When Does Auto Liability Apply After a Car Accident?

From an Auto Liability Lawyer: Auto Liability in a Bradenton, FL Car Accident

Florida has a no-fault insurance system. All drivers in Florida are required to carry personal injury protection insurance, or PIP. The law requires that this insurance cover 80% of your medical expenses, 60% of your lost wages, and provide $5,000 in death benefits to your beneficiaries if an accident should be fatal. PIP is supposed to cover drivers no matter who is responsible for an accident.This rule means that there are fewer liability claims in Florida, particularly with small accidents, but it does not do away with liability completely. When someone is responsible for an accident and there is property damage (which isn’t covered by PIP), the responsible person can be held liable. Their property damage liability (PDL) coverage would kick in at this point. This is also a requirement in Florida, and all drivers need to have at least $10,000 of PDL coverage.Bodily Injury Liability (BIL) coverage, however, is optional for most. BIL coverage provides liability coverage for causing injury to another person that exceeds what PIP can cover. That’s because ,when injuries are bad enough, victims in Florida are allowed to “step out” of the no-fault system and bring a liability claim against the at-fault driver.

Auto Liability Threshholds

In order for an injured party to bring a liability claim, they have to have injuries that go beyond the threshold for “serious” laid down in Florida law. Their injuries must be one of the following:

• A significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• A permanent injury, excluding scarring or disfigurement
• Significant and permanent scarring
• Death

In most cases, victims have two years to bring a claim after an accident. If you don’t bring a claim within that time limit, you won’t be able to bring one at all except in rare cases. Extensions are usually only granted if the injured person was legally incapacitated at the time of the accident (such as if they were in a coma after the accident), if the responsible driver left Florida before the lawsuit could be filed (in which case the time limit begins when they return or it becomes possible to bring a lawsuit), or if the responsible driver hid, changed their name, or otherwise attempted to avoid being served with the lawsuit.

Property Damage Liability

When it comes to property damage, there is no threshold that needs to be met. PDL liability applies immediately to whoever is at fault for the accident, and their PDL coverage should reimburse the other party for vehicle damage or property repair up to the limits of the policy.Things can get complicated in any car accident. If you’ve been in a wreck, contact HD Law Partners in Tampa, FL now for help. We also serve clients in Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Orlando.