Florida is referred to as a “no fault” insurance state.  “No fault” does not mean you are  responsible for paying for someone else’s negligence when someone else causes a crash.  “No fault” means that Florida requires each vehicle owner to carry personal injury protection (“PIP”) insurance in the amount of $10,000.00 on their vehicle.  If a crash occurs, PIP insurance covers the owner of a vehicle and any resident family members involved in the crash who do not own vehicles.  Regardless of fault, PIP usually pays 80% of the medical bills and 60% of the lost wages that a covered occupant incurs, up to the $10,000.00 limit.                                                       

If a driver is at fault for causing a crash which results in injuries to you or a loved one, the at fault driver’s bodily injury (“BI”) coverage is triggered.  BI insurance pays for damages, including but not limited to, future medical care, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other damages not covered by PIP.  If you or a loved one are the victim of a car crash caused by a negligent driver, BI insurance may cover the loss.  However, if the damages exceed the policy limits of the BI insurance, or if there is no BI insurance, it is important to attempt to find other coverage for your loss.

Uninsured or underinsured motorist (“UM”) insurance is important coverage for Florida drivers to purchase.  When negligent drivers carry no insurance, or when they have BI insurance that will not cover all of your damages, UM insurance may be available to pay for the loss.  Typically, a UM policy covers you and any relative in your household injured by another person’s negligence when there is a no BI coverage or when there is inadequate BI coverage.  The UM policy pays for future medical care, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other damages not otherwise covered by PIP and BI insurance.  Sadly, many of our clients first learn they do not carry this important coverage when they have a collision with an uninsured driver.  We encourage everyone to check their insurance policies to make sure they carry ample UM coverage.

In addition to the basic insurance coverages mentioned above, there may be other insurance to cover your loss.  The lawyers at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith have handled thousands of motor vehicle crash cases and can help you discover what insurance will cover your loss.  If you, your child, a friend, or loved one has been injured in a car crash and you have questions about what insurance coverage is available to cover the loss, please do not hesitate to contact us.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4,092 pedestrians died as a result of motor-vehicle related crashes in 2009.[2]  This is actually a sharp decline from the 4,414 pedestrians killed in 2008, and from the 5,228 pedestrians killed 11 years prior in 1998.[3]  While this decline may appear to be encouraging, a whopping 482 of those pedestrian fatalities in 2009, or 11.8%, occurred in Florida.[4] 

Also according to the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 59,000 reported pedestrian injuries that occurred as a result of traffic crashes in 2009.[5]  Of those, 7,676, or 13%, were in Florida.[6]

What should you do if you are a pedestrian injured in an accident with an automobile?

1. Call the police: Immediately call the police, or ask for someone at the scene of the crash to call the police.  This is important to be able to obtain an official record of the incident, which should list the parties involved as well as any individuals who may have witnessed the crash.
2. Obtain the personal and insurance information of those involved in the crash: You should obtain the contact and automobile insurance information from any individual(s) who was involved in the crash.  Obtaining this information may ultimately assist you in making a claim for any medical expenses you may incur, or for other damages you may sustain as a result of the crash.
3. Seek medical attention: After an accident you may feel a lot of anxiety, and from the shock of the crash you may not initially feel the extent of the injuries sustained.  It is common for these injuries to surface hours, or even days after the accident.  Even if you do not initially realize these injuries it is important to seek immediate medical attention, especially in a collision involving a motor vehicle versus a pedestrian.

Who will pay the medical expenses of a pedestrian who is involved in a crash with a motor vehicle? 

If you are a pedestrian involved in a crash with a motor vehicle in Florida, you may be concerned about who will pay your medical expenses, and how your medical expenses will be paid.  Florida Statute Section 627.736 mandates how a pedestrian’s medical expenses are to be paid under these circumstances.  Under this Section, the insurance that pays for these expenses is known as Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) coverage.  Every motor vehicle registered in Florida is required to maintain PIP coverage, and this insurance covers you as an injured pedestrian in this scenario as follows:

1. If you own a motor vehicle, your own PIP coverage maintained for that motor vehicle will pay these expenses; or
2. If you do not own a motor vehicle, you may be entitled to PIP coverage from the automobile insurance coverage of a resident relative who owns a motor vehicle; or
3. If you do not own a motor vehicle, or reside with a resident relative who maintains auto insurance coverage under which you are covered, then you may seek PIP coverage from the insurer of the motor vehicle who caused the crash.

Florida Statute Section 627.736(1) also specifically sets forth which expenses incurred as a result of this crash are to be paid.  It requires the payment of 80% of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic devices, and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing services.  It also requires payment of 60% of the loss of gross wages and loss of earning capacity as a result of injuries caused by the accident.  In addition, you may also qualify for reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred for necessary services that you would have otherwise performed but for the injuries (such as having to hire a cleaning service which you did not require prior to the accident).  Please keep in mind that in Florida these total expenses are paid to a limit of $10,000.00, (although you may purchase additional PIP coverage beyond this requirement). 

It is extremely important to know that in addition to these PIP benefits, as a pedestrian who was injured as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle, you may be entitled to receive other damages from the individual and/or from the insurance company of the individual who caused the crash.  These damages include pain and suffering, additional lost wages and loss of earning capacity, outstanding medical expenses and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred, and  future medical expenses that you may require.

Therefore, if you are a pedestrian who was struck by a motor vehicle, there are specific guidelines governing the payment of medical and related expenses, and you may also be entitled to other damages that result from the crash.  If you were injured, call the lawyers at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith who have handled many pedestrian accident claims, and can use their vast knowledge and experience to help guide you through the process, protect your interests, and maximize the recovery of all related damages to which you may be entitled.

Reality, of course, is much different from television drama.  Many civil disputes are resolved before a lawsuit is even filed.  Of those that are filed, well over 9 out of 10 are settled without the client ever setting foot in the courthouse.  Florida has a very strong pre-trial mediation program.  This program is mandatory, and no case can go to trial in Florida without first going through the mediation process.  Trained mediators help the parties try to reach a compromise they can live with.  We have had great success in resolving cases through pre-trial mediation.

Of course, not every case settles before trial.  We have found that, after getting over the initial butterflies, our clients almost universally agree that the process is not as bad as they expected.  Palm Beach County is blessed with the finest judiciary in the State of Florida.  Our Judges do not allow the sort of behavior seen on television dramas, and the experience is simply not as nerve-wracking as TV would suggest.

Our lawyers have a vast amount of trial experience. Insurance companies and defense lawyers know this.

Our abilities in the courtroom allow us to resolve most of our cases before trial.  While it might be natural to have feelings against “going to court,” that should never be a reason for not pursuing a valid claim.

The extent of PIP coverage is as follows: up to $10,000 per person for (1) medical expenses (paid at 80% of reasonable expenses); (2) lost income and earning capacity (paid at 60% of any loss of gross income and loss of earning capacity); and (3) funeral, burial, or cremation expenses (equal to the lesser of $5,000 or the remainder of unused personal injury protection benefits.

It is very important when filling out your application for insurance that you read it carefully. It typically asks for the names of all resident relatives over the age of 15. Make sure to disclose all such individuals or your insurance company may try to claim a material misrepresentation of your policy and attempt to deny coverage for PIP and other insurance coverage. Please contact us to discuss any questions you may have, and we will be happy to review your policy and advise you about your insurance coverage.