If you have been in a car accident in Florida, especially if your injuries are significant, you may want to learn more about your options for recovering from the full spectrum of your losses. If you or your passenger is injured in a car accident, you can file a liability insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. Most people don't make use of this option, as it tends to be more difficult and expensive than simply buying insurance coverage. The statute also requires non-resident vehicle owners to have no-fault coverage if the vehicle is physically present in Florida for more than 90 days out of the previous 365 days.
Some victims of car accidents will face challenges with their insurance company refusing to cover damages. In short, this law means that drivers must have Personal Injury Protection coverage as part of their car insurance. If you were driving with a disability at the time of the accident or if you caused it intentionally, your insurance company may not allow you to file a claim. To leave the system without fault so that it is possible to file a third-party insurance claim or lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident, and for pain and suffering and all other available non-economic losses to be on the table, your injuries must meet the threshold set by state law (we we'll discuss Florida's serious injury threshold in the next section).
It was believed that the inefficiencies of insurance claims and the legal system could be reduced with a no-fault system. No-fault laws are supposed to make it easier for people injured in a car accident to seek medical treatment. So good that nearly half of our states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, adopted some kind of no-fault insurance law that allows policyholders to file auto accident claims with their own insurers. Their cases are represented by lawyers whose goal is to obtain the maximum amount from insurance companies.
With Florida's no-fault law and your PIP coverage, you can seek medical attention right away, without waiting for insurance companies to decide who is responsible. If you are a Florida driver involved in a car accident, you have peace of mind knowing that any medical expenses will be covered by your PIP insurance. If you have any additional questions about what Florida's No-Fault law is and how it affects your car accident claim, please don't hesitate to contact us.
