Hit by an Uninsured Driver? You Still Have Options.

You may still be able to get a car accident settlement in Florida. This can be true even when the other driver had no insurance. Your own insurance often pays first. In some cases, you may also have a claim against the driver personally.

Florida’s rules are detailed. It helps to know the order they follow.

This page explains the coverage and deadlines that matter most after a crash with an uninsured driver. It is general information. It is not advice about your case.

Can You Still Get a Car Accident Settlement Florida If the Other Driver Was Uninsured?

Often, yes. Your own coverage may pay. In some cases, the at-fault driver may also pay.

Two things decide which sources apply:

• The facts of your crash.
• The insurance you carry.

What coverage pays first after a crash with an uninsured driver?

Your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays first. PIP is coverage that pays some medical and disability costs after a crash.

Florida car insurance policies that meet the state’s security requirements must include PIP. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, PIP provides:

• Up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits.
• Up to $5,000 in death benefits.

PIP benefits are primary. That means they pay before other sources.

Workers’ compensation benefits must be credited against PIP benefits.

Can you sue the driver who had no insurance?

Yes, in many cases.

Tort liability means legal responsibility for harm someone causes.

An owner who lacks the required security can be sued. The owner can also become personally liable for PIP benefits under Fla. Stat. § 627.733.

A civil action is a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. This applies when the injury meets the requirements described below (Fla. Stat. § 627.737).

A lawsuit against a driver without insurance can involve more paperwork. It can also raise more questions about collecting payment. The details matter.

What is the tort threshold for pain and suffering?

Florida limits pain-and-suffering claims to certain serious injuries. Lawyers often call this limit the verbal threshold.

The law covers these categories:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
• Death.

Your medical records and your doctors’ findings help decide whether an injury fits one of these categories. Follow your doctors’ care. Keep every record.

How do uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage fit in?

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage are added to your own policy. They can help when the at-fault driver has no insurance. They can also help when the driver has too little insurance.

Each of these claims depends on its own facts and circumstances:

• Stacking limits. Coverage for two or more vehicles is not added together for one accident. This applies when your insurer offers a policy and you accept that rule.
• Settlement notice. Suppose a proposed settlement with the at-fault driver’s liability insurer would not fully pay your claim. You must then send written notice to your underinsured motorist insurers. Send it by certified or registered mail. The underinsured motorist insurer then has 30 days after receipt to consider the settlement or keep its subrogation rights. Subrogation means an insurer’s right to seek repayment of benefits it paid, including from the responsible party.
• Insolvent insurers. An insolvent insurer is one that can no longer pay its claims. If the at-fault driver’s insurer becomes insolvent, you must present a claim against that insurer under this coverage to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association only.

Do not sign a release with an at-fault insurer before these notice steps are handled. A release is a document that ends your legal options. Signing one too early can end those options.

What are Florida’s filing deadline and fault rules?

Florida filing deadlines apply to most injury lawsuits. A filing deadline is the last day you can file a lawsuit. Missing it can end your right to sue.

Act promptly. Contact a lawyer as soon as you can.

Florida’s comparative fault law divides fault among the people involved in an accident (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6)). How it applies to your claim depends on the facts of the crash.

How do health insurance and other benefits affect a settlement?

Florida law requires a court to reduce a damages award by amounts paid or available from collateral sources. Collateral sources are other payments, such as some health coverage (Fla. Stat. § 768.76).

There is no reduction for sources that have a subrogation or reimbursement right (Fla. Stat. § 768.76).

How these rules apply to your bills depends on the facts of your claim and your coverage.

What does it cost to talk with CHG Personal Injury Lawyers?

Our first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery.

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida personal injury firm. We serve clients throughout Florida, including Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. Igor Hernandez is the attorney responsible for this page. He is admitted to The Florida Bar.

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