Letters of Protection (LOP) in Florida Injury Cases

PIP covers $10,000 at most. Many people in Miami have no health insurance, or a plan that will not cover crash-related care. A letter of protection is the tool Florida injury cases use to bridge that gap, and it comes with rules you should understand before you sign one.

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 a letter of protection is

A letter of protection is a written agreement between your lawyer and a medical provider. The provider agrees to treat you now and wait for payment. Your lawyer agrees to pay the provider’s bill out of any settlement or verdict before the money reaches you. It lets you see orthopedic surgeons, get an MRI, or start physical therapy when you could not otherwise afford it.

When it is used

• You have no health insurance and PIP is exhausted or unavailable
• Your health plan denies crash-related treatment or a specialist referral
• You need a specialist who does not accept your insurance
• You are a motorcycle rider, who has no PIP under Florida law

The risks you should know

• You still owe the bill. If the case is lost or settles for less than expected, the provider can still collect from you. Some providers reduce their bills in that situation, but they are not required to.
• The bill can be large. Providers treating under an LOP charge their full rates, not the discounted rates insurers negotiate.
• The insurer will attack it. Defense lawyers argue that LOP treatment was inflated or was ordered because of the lawsuit rather than medical need.

What changed in 2023

House Bill 837 rewrote Florida Statute 768.0427. In any personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff treated under a letter of protection must now disclose the LOP itself, an itemized bill with billing codes, whether the lawyer referred the plaintiff to the provider, and whether the provider sold the receivable to a third party. Evidence of the value of medical care is also limited to specific measures, such as the amount the plaintiff’s health insurance would have paid. The result is that LOP treatment still works, but the numbers are examined closely at trial.

How to use one wisely

Use health insurance first when you have it. Ask the provider what happens to the balance if the case does not resolve. Keep every appointment, because gaps in treatment are used against you. And treat because you need care, not because a case exists. The firm we refer you to works with providers who accept letters of protection and can explain the terms before you agree.