Florida car accident

Published on: July 14, 2022

$420k Verdict Against UIM Insurer for Florida Car Accident Neck Injuries

In late last year, a jury awarded $420,000 to a man who at 17 suffered permanent neck injuries in a South Florida car accident. The case is noteworthy for the fact that it went to trial (more than 212,000 Florida car accident injuries are reported annually, but most claims are settled long before a trial), as well as for the fact it was against the victim’s own insurance company. It illustrates the fact that just because you’re a good customer doesn’t mean your auto insurance company is going to make the claims process easy for you – especially when the stakes are high.

Specifically at issue was something called underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage.

What is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

Published on: May 24, 2021

Florida Car Accident Rules to Change, Barring Governor Veto

by Leland Garvin

Florida car accident lawyer Fort Myers The way drivers pursue civil damages in Florida car accident cases will fundamentally change starting Jan. 1, 2022, barring a veto from Governor Ron DeSantis. If approved, Florida’s 50-year-old no-fault driver’s insurance law will be no more as of next year, following the majority of state lawmakers’ vote for repeal with SB 54.

The new law will directly impact two types of driver insurance requirements – personal injury protection (PIP) and bodily injury liability coverage. PIP has been required in Florida since 1972 to provide up to $10,000 in coverage for 80 percent of all “necessary and reasonable expenses” incurred as a result of a crash, no matter who caused it. It also includes $5,000 in funeral expenses. Bodily injury liability, which covers damage to others if the insured caused the crash, has not been mandatory for most Florida motorists (with some exceptions for those with prior DUI convictions, etc.). However, Florida’s Financial Responsibility Law has held that drivers must provide up to $20,000 in financial coverage per accident and $10,000 per person if they cause an accident – an amount for which they’d be personally liable if they didn’t purchase insurance to cover it.

Under the new law, vehicle owners would no longer be required to purchase PIP to register their vehicles. However, they would need to pay for:

Bodily injury liability coverage, at least $25,000 per occupant, up to $50,000 per accident.
$5,000 in death insurance to cover funeral expenses and other bills of anyone killed in a collision.
A $10,000 financial responsibility requirement for property damage liability (PDL) coverage.

Those hurt in a Florida car accident would no longer have a dollar limitation on recovering damages for pain and suffering under PIP. Further, insurance companies will be required to offer Med-Pay, with $5,000 and $10,000 in health insurance with no deductible, though insureds could opt-out of this. Continue reading

Published on: May 11, 2020

How to Recover Damages in a Florida Car Accident With an Uninsured Driver

by Leland Garvin

Florida car accident lawyer A jury recently awarded a plaintiff $202 million in damages for a Florida car crash that left her seriously injured and her son with permanent, catastrophic injuries. Law.com reports the at-fault driver slammed into the passenger side of a vehicle, where the plaintiff, then 8-months-pregnant, was sitting, causing her to suffer placental abruption. She suffered serious injuries. Her baby, born prematurely, barely survived. The plaintiff reports the child, now 4, is blind and non-verbal with permanent brain damage and suffering some 20 seizures daily.

The defendant was convicted of drunk driving. He was negligent in the crash. Yet as the article notes, “The defendant … was uninsured and unrepresented, so the damages award of $202 million is likely unrecoverable.”

Uninsured drivers are indeed a serious problem in Florida. We have the highest percentage of uninsured motorists in the U.S. According to the Insurance Information Institute, nearly 27 percent of motorists in Florida do not have auto insurance – even though it is required by law. Continue reading