David Glatthorn discusses the repercussions of the new Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage laws and what they will mean for Florida drivers and the professionals who treat their injuries. A group of chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists have filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida regarding the new Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance coverage laws that were passed by state lawmakers this spring.
West Palm Beach, Florida (October 2012) –Many critics of the auto insurance reforms believe that more litigation will follow next year, when the majority of the laws go into effect and begin to make it more difficult for car accident victims to secure the injury benefits they deserve.
Currently, Florida’s no-fault traffic accident laws require all residents with vehicles to have $10,000 in PIP coverage—a system that allows injury victims to collect $10,000 in benefits after a crash, whether or not they caused or partially caused the collision. However, new changes to the law meant to limit fraud and lower premium rates also have consequences for injury victims:
• You will only have access to $2,500 of coverage without first proving you suffered an “emergency medical condition” (EMC).
• To prove an EMC and access the other $7,500 in coverage, you must visit a doctor within 14 days of your accident.
• To prove an EMC, you must see a medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO), physician assistant (PA) or advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP).
• Chiropractic treatment is only covered to $2,500, while some other therapies, like massage therapy, are no longer covered.
• The insurance company may delay your benefits for 60 more days while investigating fraud and could require you to testify about your case under oath.
As auto insurance companies submit rate filings this week, many have shown an increase—not a decrease—in premiums. For example, State Farm was looking to increase the PIP portion of its automobile policies by 22 percent; however, they settled with a 7.9 percent increase in order to comply with recent legislation. At the same time, many fear that while the reforms may battle fraud, they may be bad for car accident victims and many in the healthcare industry. In addition, personal injury benefit denial litigation may significantly increase.
“It is becoming crystal clear that these new PIP coverage laws are a boon for the insurance companies and a major roadblock for injury victims—people who are paying for $10,000 of coverage only to have to fight for 75% of that,” said West Palm Beach car accident attorney David Glatthorn. “Moving forward, it will be extremely important for those injured in car accidents to understand these laws and what they must do to get the benefits and compensation they deserve.”
