries are serious and that they deserve full compensation for their losses. If you have been hurt in a crash in Florida, reach out to our law offices at any time to schedule a free initial consultation with a member of our legal team.
How Gould Cooksey Fennell Will Help
Florida’s no-fault system can be a great way to ensure that you get immediate coverage for your medical bills and lost wages. However, it can also make it more challenging to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Our experienced Vero Beach personal injury lawyers will fight for your right to full compensation.
Based in Vero Beach, Gould Cooksey Fennell represents clients throughout Florida’s Treasure Coast in car accident cases. We understand what it takes to move your case out of the no-fault system and will work tirelessly to get you the money that you deserve for your losses. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Vero Beach car accident lawyer, give us a call at 772-742-4912 or fill out our online contact form.
