Workers’ Comp | Social Security | Disability Insurance | Personal Injury
PERSONAL INJURY
What kinds of cases fall under the term personal injury?
What do I do first if I have had an accident?
Do I notify my insurance company about my accident?
What are “no fault” benefits, or personal injury protection, PIP?
Do I need to speak with a lawyer?
What other kinds of insurance are available to me?
Can I use my health insurance for medical care?
What happens if I don’t carry PIP insurance?
What if I am hurt and the accident was my fault?
Am I entitled to recover pain and suffering from the other party?
What kinds of cases fall under the term personal injury?
The term “personal injury” applies to any case in which a person is injured as the result of another person’s negligence. This can occur directly, as in the case of an automobile accident, or indirectly, as in the case of a slip and fall. Personal injury can refer to instances such as medical malpractice, automobile accident, animal bites, products liability, and pharmaceutical injury. Any time someone is injured through no fault of their own, the term “personal injury” attaches.
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What do I do first if I have had an accident?
There are a few things you should do immediately after an accident.
Seek medical care if you need it. Do not hesitate to go to an emergency room or see a doctor if you need immediate attention. Often early documentation of a medical problem is missing in a case and it can prove critical later on in the case. Always tell a physician about everything that may be hurting, regardless of how minor it may seek at the time. Again, an injury may seem minor compared to other problems, but an injury is not static. What may not be hurting now, may give you problems a few days or weeks from now.
Write down the facts surrounding the accident. Where were you going, who were you with, what time of day, what were the conditions?
Photograph everything. Return to the scene of the accident and photograph the location of the accident from many angles. This will help document dimensions of the roadway, potential visual obstacles such as trees or signs. Photograph the vehicle. Often times a vehicle will be towed away. If it is a total loss, sometimes the vehicle will never return to your possession, and it will be transferred from one storage facility to another, sold as scrap, or destroyed. The vehicle should be photographed outside, to show the points of impact and damage. It should also be photographed thoroughly inside. This will demonstrate where you struck various points inside the car, whether air bags deployed, and will be a valuable tool when establishing damages. If you have visible injuries, photograph bruises, cuts, signs of any damage. If you are hospitalized, have a friend or relative photograph you in the hospital. Always try and use 35mm film, as opposed to a Polaroid or digital camera, as the negative allows for better enlargement. Have the developer date stamp the pictures on the front of the photograph, and keep your receipt.
Preserve evidence. If a product causes your injury, get and preserve the product in its un-tampered condition. If you fell, save the shoes and clothes you were wearing. If you tripped over a curb, or broken sidewalk, go back and get a photograph of the area in order to preserve what the area looked like at the time of your accident. If your car tire, or seat belt failed, save the entire car. If you fell off a ladder, keep the ladder.
Get a copy of the police, or accident report. If you fell in a store, usually there is an incident report made.
Get the names and addresses of any witnesses to the incident.
Speak to a lawyer. Get some preliminary advice, even if you don’t feel the need to hire the lawyer right away.
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Do I notify my insurance company about my accident?
If you have had an automobile accident, and you own a vehicle on which you carry insurance, you should notify your own insurance company, as you will need to apply for “no fault” or PIP, personal injury protection benefits.
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What are “no fault” benefits, or personal injury protection, PIP?
Every insured driver in the state of Florida must carry PIP and property damage insurance of at least $10,000. These PIP benefits cover you or any member of you family who is injured, regardless of fault. The PIP coverage will pay 80% of your doctor and hospital bills, and 60% of your lost wages up to the policy limit. The policy limits may be more than $10,000 depending upon your own policy, but they may not be less than $10,000. You will require documented proof of lost wages and medical care before payment can issue.
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Do I need to speak with a lawyer?
It really is advisable to speak with a lawyer before you do anything. Contact with the insurance company will always invite questions from an adjuster, and the insurance company will always request either a written or recorded statement from you as soon as possible. Many innocent mistakes can by made by contacting the insurance company directly, and these mistakes can be avoided by speaking to an attorney.
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What other kinds of insurance are available to me?
Often times there will be bodily injury or BI, insurance available if the at fault party carries that type of insurance. There may be UM, which stands for under or uninsured motorist protection, which may be available to compensate you if the at fault party in under or uninsured. You may be able to use your health insurance for medical treatment, workers compensation, short or long term disability plans, social security, or any employer sponsored wage continuation plan. Whether these various policies are available to you, and how they interact with one another, is best answered by speaking with an attorney.
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Can I use my health insurance for medical care?
You could use your health insurance for medical care, but if PIP benefits are available to you, it is preferable to exhaust your PIP first. This is because PIP does not create a lien against any future recovery. If you use your private health insurance to pay for medical care, and you make a financial recovery against the at fault party, your health carrier will want to be paid back any monies they spent for your care. The health insurance carrier has a lien against your settlement monies. PIP payments don’t create a lien.
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What happens if I don’t carry PIP insurance?
If you don’t own a car, or have any insurance to cover medical expenses or lost wages, often medical care can be rendered based on a letter of protection. This is essentially a document, usually given by your lawyer, to a doctor which promises to pay the doctor for treatment rendered out of any settlement proceeds.
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What if I am hurt and the accident was my fault?
Your PIP benefits will still provide you payment for lost wages and medical care; you simply may not be able to recover damages from the other party. It is always best to consult with a lawyer in this situation, as lawyers may find other parties who may be potentially liable for your injuries.
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Am I entitled to recover pain and suffering from the other party?
Florida requires a showing of permanent injury or scaring before you can recover for “non economic” damages, like pain, suffering, emotional distress, or loss of earning capacity. If you can’t demonstrate permanency, you may only recover for “economic” damages like lost wages and medical care.
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