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Personal Injury Protection and Workers' Compensation
Personal Injury Protections & Workers' Compensation ♦ Personal Injury Protection & Workers' Compensation FAQs
Some workers compensation cases may be more complicated than others to resolve. For example, if an employee is in a car accident while driving on company time, they were still technically "hurt at work," and they may be eligible for benefits under both the workers' compensation law and Florida's No Fault insurance law. It is important to know how to file these claims and what to expect from each one. The workers compensation attorneys at the Coye Law Firm can help you determine the primary source of benefits resulting from your at work injury.
Read more about Florida's No Fault Insurance law and Personal Injury Protection here. A fact sheet on the automobile insurance requirements in the state of Florida is available through the Department of Financial Affairs.
Qualification
An employee can file for both Personal Injury Protection (P.I.P.) and workers' compensation benefits if an accident occurred while they were driving:
- a car owned by the company,
- within the scope of their employment, and
- on company time
Payments
Before payments can be disbursed, both insurance carriers need to be notified in a proper manner. These laws both require specific means of notification, and your claim may be weakened or voided without it.
Employees seeking both of these benefits can expect payment primarily from Personal Injury Protection. The Workers' Compensation and No Fault laws provide payment for some aspects of medical care, and if both are applied to one accident, then P.I.P. pays first. If there are aspects of care that P.I.P. cannot pay, then the employee's workers' compensation benefits or their personal insurance coverage can pay for these costs.
Wages are covered by both laws as well. The workers' compensation page discusses how the weekly wage of an injured employee is computed and applied to lost wages. P.I.P. pays 60% of the lost wages not covered by workers' compensation. For example, an employee is injured in a car accident while working and loses $10,000 in wages. Workers' compensation pays between 66 2/3% and 80% of lost wages, so suppose the employee receives $7,000. There are $3,000 remaining, and P.I.P. covers 60% of this. The employee can receive $1,800 more if they pursue P.I.P. benefits.
The law states that P.I.P. benefits can be reduced if being received at the same time as workers' compensation or Medicaid benefits. Understanding the procedure, therefore, is vital to claiming all the compensation you are owed.
Visit our page on frequently asked questions about Personal Injury Protections and workers' compensation.
Personal Injury Protection and workers' compensation benefits may overlap in some cases. This page provides a brief overview of what happens when two laws overlap, but there is no substitute for meeting with an attorney to discuss the matter. Contact the Coye Law Firm today to get experienced legal advice to sort out your claim.
