How PIP Pays for Your Bills after a Tampa, FL Area Car Accident & How Your Lawyer Can Help

For anyone injured in a car accident in the Tampa area—or anywhere else in Florida for that matter—PIP insurance is typically the first policy to pay medical bills and lost wages.

PIP, or personal injury protection, is part of Florida's no-fault system. It provides up to $10,000 of insurance for various costs that occur when you are injured in an auto accident in Tampa, Clearwater, St Petersburg, Town ‘n' Country, Brandon, Seminole Heights, Lutz, or anywhere else in the area.

Since PIP pays first, among the costs it usually pays are the ambulance that might take you from the accident scene to the nearest Tampa area emergency room, as well as emergency room treatment, doctors, and diagnostic tests such as MRIs and CT scans.

PIP also can be available for lost wages—generally up to 60 percent of the wages that are shown to be lost. This wage reimbursement, however, is capped by the $10,000 limit of PIP insurance policies. Furthermore, if the PIP policy is used for medical bills, this means there will be less of the $10,000 available for wage loss.

This clarification is important in cases of very serious injury. If the breadwinner of the family is injured and unable to work, there may not be income coming into the household. Without the PIP wage reimbursement, there would be no immediate money to pay for the mortgage, electric bill, and to put food on the table. While serving as a Tampa car accident lawyer for the last 20 years, our law firm has spoken to many injured victims who have faced this upsetting possibility from Sun City Center to Riverview, Carrollwood to Dade City, Seffner to Ybor City and beyond.

Because the costs of an ambulance and emergency room can be so high, it is important that the adjuster for your insurance company is immediately contacted and told to reserve a certain portion of PIP money to pay for your lost wages. Remember, once that $10,000 is gone, it may be years before you are able to recover lost wages from bodily injury insurance or uninsured motorist coverage, assuming either of these insurance policies is available.

When you go to the emergency room by ambulance, both the ambulance company and emergency room will submit bills to your insurance carrier. Generally PIP carries a deductible of $1,000. In addition, PIP insurance only pays 80 percent of the bills submitted, leaving the injured to pay the remaining 20 percent.

Many people don't understand that, even after paying a deductible, they are responsible for the 20 percent of medical bills that PIP does not pay. Admittedly, it is surprising to get a bill for $2,000-$3,000 in deductibles after a car accident, especially when the accident is not your fault.

To avoid this surprise, there is additional insurance available to pay those deductibles and even extend the amount of PIP insurance available. You should consider talking with your insurance agent about these options, or give our law firm a call.

If, after being injured in a Tampa area car accident, you owe these outstanding deductibles and want to protect your credit, you might consider contacting an attorney immediately to secure representation in your case. Then contact the ambulance company and emergency room in order to negotiate a very low payment plan. Explain to them that you understand it's your responsibility to pay the deductible amount, but that you do have a Tampa car accident attorney pursuing a claim and one day, you'll be able to pay the amount in full. A small amount paid each month toward the bill is an effort to show you recognize your responsibility. This good faith effort should help prevent the amounts owing from being reported to credit bureaus.

If you have further questions about reimbursement for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses after being injured in a car accident in Tampa or surrounding areas, please contact the law offices of Dale Appell, P.A. for a fast, free assessment of your case.