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PIP stands for personal injury protection and is a kind of no-fault insurance. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) in Florida is a kind of insurance that covers you if you are hurt in a car accident. PIP was designed to grant injured drivers money in medical coverage when it was incorporated into vehicle insurance law. Accident victims might get these funds right away. As a result, accident victims do not need to go through the legal system to prove fault, which may take several months or more in many situations. Instead, they can get payments to cover medical costs and other expenses.
Even if they were at fault for the accident, personal injury protection protects insured persons. Children, household members, and some passengers are also covered under personal injury protection. Passengers in an accident will have their own personal injury protection policy activated and accessible to them.
Personal injury protection of at least $10,000 must be purchased by all motor vehicle owners in Florida, according to state law[1].
For many reasons, personal injury protection insurance is critical. Without having the need to pursue a claim using the legal system (courts), having PIP is designed to allow victims of auto accidents funds to cover their medical costs.
Prior to personal injury protection (PIP) being a mandatory requirement for Florida drivers, injured drivers might suffer lengthy delays in receiving funds to pay medical expenses. Personal injury protection sped up the process by eliminating the long waits that injured drivers frequently experience while seeking reimbursement for medical bills and other expenditures incurred as a consequence of a car collision.
Personal injury protection insurance offers no-fault insurance coverage, which is one of its most important aspects. Injured parties may usually receive their medical bills and expenditures under a no-fault insurance coverage, regardless of who was at fault in the accident. Even the motorist who caused the collision should be eligible to recover for their medical bills if they have enough personal injury protection insurance coverage.
In Florida, there existed a tort reparations system in place before personal injury protection was implemented. An injured motorist might sue the at-fault driver since they were held accountable under the old system. The tort reparations system allowed a motorist who was not at fault to sue the at-fault driver for both monetary and non-monetary damages (medical expenses, property
damage, etc.). Insurance disputes would typically take a long time to settle and would often wind up in court if the tort reparations system was used.
In Florida, personal injury protection is well-established; the no-fault statute has been in place for over 50 years. In 1971, Florida became the second state in the US to enact a no-fault system. As a matter of fact, there are currently 12 states with no-fault vehicle policies and 14 states with personal injury protection in the United States.
The goal of enacting personal injury protection vehicle insurance and no-fault laws was to make the process of filing a claim for compensation after an accident more efficient. Both parties are permitted to claim medical expenditures under the no-fault statute. This implies that regardless of who caused the collision, both drivers may file a claim. The goal of the legislation was to eliminate the need for protracted back-and-forth disputes in order to determine who was to blame. This reduced the time it took for drivers to be reimbursed for medical expenses and made the claims process more efficient.
The statute has been changed numerous times since its inception in 1971, in an effort to resolve concerns of justice and prevent bogus claims.
Drivers with automobiles registered in Florida may take advantage of a variety of perks via PIP. Personal injury protection benefits drivers in a variety of ways, including:
Drivers with PIP may be confident that if they are involved in a car accident, they will be reimbursed for the expenses of their medical care.
Medical treatment compensation is typically handed out swiftly to injured drivers, so there is no need to wait a long time to be paid.
Even if the motorist was at fault and caused the collision, they will be able to claim their medical expenses since their PIP would pay some of their expenses.
The no-fault legislation makes the claims procedure much more efficient. This simplified procedure eliminates the need for drivers to travel back and forth, seeking to assign guilt and get the pay they deserve.
PIP and the no-fault statute were enacted in part to limit the number of cases involving accident claims that ended up in court.
Individuals' compensation rights are substantially weakened under the legislation, since they will only be compensated for treatment expenses via PIP. Insurance premiums should be lower since there will be less money to pay out in compensation.
PIP insurance has a lot of advantages, but it also has certain drawbacks. Here are some of the drawbacks that the no-fault legislation and personal injury protection are commonly blamed for:
The ability of an injured individual to sue another motorist for non-medical suffering is severely restricted under Florida's no-fault statute. Suing the at-fault motorist for emotional and mental suffering caused by the collision became much more difficult when the no-fault statute was implemented. This limits the ability to seek compensation for non-physical injuries like as anguish, anxiety, pain, and suffering that may arise as a result of a car accident.
Personal injury protection is no longer available to claim the expenses of certain therapies for those who have been injured. Massage therapy and acupuncture were no longer covered by personal injury protection insurance after the law was changed in 2012, therefore injured drivers could no longer claim back the expenses of these treatments.
Drivers who want to submit fraudulent claims might take advantage of the no-fault law. Spurious claims may take many different forms, ranging from staged accidents to unscrupulous medical practitioners assisting claims for care that was never given. No-fault accident fraud is a persistent issue that has resulted in a large number of dubious claims.
Making a successful claim on your PIP insurance may be a difficult procedure to navigate since any errors in the documentation you provide to the insurance company might lead to your claim being denied. Many injured drivers employ an attorney to guide them through the process and obtain what they deserve, increasing their chances of filing a successful claim and getting compensated for their medical expenditures.
At Nooney, Roberts, Hewett & Nowicki, we make sure you are aggressively represented and get as much monetary compensation as possible. Call us today at (904) 398-1992.
PIP insurance has a $10,000 cap on medical expense claims, which is often thought to be too low. Since the introduction of the no-fault law in 1971, the claim limit has been unchanged at $10,000. As a result, despite growing medical expenditures, the cap has remained unchanged for over 50 years. You may have to pay the difference if your medical expenditures surpass the $10,000 maximum of your personal injury coverage.
Although the no-fault system is intended to offer prompt reimbursement for medical expenses, there are several circumstances in which your claim may be delayed. If your claim is found to be fraudulent for any reason, you will have to wait longer to find out if you will be compensated. In this case, the insurance company will have to investigate your claim before deciding whether to compensate you. This might lead to a long delay and unnecessary stress for injured people who are making valid claims. Hence, why it is very important to hire an attorney to help you seek the compensation you deserve.
Call us today at (904) 398-1992 or fill out a quick form to schedule a free initial consultation with our aggressive personal injury attorneys! ¡Hablamos español!
If you've been in a car accident, you may be unclear about how to file a claim and get your PIP benefits. Being in an accident may be stressful, so seeking expert assistance to guide you through the process may be beneficial. Using the services of an attorney may assist you in establishing a successful compensation claim by helping the claims process go more easily.
The medical care you get must occur within 14 days of the date of the accident in order to be covered by your PIP policy[2]. Your insurance company may deny your compensation claim if you seek therapy after those first 14 days. After the 14-day time has passed, your attorney can advise you on how you may be able to recover money for treatment, but it's probable that you'll have to go via the at-fault driver's insurance coverage.
Call Nooney, Roberts, Hewett & Nowicki Now!
The attorneys at Nooney, Roberts, Hewett & Nowicki have decades of combined experience assisting clients to seek the compensation they deserve. Our team of legal experts can help you along this complicated and delicate process. Please do not go through this intricate process alone.
Call us at (904) 398-1992 or fill out a quick form to schedule a free initial consultation with our aggressive personal injury attorneys! ¡Hablamos español!
[1] FLA. STAT. § 324.021 (2021).
[2] FLA. STAT. § 627.736(1)(a)
