Do I need to seek medical treatment within 14 days of an accident to pursue a car accident claim?

I recently spoke with a prospective client who was injured in a car crash and realized that there is some mass confusion regarding this issue. For the last year and half or so the radio and television have been bombarding the public with warnings about seeking medical treatment within 14 days of an auto accident. This has been done so in response to the new Florida PIP statute that was enacted back in January of 2013. Many 800 services and other “Lawyer Referral Services” have ran ads addressing this new 14 day issue and describing it as barring a car accident victim from seeking a claim after 14 days if no treatment has been sought. One service in particular “411 Pain” has ran a radio ad that states if you wait over 14 days “it just don’t matter.” This is a big misconception and a very misleading statement. The new law in question refers only to Personal Injury Protection or PIP benefits. PIP benefits or no-fault benefits are a part of every Florida Driver’s insurance policy. What exactly PIP benefits cover is a lengthy topic that I will not fully discuss here, but I will suffice to say that PIP benefits are simply $10,000.00 of medical bill coverage used to pay a insured’s bills in the event of an auto accident. The 2013 statute added a requirement that an insured must seek medical treatment within 14 days of an auto accident to be eligible to use this insurance provision of their own policy to cover their medical bills. So should a car injury victim seek treatment within 14 days of an accident? Absolutely, doing so affords the accident victim access to these benefits that they have been paying for. What if something happens and they miss the 14 day cut off are they out of luck? 411 Pain would leave people to believe that “its just don’t matter,” we will let you know that this could not be further from the truth. When you are a victim of an auto accident the at-fault party is responsible for all of your damages. Logic and the law dictate this. Confusion comes in because Florida is a no-fault state, which simply means we all are required to carry PIP insurance. Just because we have PIP insurance does not mean that the at-fault party is somehow off the hook for causing us injury. If you miss the 14 day cut off period to be eligible for your PIP benefits you can still pursue the at-fault party for 100% of your damages. If you have questions about the 14 day rule or need help navigating a car injury don’t relay on the misinformation of a referral service give us a call.