OVERVIEW:  If you are injured as a result of an automobile accident, you have certain rights to be compensated for your injuries and medical expenses. The State of Florida is a “no-fault” State, which means that regardless of who caused the accident, there are State insurance requirements in effect to ensure that your minimum medical costs and expenses are paid.  These insurance requirements are known as Personal Injury Protection (PIP) which every licensed driver is required to carry and is used to pay for up to $10,000.00 of your own medical expenses. With the rising cost of medical treatment, it is not hard to imagine that this minimum insurance requirement is hardly adequate to compensate you for all of your medical expenses. More troubling is the fact that many drivers still refuse to care this minimum requirement even though it is required by law. Additionally, Personal Injury Protection is intended to be used only for medical expenses and costs, and not the effects of your injuries, namely pain, suffering, disfigurement, scarring, or lost wages and earning capacity.  To recover damages for the foregoing, a medical doctor must conclude that your injuries are permanent and have impaired you in whole or in part. Thereafter, you must seek relief against the negligent party to pay you for your personal injuries in addition to all other costs including any excess medical expenses beyond those paid by your Personal Injury Protection insurance as well as any property damage that you may have suffered to your vehicle. In order to prevail, you must be able to prove that the other party was the proximate cause of your injuries and the accident in question. To maximize your recovery, all contributing sources for the accident must be examined as well as the applicable insurance coverage available to you including your own insurance and uninsured motorist insurance coverage if you should have the same.

KEY BENEFITS: Thorough analysis of your case, and all contributing sources of the accident.  Comprehensive review of your insurance policy and all available insurance sources available to you for your recovery.  Working relationship established with the medical doctor of your own choosing to follow your recovery and to maximize the chances of having all of your medical expenses paid.

RESEARCH RESOURCES

Additional research for this topic can be found under the following links. Bookmark this page or use your browser’s back button to return to this page. 

Torts and Negligence

Damages

The National Library of Medicine

MD Consult

New England Journal of Medicine

Medscape

Martindale’s Health Science Guide

Journal of American Medical Association

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