Florida’s 14-Day Rule After a Car Accident

Florida’s no-fault system pays your first medical bills through your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. But the statute has a catch that surprises people every day: if you do not receive initial medical treatment within 14 days of the crash, PIP pays nothing.

Written by the Florida Injury Team Legal Content Team · Reviewed for accuracy by our network of licensed Florida attorneys · Learn about our editorial process

What the statute says

Florida Statute 627.736(1)(a) requires that the injured person receive “initial services and care” within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident. If that does not happen, the insurer is not required to pay PIP medical benefits at all. The clock starts on the day of the crash, not the day you first feel pain.

Who counts as initial treatment

The first visit must be with one of the providers the statute lists:

• A hospital emergency department or a facility owned by a hospital
• Emergency transport and treatment by an ambulance service
• A medical doctor (MD), osteopathic physician (DO), dentist or chiropractor
• A physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse supervised by one of those providers

A massage therapist or acupuncturist does not count, and PIP does not pay for massage or acupuncture at all. Follow-up care must be consistent with the initial treatment and referred by the treating provider.

$2,500 or $10,000: the emergency medical condition rule

PIP provides up to $10,000 in medical benefits, but the full amount is available only if a physician, osteopath, dentist, PA or APRN determines that you had an emergency medical condition. Without that determination, PIP benefits are capped at $2,500. A chiropractor cannot make the EMC determination. This is one reason the first visit should be with a medical doctor or a hospital, and why the record from that visit matters so much.

What PIP pays and what it does not

• 80% of reasonable medical expenses, up to the limit
• 60% of lost wages, up to the same combined $10,000 limit
• A $5,000 death benefit

PIP applies regardless of who caused the crash. It does not pay for pain and suffering, and it does not cover motorcycle riders. Anything above the PIP limit, and all non-economic damages, come from the at-fault driver’s bodily injury coverage or your own uninsured motorist coverage, and Florida requires a permanent injury to recover pain and suffering from the at-fault driver.

What to do if you are close to the deadline

Go to an urgent care staffed by a physician, a hospital emergency room, or your primary care doctor today, and tell them the visit is for injuries from a car crash on a specific date. Ask that the crash be documented in the record. If the 14 days have already passed, PIP is likely gone, but the claim against the at-fault driver is not. The firm we refer you to can still pursue that claim, and your health insurance may cover treatment in the meantime.