In Florida, when you are in an accident, your own insurance (sometimes injured people who don’t own a car will qualify under a resident relative’s policy or under the policy of car insurance for the vehicle they were in), pays some of your medical bills. Generally, PIP pays at 80 percent and pays up to a certain sum (traditionally PIP paid up to $10,000 but under the new law if there is not an “emergency medical condition” then PIP pays up to $2,500. Under Florida’s new Personal Injury Protection (PIP) law that applies to accidents after January 1, 2013, in order for the applicable PIP insurance to pay anything, there must be treatment within 14 days; otherwise, PIP generally will not pay anything. However, this does not mean that you cannot begin treatment after the 14 days and sue the other driver for those medical bills! thus, you very well MAY have a case in Florida if you begin to treat at 14 days IF the other vehicle is at fault. Obviously, there will be an issue of those bills being related to the accident if treatment begins on the 15th day or thereafter. Said another way, the insurance company for the at fault driver may contest the causal connection between treatments started too far after the accident.
My law firm helps people in Florida that are involved in a car accident and who are NOT at fault in the accident. Please call me, Gary J. Drucker, for a free consultation if you have been involved in an accident.
If you have been in a car accident where you believe the other car was at fault, please call Drucker Law Offices for a free consultation at 561-483-9199 (Boca Raton Main office) or 954-755-2120 (Coral Springs satellite office), 561-967-3840 (Lake Worth satellite office) or 305-981-1561 (Miami satellite office). Generally, the law firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means that fees are only charged if the law firm recovers money for you. We offer a free consultation at your home, at the hospital or at one of the law firm’s conveniently located office through the tri-county area.
Every case is different and must be judged on its merits. It is a good start to get a complementary consultation regarding an accident case in case this happens to you. The advise contained in this blog is intended to be of general matter and not as to a specific situation, so please call a licensed Florida attorney, like the lawyer at Drucker Law Offices, to determine if and how Florida law applies to your case.
