Is Florida a No-Fault State for Auto Accidents?

How Florida’s No-Fault System Works

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits are the only aspect of your insurance that the no-fault system deals with. When an accident occurs, every driver’s own PIP coverage is used to pay for that individual’s medical expenses and lost wages. It does not matter which driver was at fault for the wreck.

Your PIP coverage includes money for medical expenses, disability benefits, and death benefits. These costs are covered up to $10,000 for each accident. What your coverage amounts are depends on the insurance options you choose, but PIP will never include the following:

• Vehicle repairs
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Non-economic damages
• Any medical or wage costs outside the policy limits

Exclusions to PIP injury coverage include those you receive while committing a crime, driving under the influence, or those you receive intentionally through self-harm. Your coverage is there for anything else sustained during an accident regardless of whether the accident was your fault or another driver’s.

When Fault Matters in Florida Auto Accidents

Outside of PIP, Florida uses a fault-based system to determine liability for property damage and bodily injury. When a driver is deemed at fault, their insurance pays for any repairs to the other party’s vehicle as well as any damaged property or bodily harm caused as a result of the accident.

When an accident results in physical injuries, bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance comes into play. The severity of the injuries is assessed into two categories, those that are serious and those that are not. While all injuries sustained are serious, the state uses these two categories to assess the type of lawsuit an injured party can file and what type of compensation they can seek.

When an injury is deemed serious under the law, the injured party can file a claim against the at-fault driver for any costs that fall outside of PIP coverage. During a serious injury claim, the suing party can seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering that are not normally covered.

While the state of Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance, any at-fault driver can still be sued personally for such damages. Without BIL coverage, you could be responsible for covering hefty medical and legal bills. The costs of these are often financially devastating when paying out-of-pocket.

Florida’s Serious Injury Threshold

Lawsuits for pain and suffering are limited in Florida and help to reduce the number of frivolous cases in the court system, while keeping insurance costs lower for drivers. When injuries are serious enough, however, injured parties can file a claim outside of the no-fault system. 

So, what makes an injury serious in the no-fault system? To meet the legal threshold, an injury must meet one of the following conditions:

• Significant, permanent loss of a bodily function such as paralysis or the loss of a limb
• Any injury that a doctor confirms is permanent
• Significant scarring or disfigurement
• Permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Death, allowing the surviving family members to file a wrongful death claim

When one or more of these thresholds are met, the injured party can then seek compensation for non-economic damages in Florida. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life all fall under this category.

When injuries do not meet one of the above requirements, then the injured party can only file a claim for economic damages. These include medical costs and lost wages covered under the driver’s PIP policy. An experienced Florida car accident attorney can help you work through Florida’s serious injury rules and seek the correct compensation after an accident.

How Comparative Negligence Affects Compensation

Comparative negligence helps determine how much fault each party contributed to an accident. Florida modifies this legal principle to adjust the compensation a driver receives when they are partially responsible for an accident.

How Fault Affects Compensation

Determinations are made on a percentage scale from one to one hundred:

• If a driver is more than fifty percent responsible, they cannot recover any damages.
• If a driver is less than fifty percent responsible, their compensation is reduced by their percentage of fault.

Example of Modified Comparative Negligence

To break this down, imagine that someone’s total damages are $100,000:

• They are found to be twenty percent responsible for the accident.
• Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule, they would only recover $80,000 (total damages minus their percentage of fault).

How Fault Is Determined in an Accident

The percentage of fault assigned to each driver depends on the situation:

• If one driver was speeding but the other failed to yield, both may share responsibility.
• Some cases are more complex, as multiple factors can contribute to the accident.

Determinations are often more complicated as accidents involve several factors, but the above scenario is a simple way to better understand comparative negligence.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage

Drivers are also not required to carry UM/UIM coverage in Florida. However, this form of coverage is highly recommended to help recoup the cost of damages in the event you are in a collision with a driver who has little to no insurance.

When UM/UIM Coverage Applies

• When a driver does not have insurance or has too little to cover damages, getting the compensation you deserve becomes a little more complicated.
• UM/UIM takes the complication out of the equation and ensures that your insurance company will cover the related costs.
• UM/UIM helps protect you against financial losses suffered in a hit-and-run accident where seeking compensation is difficult otherwise.

Why UM/UIM Is Recommended

Around ninety percent of hit-and-run cases are never solved, sticking drivers with the bill for repairs unless they are properly insured.

This coverage also extends to pain and suffering, which does not fall under PIP. Pain and suffering can help cover costs associated with the physical and emotional damages surrounding an accident.

While it is not a requirement under the law, adding this to your insurance can save you a large financial burden.

Can You Sue for More Than Insurance Covers?

Seeking damages outside of what another driver’s insurance covers can be complicated in some states, but Florida makes the process fairly simple.

Filing a Lawsuit for Additional Compensation

Yes, you can sue when an at-fault party does not have enough insurance to cover an accident. You must file a personal lawsuit against them in this situation to ensure any remaining costs are covered.

Since compensation cannot be recovered through the other driver’s insurance, you would receive your money through:

• Wage garnishment – Court-ordered deductions from the at-fault driver’s paycheck.
• Liens on assets – Claims placed against the at-fault driver’s property to secure payment.

Your compensation may be paid in installments if the court determines that wage garnishment is the appropriate method to recoup your losses.

Challenges of Suing an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver

To receive more compensation than an at-fault driver’s insurance can cover, you need to win your lawsuit against them in court. Cases involving a lack of insurance can be a tricky part of the legal system. It helps to have an experienced lawyer by your side before and during the trial so you can get the compensation you deserve.

How UM/UIM Coverage Can Help

Having UM/UIM coverage can help ensure these costs are already covered, providing additional financial protections where another driver’s insurance is lacking. The ability to get that coverage faster can help cover necessary medical bills and other expenses that happen before the trial.

Key Takeaways

1. Florida’s no-fault system: Each driver’s PIP coverage is used for medical expenses and lost wages after an accident. Fault is still determined and used to assign financial responsibility for property damage, serious injuries, and any claim that goes beyond a driver’s PIP limits.

2. Modified comparative negligence laws: A driver’s fault percentage affects how much compensation they can receive. Anyone found more than fifty percent responsible is barred from recovering damages.

3. Limits on pain and suffering claims: PIP does not cover pain and suffering. However, if an injury meets Florida’s serious threshold, the injured party can sue for these damages along with other losses. No additional coverage is required for serious injury claims.

4. Optional insurance protections: Florida does not require drivers to carry UM/UIM or BIL coverage. However, adding these policies can protect against financial burdens if an at-fault driver does not have enough insurance. UM/UIM is essential for recovering losses in these cases.

5. Florida’s accident laws can be complicated: While Florida’s accident laws may seem straightforward, individual cases can be much more complicated. The right insurance coverage makes the process easier, and an experienced car accident attorney can help injured victims pursue the compensation they need after a serious collision.

Florida’s no-fault system covers basic expenses, but serious injuries, limited insurance, and fault disputes can leave accident victims with unexpected costs. Some claims extend beyond PIP and require additional steps to recover full compensation. The right strategy can make the difference between financial strain and a secure recovery.

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel, PLLC, can help. Call today for a free, no-obligation consultation.