Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law
Brian O Sutter
Accident Lawyers
Florida is one of the few states in America with a no-fault automobile insurance state. You’ve probably heard this before, but do you know what this really entails? The no-fault law guarantees your insurer pays you a limited sum of money, but there are situations where you may be entitled to more. If you don’t know the details of the law, you may be forgoing significant damages that an experienced personal injury lawyer could obtain for you.Origins Of The Law
In the 1971, the state of Florida, faced with sky-rocketing vehicle insurance premiums, excessive litigation that clogged the court systems and delayed payment to automobile accident victims, and jury awards that overcompensated minor injuries, passed no-fault legislation. According to the Florida Supreme Court in Lasky v. State Farm Insurance Company, the no fault law was intended to:
- avoid delayed payments by ensuring injured persons were paid directly by their own insurers regardless of fault,
- unclog the court system,
- lower automobile insurance premiums, and
- end inequitable recoveries under the traditional tort system.
Since then, the law has undergone several revisions to get to its current iteration.
Pertinent Provisions Of The Current Law
For the purposes of this article, the focus will be on the personal injury aspect of the law. Drivers in Florida are legally required to carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP). In the event of an accident the insurance company must pay the insurer the following amounts up to the policy limit per person regardless of fault:
- 80% of all reasonable medical expenses,
- 60% of lost income,
- 100% of replacement services (childcare, housekeeping, yard work, etc.) necessitated by the injury, and
- $5,000 per death.
Insurers pay these amounts right away regardless of fault. In exchange, drivers generally may not bring a tort action (and, conversely, may not be sued in tort) for other damages arising out of the accident. Insurers can offer slightly different terms under the law, so it’s important to check the particulars of your insurance agreement.
For example, let’s say you have the minimum $10,000 PIP and were involved in an accident that required $8,000 in medical treatments, kept you away from work for three weeks, during which you lost $2,500 dollars in salary, and you had to hire a nanny to watch your kids for three weeks for $1,500 while you recovered.
Under Florida’s no-fault insurance law, your insurer would have to pay you $6,400 for the medical expenses, $1,500 for the lost income, and $1,500 for the nanny, for a total of $9,400 (but keep in mind that your total actual expenses were $12,000).
Well, that’s the easy part. What happens if your expenses exceed your coverage, as in the example above? What happens if you’re so seriously injured that you can never work again?
When No-Fault Stops Being No-Fault
This is where you may need to get an experienced personal injury lawyer involved. Under the law, you may sue for economic damages that are not covered by the PIP. For example, in the example above, your actual expenses were $12,000, but the insurer only paid you $9,400. Depending on the circumstances of the case, you may be able to sue the other party to the accident and/or their insurer for the $2,600 in expenses you incurred, but were not reimbursed for.
Also depending on the circumstances of the case, you may be able to sue the other party and/or their insurer for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience if you have suffered:
- significant permanent loss of an important bodily function,
- permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical certainty,
- significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or
- death.
If you’ve been in an automobile accident and you think you should be entitled to more than your insurer’s no-fault payments, don’t hesitate to contact All Injures Law Firm.