Auto insurance companies serving the Florida market are hoping that the state courts lift a ban on portions of the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) reform law of 2012.
On September 25, 2013, the Insurance Journal reported that Florida’s First District Court of Appeals recently heard oral arguments in the case [McCarty v. First DCA 13-1355]. This case is directly related to the revisions of the state’s personal injury protection (PIP) law which were signed into law by FL Governor Rick Scott in 2012.
The new law mandates that victims of motor vehicle accidents (auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, etc.) seek treatment within two weeks (14 days) of the accident in order to fully qualify for PIP coverage. It also changes PIP benefits. Accident victims with emergency injuries may qualify for up to $10,000 in medical coverage, while those with non-emergency injuries may qualify for up to only $2,500 in coverage. Additionally, the new law also removes massage therapists and acupuncturists from the list of approved PIP providers, and limits patient access to chiropractic services.
Judge Terry Lewis of the Florida Second Circuit Court issued a temporary injunction preventing those changes from going into effect in early 2013.
Adam Levine, an attorney for the Florida PIP Legal Defense Fund who represents medical providers, argued that medical providers have a valid case because accident victims have no legal standing to bring cases without the involvement of qualified medical providers.
Governor Rick Scott claimed that the intent of the new PIP law was to eliminate fraudulent claims. But Donovan Brown, state government relations council for the Property Casualty Insurers Association, said that “In order to address fraud and abuse within Florida’s no-fault insurance it is imperative that consumers receive the benefit of the PIP reforms becoming fully effective.” Brown also said that insurers are working toward a quick resolution to the issue in order to remove uncertainty that is currently running through the industry due to the changes in the Florida PIP law.
FL State Senator David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs), Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Chair, said he has been approached by auto insurers to “scrap” the state’s no-fault system and move to a pure tort system.
Our experienced Jacksonville accident attorney is keeping up with the latest developments. The Law Offices of Paul J. Healy serves the residents of Jacksonville and the North Florida counties of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns.
