Car accidents in Florida are far too common. In 2021, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) reported 401,533 motor vehicle accidents took place in the state. Of those accidents, 3,732 resulted in fatalities, and forty percent (40%) of those accidents resulted in reportable injuries. Car accidents in Florida resulting in injuries or death often leave victims facing both economic and non-economic losses. Even those with mild injuries can be severely traumatized and be left with chronic pain. Maybe you were involved in a motor vehicle crash caused by someone else and were left with injuries and transported by ambulance to the emergency room and admitted to the hospital following examination. Others may be permanently disabled following a car wreck, and recovery can be prolonged and render the individual unable to work for several months. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you might receive bills from the ambulance, hospital, various specialists, diagnostic imaging lab, and others who provided treatment for you. Whether you suffered only minor injuries or require surgery and ongoing care, it is likely your medical bills are not only exorbitant, but also overwhelming.
Car accidents inevitably leave you with questions about who will be responsible for damage to your vehicle, paying your medical bills, and other losses. You may believe that the other motorist’s insurance company will automatically pay your bills when he or she caused the accident. However, that is not how motor vehicle accident litigation works in Florida. It is crucial to retain proper legal representation to ensure you are not responsible for mounting costs. Below is some information from the personal injury lawyers at Robinson & Casey PLLC to help you prepare in case you are involved in a car accident.
Florida Car Accident Laws – No Fault Insurance, Comparative Fault Rule, Statute of Limitations, and Reporting
Florida has a no-fault insurance system. This means that a car accident victim must first file a claim with his or her insurer to receive compensation for injuries sustained in a car accident, regardless of whether his or her injuries were due to the negligence of another driver. All motorists in Florida are required to carry at least $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance. This coverage is available to cover your initial medical bills. Practically speaking, what this means is that under Florida’s no-fault insurance statute, if an insured is hurt in an accident, his or her PIP policy will automatically pay eighty percent (80%) of reasonable medical expenses related to injuries sustained (up to $10,000), sixty percent (60%) of lost earnings subject to the limits of the coverage, and any applicable deductible (or up to the specified policy limit), regardless of who caused the accident. However, because PIP coverage is limited, it may not be sufficient to cover the costs involved with serious injuries. Many auto insurers in Florida also offer optional med-pay coverage to supplement your PIP insurance, which may be worth the investment. The skilled personal injury lawyers at Robinson & Casey PLLC may be able to help you negotiate with your insurance company as you contend with rapidly mounting medical bills combined with other losses.
If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident and decide to sue, Florida courts use a comparative fault model of liability to apportion fault and to determine responsibility and compensation. For example, imagine if you are speeding at 80 miles per hour in a 60 miles per hour zone. Suddenly a drunk driver goes through a red light and collides with your vehicle. If your case goes to trial, the jury may feel that you were partially at fault for driving above the speed limit, but that the other driver was more at fault because he was driving drunk. They may deem that your speeding attributed to ten percent (10%) of the accident, while the other driver’s negligence attributed to ninety percent (90%) of the accident. If the jury ultimately awards $80,000 for your injuries and damages, you will net $72,000 (90% of $80,000) of that award. Conditions such as these are great examples of why knowing your Florida car accident laws can help you understand the nature of your case and even potentially how necessary good attorneys will be for you.
The statute of limitations for filing a motor vehicle accident in Florida is four (4) years. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(a). Notably, if you are forced to seek medical attention, PIP insurance coverage requires you to do so within fourteen (14) days, or two (2) weeks, of the accident. Fla. Stat. § 627.736. Finally, Florida requires the drivers involved in a crash resulting in injury or death to a person, or at least $500 of estimated vehicle or property damage, to immediately contact local law enforcement. Fla. Stat. § 316.065.
Medical Bills After Car accidents in Florida – Who Pays?
PIP insurance allows you to file a claim with your auto insurance company. As you just read, if you timely seek medical treatment, your insurance company is required to provide you with a certain amount of compensation. Money recovered from your insurance company can be used to pay for your out-of-pocket expenses up to your PIP limits, including your medical bills, lost wages, or other damages after an accident.
But what happens if your medical bills exceed the amount paid for through your PIP insurance (and, if you have it, our med-pay coverage)? Your next step might be to submit claims to your personal health insurance provider. Importantly, however, your health insurance carrier usually wants you to exhaust as much as you can through your car insurance before accessing health care benefits. If your medical expenses still far exceed the amount of your insurance coverage and you have been permanently injured, you may consider filing a claim against the at-fault driver or a third party for your other losses. However, the other driver’s insurance company will not pay until your claim is resolved through a settlement or jury verdict. This means you still must pay your bills as your case is being adjudicated, including deductibles, co-pays, and transportation expenses incurred. The expert personal injury attorneys at Robinson & Casey PLLC may be able to help negotiate the deferment of copay payments.
After your claim is resolved, your health insurance company may seek reimbursement for the bills it covered while your case was pending if circumstances warrant it through a process called subrogation. Thus, any settlement or award you receive should be calculated very carefully to include any fees or financial hardship you have endured while waiting for the resolution of your case. The personal injury lawyers at Robinson & Casey can negotiate with your health insurance company to try and allow you to keep as much of your settlement or verdict award as possible.
When to File a Lawsuit After a Car Accident
To determine if and who you can sue for damages that occur following a serious motor vehicle accident resulting in a permanent injury, you need to consult with a skilled personal injury attorney. The attorney will review your case and the circumstances surrounding your accident and make recommendations. Common scenarios in which you can sue include if the other party involved in the accident is clearly at fault and your PIP insurance (and med-pay coverage, if you have it) only covers a portion of your expenses; if the cause of your accident is due to a defective auto part or design flaw in your vehicle; if the other party involved in the accident was drunk; if the other driver fled the scene of the accident; or if the other party ignored or blatantly disregarded Florida traffic laws.
Robinson & Casey PLLC Can Help You Navigate Florida Car Accident Laws
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured from car accidents in Florida, getting legal help from a team that intimately understands Florida car accident laws can help make a difference in the outcome of your accident claim. The experienced team of personal injury attorneys at Robinson & Casey PLLC has helped thousands of accident victims and might be able to handle communications with your insurance company so you can concentrate on your recovery. Call us today to schedule a free case evaluation so that you can learn more about your rights at 561-375-5204.
