Why Must I Seek Medical Treatment Within 14 Days of a Motor Vehicle Accident?
The first thing you will hear any Florida personal injury attorney tell you if you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by someone else’s negligence is to seek medical treatment immediately after the accident. This is true even if you don’t think you suffered any injuries. The law is extremely strict in Florida; even if you do not realize you are injured, you have only fourteen (14) days to seek reimbursement from your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance for any injuries you may have suffered in an accident.
This becomes particularly important in the context of an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, in which case the only recourse you may have is your own PIP policy. This is also extremely important even if the driver in the accident whose negligence caused the accident in which you were injured does have insurance. This is because the first $10,000 of damages that you suffer in a motor vehicle accident in Florida is covered by your own PIP policy. This is a peculiarity of Florida law that does not apply in virtually any other state in the country. Thus, it is imperative that you seek medical treatment as soon as possible after you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Seeking Medical Treatment within 14 Days and Florida PIP Law
Florida personal injury protection (PIP) insurance policies are only required to cover medical expenses if the injured motorist first seeks treatment within the two weeks after the accident. If you do not seek medical treatment within 14 days, then you cannot file a claim with your own PIP insurance provider for any medical treatment you may ultimately need if you later discover you have injuries from the accident. That is why it is vitally important to seek medical treatment within 14 days of the accident, because not doing so can be so problematic.
Other Reasons Seeking Treatment Immediately Is So Important
Seeking treatment early is also important because it can connect the dots for a jury who may be faced with a defense that is trying to argue that the injuries for which you are seeking to recover damages from a negligent motorist were not actually caused by that motorist’s negligence. If you are injured on Day 1 and later that same day, you are in the emergency room for treatment of those same injuries, then it gives additional credence to the theory that your injuries were a result of the negligent driver’s actions and not some pre-existing medical condition.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley
Even if you waited to seek medical treatment for your injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident due to someone else’s negligence, you are not without recourse under Florida law. At Schwed Adams & McGinley, P.A., our experienced personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of combined legal experience, including hundreds if not thousands of jury trials. We will fight as hard as we can to ensure that you obtain the full compensation you are entitled to under Florida law for your injuries caused by someone else’s negligence, whether in settlement negotiations or at trial. No matter the type of accident or scenario in which you were injured by someone else’s negligence, contact our experienced attorneys at contact@schwedlawfirm.com or (877) 694-6079 for a free consultation today if you have been injured or a loved one has been injured in Florida due to someone else’s negligence.