Basics of PIP
A PIP lawyer is an advocate that represents medical providers and, in some cases, individuals who are injured in car accidents regardless of fault. To understand what PIP attorneys do, a brief summary of PIP is necessary. PIP is an acronym for personal injury protection. Personal injury protection is a type of insurance that a Florida driver is required to purchase. In Florida, the minimum coverage for PIP is $10,000. PIP is a no-fault law in Florida. If a driver is involved in a motor vehicle accident, that driver will be covered by their PIP insurance regardless of who caused the crash. PIP will likewise cover 60 percent of lost wages resulting from a disability that was caused by an accident and is also responsible for $5,000 in death benefits to cover funeral costs, etc. Generally, a patient of a medical practitioner (chiropractor, MRI facility, orthopedic surgeon, dentist, etc.) will assign his/her rights to their medical provider in the form of an assignment of benefits. The assignment of benefits, or as PIP practitioners commonly refer to as an “AOB,” provides the required standing for the medical provider to initiate a lawsuit against the insurance company.
What does a PIP lawyer do?
Generally, a PIP attorney represents medical providers who render treatment to patients involved in car accidents. Insurance carriers have a terrible habit of underpaying, omitting to pay and incorrectly paying medical professionals. Similarly, insurance carriers will withhold payments to medical practitioners while conducting peer reviews, independent medical examinations and the like. Our goal as PIP attorneys is to ensure swift payment of all medical bills that were timely submitted by the medical professionals.
The first step of our detailed process is to send out demand letters to the insurance carrier to request payment of unpaid, overdue, and/or underpaid medical treatment and services performed by the providers. If the insurance carrier fails to make the correct payment within 30 days of our demand letter, we will initiate litigation. The first step in the litigation process is to file a complaint in the county or small claims court. The pre-litigation process is equally as important as the litigation stage of the case. During litigation, we attend hearings, depositions, independent medical examinations, examinations under oath, etc. on behalf of and sometimes with our medical professional clients. If both parties are unable to reach an agreement as to the number of benefits owed to the medical professional or are unable to enter into a settlement agreement, a jury trial is set.
A PIP lawyer is an advocate of both medical providers and medical patients. Our goal is to ensure that doctors, chiropractors, dentists, etc. are paid correctly for the essential services that they provide to their patients. We ensure that patients are treated after accidents, despite the potential for underpayment, non-payments or incorrect payments from the insurance carriers. It is crucial that you contact a personal injury protection attorney to handle any potential PIP issue that may arise.
