Florida’s No-Fault Law was developed to make it easier for insurance companies to process payments after an automobile accident and avoid certain types of lawsuits. It was meant to compensate injured parties more rapidly than the traditional tort reparations system. It avoids the long-and-involved process of identifying the guilty party, “who was at-fault” for an accident.
What is Florida’s No-Fault Law?
When someone is injured due to an accident, they might have medical costs and lost wages that place an immediate burden on their financial well-being. Unfortunately, the traditional tort legal court process is very slow. There are a series of different stages of pre-hearings and hearings before even getting to a trial. All of these depend upon the schedule of the local court.
But expenses due to the ill effects of an accident cannot wait for the slow conclusion of the traditional “identifying guilt” court process. Besides potentially losing their jobs, victims suddenly have medical expenses to pay. They need to get compensation quickly.
Tradeoff for No-Fault Insurance
The Florida No-Fault Law permits owners to be compensated from their own insurance policies for medical costs and lost wages. A certain level of compensation is established by the Florida legislature. This can be advantageous for receiving a quick settlement after an accident.
The tradeoff is that victims are limited in suing insurance companies for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. Thus, if people have very serious non-economic issues resulting from an accident, they might be highly restricted in collecting money from their insurance companies. One of the reasons why “No-Fault” insurance was enacted was to limit high damages awarded by juries against insurance companies.
Need a Florida Personal Injury Lawyer?
The challenge is that Florida’s “No-Fault” law still permits the victim to bring a lawsuit against the guilty party, which is usually the driver of the other automobile or truck. The “No-Fault” law protects the insurance industry, not individuals from lawsuits. Thus, if you are guilty of causing an accident, you might be responsible for more damages if there is a permanent injury to the victim.
If you find yourself needing legal counsel, then trust in a good Florida personal injury lawyer to defend you. Your financial well-being and future could depend upon a good defense.