Florida Auto Accident Attorney

Bodily Injury Liability Insurance

Believe it or not, in Florida, you are not required to carry bodily injury liability insurance. This is coverage that will protect you if you negligently injure someone else. As a result of not being mandatory, there are a lot of uninsured motorists on the roads in Florida on any given day.

If you own a motor vehicle, Florida law does require you to carry No-Fault (PIP - personal injury protection) benefits. The idea behind No-Fault is that the legislatures wanted to ensure if someone is involved in a motorvehicle accident and injured, there would be a way to seek immediate medical care and recoup loss wages without arguing about who is at fault. So, even if the other driver in a motor vehicle accident is at fault, it will be your No-Fault (PIP) benefits that pays most of your primary medical bills and loss wages.

No-Fault (PIP - personal injury protection)

No-Fault (PIP) benefits, however, only covers 80% of medically necessary and related medical expenses associated with your injuries up to a maximum benefit of $10,000.00. Furthermore, many people elect to have a deductible. Depending on when your policy of insurance was purchased, that deductible could be as high as $2,000.00. While you do pay less in premiums for a deductible, you are essentially gambling that you will never need to make a claim. If you do, you will bear the deductible amount of medical bills out of pocket before No-Fault is required to pay the requisite 80% mentioned above.

Many times, however, your insurance company does not pay its contractual obligations. For what ever reason, they may pay less than 80% of what your doctor charges for a certain procedure, or sometimes, they may not pay at all. When this happens, you have the absolute right to sue your insurer (insurance company) to compel them to live up to their end of the bargain. Here at my office, I can assist you if such a matter arises. In most instances, the Court will award me an attorney's fee plus costs to be paid by the insurance company.

As mentioned above, No-Fault is also required to pay part of your establised loss wages. Specifically, No-Fault covers 60% of our pre-injury wages lost as a result of your motor vehicle accident and injuries if documented by a physician. If your insurance company fails to pay your wage loss claim within thirty (30) days of supplying them the requisite documentation, you can again file suit to compel them to pay the same.

After learning about Florida No-Fault, most clients want to know the answer to the infamous question, "What is my case worth?" That question, unfortunately, is almost impossible to answer, especially at the early stages of your case. Ultimately, it is up to a jury to determine what your case is worth.

Future Medical Care and Future Loss Wages

Florida law establishes some minimal guidelines. If Florida No-Fault benefits are applicable then you must establish a permanent injury and/or disfigurement to receive non-economic losses. That is to say, in order to get money for pain and suffering, emotional distress, etc., you must establish a permanent injury. Unfortunately, if you fail to establish a permanent injury you will also have a difficult time establishing the need for future medical care and future loss wages.

Obviously, past medical bills and loss wages are easy then. But as you have already learned, most of those should have already been paid through your No-Fault benefits, if there were such benefits available. Unfortunately, the legislatures do not want you to double your recovery, so the defendant is entitled to an offset for what No-Fault benefits have been paid. And to top it all off, if you fail to prove permanency, and you have a deductible, you basically loose the ability to claim that amount as damages as well.

Let us next talk about from who you can recoup your damages against. The most obvious answer is the defendant who was at fault for the accident. However, as alluded earlier, bodily injury liability coverage is not required here in Florida. So you may reallistically face filing suit against the defendant individually to recoup your damages if they did not carry bodily injury liability insurance.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage

There is another possibility, however. You can actually elect to insure yourself against uninsured and/or underinsured motorists. If you purchased uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage you can file a claim against your own insurance company if the defendant does not have any bodily injury insurance or not enough bodily injury insurance to cover your damages. While this type of insurance does cost extra, it is money well invested to protect you and your family given the current state of Florida law. I have had to turn away many injured clients in my time due to the inability to recoup their damages from any solvent party.

To learn more about what insurance coverages are applicable in your case, please contact my office for a free consultation. In the Orlando area at 407-657-2525 or outside the Orlando area toll free at 1-877-SUE-THEM. If you prefer, you can send an This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it as well with any specific question you may have.

Common Auto Accident Injuries

• Brain injury
• Injury to the spine
• Neck injuries
• Fractures and broken bones
• Head injuries

Recover compensation and damages

• Medical expenses incurred in the treatment of your injuries.
• Any future medical costs.
• Compensation for actual loss of wages.
• Loss of future wages.
• Damages for mental pain and anguish.

Finding a Lawyer in the Orlando / Central Florida Area

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Having lived in Winter Park, FL since 1980, Don first began his legal career here in 1994 and opened Harvey Law in 1999. Before you decide on a lawyer, call or email us asking for free written information about Don Harvey's qualifications and experience.

This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advise nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.