subject: The 411 On Florida No Fault Law [print this page] The 411 On Florida No Fault Law The 411 On Florida No Fault Law
You've probably heard that Florida is a "No Fault State." This is only partially true. Florida does not have a pure No Fault system, which would mean that no matter what, an injured party has no right to bring suit against the negligent party because it is irrelevant who caused the accident. Florida is really a partial No Fault state, where an injured person must first recover from their own insurance company and the insurer is required to pay a certain portion of the insured's expenses. Florida law also limits the types of personal injury actions that can be brought against the negligent party. Florida's Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance statute determines the amount that an injured party's insurance company must pay. Florida law requires all drivers must buy Personal Injury Protection insurance and insurance for property damage liability. The minimum amount of coverage that may be purchased is $10,000. The PIP statute specifies that PIP insurance should pay for up to $10,000 coverage for "80 percent of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary medical services; 60 percent of disability benefits for any loss of gross income and earning capacity per individual from inability to work proximately caused by the injury in the auto accident; 100 percent of replacement services (e.g., housekeeping, yard work, and child care), and a death benefit of $5,000 per individual."Florida law prohibits an injured party from bringing a tort action to recover damages for non-economic benefits such as pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience arising out of the accident unless there are also the following facts:(1) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function;
(2) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement;
(3) Permanent and significant scarring or disfigurement; or
(4) Death.The legislative goal behind Florida No Fault law is to ensure that an injured person can receive prompt reimbursement for their out of pocket expenses related to an accident and not suffer more financial inconvenience than necessary. The No Fault system effectively ends a pure tort-based litigation system, where parties injured in auto accidents may bring all types of negligence law suits against other drivers and spend a lot of time and money disputing who was at fault in causing the accident. Florida's No Fault system also results in expensive litigation being significantly reduced. Florida's No Fault system prevents a person who has been injured in an auto accident from filing a lawsuit to recover monies on the grounds of non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, inconvenience, and mental anguish. Rather, the person who has been injured in the auto accident can only bring a lawsuit for recovery based on personal injury if they have indeed suffered severe damages- permanent and significant loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury, permanent and significant disfigurement or scarring or death. In effect, recovery under Florida's No Fault system shifts the focus from the party's injuries to the terms of the insurance contract, which have largely been defined by the legislature.
