Car Accident

In Smith v. Lllamas, the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida ruled on the question of whether a motion for new trial was appropriately granted in an auto accident case. The case arose from a car collision that occurred in 2008, when a man and woman were each traveling in opposite directions on a two-lane road.

The woman was turning left when the cars crashed. The man sued her, alleging personal injuries in his neck and knees. The woman raised comparative negligence as her defense.
At trial, the parties presented conflicting expert testimony on the man’s neck injury. The neurosurgeon who treated the man said it was a permanent injury and that although he had undergone surgery, he did not expect the surgery to fully eliminate his neck pain. The orthopedic surgeon who testified for the woman said he didn’t think the injury arose from the car accident and that he would have recommended a more conservative approach than surgery.

The parties also presented conflicting evidence with respect to the knee injury the man alleged. The orthopedic surgeon who treated the man said the injury was caused by the accident and permanent, but that the basis for his opinions was partially from the history given by the man. He admitted there were inconsistencies in what the man had told him. For example, the man had gone to the chiropractor immediately following the accident, rather than the emergency room even though he claimed he was bleeding. He didn’t seek treatment for his knees until eight months after the accident. Also, he didn’t consistently report knee pain to his doctors–even four days after the accident.

The jury found the woman solely liable and awarded the man past medical expenses in the amount of $37,000 without apportioning the award between his neck and knee injuries. They found the injuries weren’t permanent and awarded him nothing for his future care and pain and suffering.

Four children and one adult driver had to be taken to the hospital near Miami, Florida after a driver crossed the center-line and hit their shuttle van head-on. Two children were ejected from the vehicle, but were in stable condition, one child’s condition was unknown, and the fourth child and driver remained uninjured. The driver claimed he was having a heart attack, but that was subsequently shown to be untrue.

While the victims in this recent accident quickly sought needed medical attention, other insured Florida car accident victims may not think they need, or can afford, medical services. The latest version of the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault statute, recently made effective at the beginning of 2013, substantially changed the laws regulating Personal Injury Protection (PIP). Foremost among the changes, is the mandate for those injured to receive initial services and care within 14 days of the accident.

Follow-up care is allowed, but must qualify under the statute. The new version of the PIP guidelines delineates the medical care providers that can perform the initial evaluation and treatment. Massage therapists and acupuncturists were explicitly excluded. Once that treatment is administered, then follow-up care related to the underlying condition is permitted.

The amount of coverage you receive under Florida’s new PIP laws will depend on whether the condition is considered an “emergency medical condition”. If it is, then you can receive up to $10,000. If not, then the maximum coverage is $2500. An “emergency medical condition” must be so serious that without immediate care, serious jeopardy to the patient’s health, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of a body part or organ will occur. The previous statutory coverage also went up to $10,000, but allowed up to 80% of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary services, 60% of disability for any loss of gross income and earning capacity per individual from inability to work that was proximately caused by the accident, and 100% of replacement services like lawn care or childcare.

Articles Posted in Car Accident

Florida Appellate Court Rules New Trial Not Appropriate in Car Accident Case

New Florida PIP Law Limits Time and Medical Options for Those Injured In a Car Accident