If you need a personal injury lawyer, Sinclair Law has extensive experience navigating PIP law and successfully representing accident victims. Call Sinclair Law today or visit http://www.sinclairlaw.com

1. Florida PIP Laws May Be Unconstitutional
Florida has long been the state with the highest number of staged car accidents, in which fraudsters try
to wring money out of personal injury claims. The Florida legislature tried to fix that last year when
they pushed through a set of PIP (personal injury protection) reforms, but a judge has stated that those
reforms may be unconstitutional and has issued an injunction putting them on hold.
So what’s the problem with Florida PIP reform, and how does it affect you? Let’s look at the issue in
detail.
Goals of the Reforms
The problem that the state of Florida faced was that under the old law, motorists who faked injuries or
conspired with doctors could artificially inflate their medical needs to get up to $10,000, the maximum
allowed by law. At the same time, these sketchy cases would get dragged out in the legal system, taking
time and resources away from other claims.
The stated aim of the PIP reforms, then, was to set tighter standards so that fake injuries couldn’t sneak
past, and to set time limits so that cases had to move quickly. But that’s not what happened
The Fallout
Instead, motorists injured in a legitimate accident now face numerous obstacles to getting their fair
compensation. As soon as the accident happens, the clock is ticking, and if they don’t file everything by
the right deadline, they lose their right to compensation. This problem is made worse by the fact that
insurance companies can delay claims, so that accident victims often don’t know whether they need to
file a suit or not until it’s too late.
Additionally, insurance companies now have tremendous power to challenge claims they don’t like,
and the burden seems to be on the injured. Insurance companies now believe they can refuse to pay out
benefits unless a victim is able to appear at one, or sometimes even two, independent medical
examinations performed under oath. This has become a new form of red tape to prevent payouts of
lawful claims.
The Courts
Most of the PIP reform laws went into effect at the beginning of this year, but in March, Second Court

2. Judge Terry Lewis issued an injunction against them, effectively putting them on hold. He believes
there are grounds for viewing the reforms as unconstitutional for two reasons:
• Certain types of therapy, such as massage therapy, have been excluded from PIP benefits, but a
patient (or their doctor) may have a right to choose the type of treatment they wish to seek (or
recommend).
• The PIP reforms forbid a victim from getting full benefits unless they are diagnosed with having
an “emergency medical condition.”
So if you’re injured in an accident in Florida, what should you do? Lawyers say the best thing to do is
act quickly, seeking medical attention right away, and then talk to an attorney.
If you need a personal injury lawyer, Sinclair Law has extensive experience navigating PIP law and
successfully representing accident victims. Call Sinclair Law today.