Florida is a no fault insurance state, meaning your insurance company is supposed to make payments for your bodily injury claims, no matter who was to blame for your car accident.
The Florida no fault system really is in regards to medical payments, lost wages and household services. This coverage is known as Personal Injury Protection (P.I.P.), which pays a percentage of your expenses. If you are a Florida driver, you are required to purchase a certain amount of insurance. There is a minimum requirement when it comes to personal injury protection and property damage liability.
Even though Florida is a no fault state, it doesn’t mean that you lose your right to sue a negligent driver for your injuries. In Florida, you can file a claim if you are seriously injured. For example, if you have sustained a serious or permanent injury, loss of a bodily function, disfigurement or scarring, you can pursue a lawsuit against the other driver. Also, the law allows seriousness of an injury to be based on the length of disability.
There are benefits of living in a no fault state. If the car accident was caused by the other driver, you do not have to prove fault in order to obtain compensation. On the other hand, if you caused the car accident, you also have a certain level of protection from a lawsuit, as long as there were no permanent injuries.
You may be confused after a Florida car accident as to your best course of action. If you have been injured in a car accident and have sustained permanent or serious injuries, you should contact an experienced Orlando car accident attorney at the Law Offices of Lilly, O’Toole & Brown, LLP at (863) 683-1111.