Law Offices of THOMAS J. UEBERSCHAER, P.A.

NEWSLETTER Summer 2007

In the past several years, we have represented a large number of individuals and families involved in motor vehicle accidents. We help those people who were not at fault, and who are required to seek medical care and money from the responsible driver to take care of lost wages and medical expenses incurred. Unfortunately for many, the other driver often has very little or no insurance. That is why having adequate insurance on your own car is critical.

Since 1971, Florida has required that every car licenced in the state have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, otherwise known as "no fault" insurance. This insurance currently makes sure that everyone involved in an accident will have the first $10,000 in medical and lost wages paid to them, regardless of who was at fault.

Unless the Legislature and Governor Charlie Crist act by October 1, 2007, this PIP insurance law will expire, and the state will return to the world before 1971. Drivers won't have to buy the mandatory $10,000 in personal injury protection. There will be many more uninsured motorists, because many people will want to save money on their policies. But if those uninsured motorists don't have other health insurance and are injured in an accident, they won't be able to pay their bills.

Recently, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said failure to renew PIP would cause "mass confusion." The state is urging all drivers and car owners to make sure they have enough insurance to cover themselves and their families in the event of an accident. "The best advice we can give to consumers is to purchase enough auto insurance coverage to provide medical treatment for themselves and families," said Sink. Drivers who don’t have health insurance will then visit emergency rooms and clinics, which don’t want all those added non-paying patients. The concern then is whether this will shift health care costs from auto insurance companies to traditional health insurance for those that have it, driving up costs for consumers, employers who provide the coverage and for the health insurance industry. Worse yet, the hospital industry has claimed that 40 percent of the 115,000 Floridians it treats for car crashes each year have no health insurance. Without PIP coverage, those people will face serious financial burdens they may never overcome. Also, if their care is not paid for, it will ultimately be absorbed by hospitals and the public.

Insurance companies say that eliminating PIP is necessary, and that it will save consumers money on their car insurance premiums. The truth is that if PIP disappears, motorists may need to buy other insurance plans such as uninsured motorist coverage or medical payments coverage, with those new costs offsetting their savings.

The bottom line for those of you reading this is to decide how much financial risk you can afford to take. If you or a family member has a car accident in the next year, you may be left with enormous bills you could have covered with insurance by calling your agent now. We encourage you to spend as much as you can afford on uninsured motorist coverage (UM) and medical pay coverage now to prepare yourselves. Medical pay will, as the name implies, cover you for medical bills incurred after an accident. UM has historically been affordable, and would ensure that if another person causes you injuries, you will be covered if they do not have adequate insurance.

As of now, the state of Florida says the law requires that after October 1, 2007 (no matter what happens with no-fault): If you are a Florida driver who gets into an accident and can't furnish proof that you have property damage protection, you could be found guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor. That could lead to a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.

If you want more information on this subject, try going to MyFloridaCFO.com and clicking on "Life Without No-Fault."

As a general reminder for all Floridians with motor vehicles, if you are involved in an accident:

Call the police, or dial *FHP on your cell phone.

Get names, addresses, phone numbers, vehicle identification information, tag numbers, drivers license numbers, and insurance information from others involved.

Call your agent promptly, even if you are far from home. He should tell you what to do next, including what form you will need to complete.

Cooperate fully with your own insurance company. They will also need access to your vehicle.

Take notes. Whenever you talk with your own insurance company employees, your agent, lawyers, police, or others, write down the date, times, names, and subjects you talked about. Include all decisions or promises made.

Get names and contact information for witnesses at the scene.

Even if you think you may be at fault, do not say so. The other driver may share the fault or other factors may have caused the accident. An admission of fault will be used against you later on.

Consult a doctor immediately. There is often a time lag between the collision and full awareness of the injuries. Be sure to report any head trauma, loss of consciousness or headaches to your doctors, as this may present a medical emergency.

Now is again the time to check your insurance for your most valuable investment, your home. I lost my own home in Hurricane Ivan (see photo), so it is easy for us to understand how these claims can affect your lives.

The case of Ueberschaer v. Citizens Property Insurance got a lot of attention this last year around the state. Our firm was the first in Florida to win an appellate decision ordering Citizens to pay wind policy limits after Ivan. Presently, the Florida Supreme Court is reviewing that award.

We have litigated many partial and total loss cases to victory for our clients. For those with the most serious losses, the typical defense tactic starts with a claim that your loss is excluded under your policy. Insurers routinely pointed to "flood" exclusions in their policies and claimed that most, if not all, damage was excluded due to "storm surge." Insurers also pointed to their "anti-concurrent causation" clauses as a way to deny all coverage. Such clauses essentially attempt to exclude coverage in situations where a loss is caused by and excluded event (like flood), regardless of whether a covered event (like wind) also contributed to the same loss.

Since Ivan, the Florida Legislature made changes to the homeowner’s insurance laws, now further limiting recovery from hurricane wind policies. Stack this on top of the out of control premium increases since 2004, and everyone reading this newsletter has a lot to be concerned about.

If another hurricane strikes, our office can help with claims disputes. If we are successful in litigating your case, your own insurance company will be responsible for paying our legal fees and costs. Please call if you have any questions. Until that time, the best thing you can do is to figure out if your homeowners/wind policy has enough coverage for your house based upon current replacement costs. Many after recent hurricanes only discovered too late that they had not increased their coverage amounts to keep up with the escalating costs of the construction industry. Thus for many, payment of even full policy limits was not enough to rebuild their homes. Please call your agents and review your policies as soon as possible.

After having helped thousands of applicants receive Social Security Disability benefits, we know that the one thing that wins cases is persistence. The application process leading to a hearing can take up to two years or more. During this time, most of our clients have only the kindness of family, friends or even strangers to financially help them make this long journey. If you are disabled and unable to work, get your claim filed immediately. Unfortunately, many claimants for disability benefits have experienced severe problems and hardship simply because they had no idea how long the process would be.

The key to winning a claim is to maintain an ongoing relationship with a doctor who can help explain to Social Security why you are unable to work in jobs near your home. For our office, this can include letters from the physician, as well as a recorded statement under oath which are submitted to Social Security for their consideration. If you stop seeing your doctors, current medical records will not be available to substantiate your claim. If you have no way of affording medical treatment before your claim is approved, try to see a free clinic, county health department, or emergency room. While these treatment sources are not the best, they are, simply put, better than nothing.

If you are age 55 or older with less than a high school education, and your doctor has limited your lifting to no more than 10 pounds, your application may be simple. For most others, it is a long and difficult process that involves an attorney and requires seeing a Judge for a favorable decision. If you think you or someone you know will not be able to work for at least the next 6 to 12 months due to a physical or psychiatric disability, they can call our office for a free consultation to see if they may qualify and whether we can help.

An extraordinary number of persons who apply for benefits on their own, or file an appeal following a denial, fail to properly complete their paperwork, or fail to submit their forms in a timely manner. Don’t be one of them - call us.