Passenger Injury Claims After a Parking Lot Collision

Attorney Answer

As a front-seat passenger you are not the one who has to prove fault to get your medical bills started. In Florida a passenger's treatment is paid first by personal injury protection coverage, no matter which driver was to blame — but there is a 14-day deadline built into that coverage, and it is the one that catches people out.

Personal injury protection, or PIP, is required by Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1). That subsection requires a complying policy to provide PIP to the named insured, to relatives living in the same household, to people operating the insured vehicle, to passengers in it, and to certain people struck by it, up to a limit of $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits. So there may be more than one policy in play: the policy on the car you were riding in covers you as a passenger, and your own policy or a resident relative's policy may cover you as a named insured or household relative. Which one pays first is set by rules that turn on the details, and for someone injured while visiting from out of state the answer is not obvious. That question is worth putting to a lawyer rather than guessing.

The deadline sits inside the medical-benefits paragraph. Section 627.736(1)(a) provides for "Eighty percent of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic devices and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing services if the individual receives initial services and care pursuant to subparagraph 1. within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident." Wait longer than 14 days to be seen and those benefits can be lost. PIP also pays 60 percent of lost income, and it pays regardless of fault.

Beyond PIP, two different limits apply to two different kinds of damages. Money losses — bills above the PIP cap, wages, out-of-pocket costs — are not gated by anything special. Damages for pain and suffering are. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2), in a case arising out of the use of a motor vehicle, "a plaintiff may recover damages in tort for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation, or use of such motor vehicle only in the event that the injury or disease consists in whole or in part of: (a) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function. (b) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement. (c) Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement. (d) Death."

As for who was at fault, that fight is between the two drivers, and a passenger is rarely part of it. For accidents before March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 768.81(2) provided: "In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault, but does not bar recovery." The Legislature changed that rule in 2023 for later accidents. Which regime governs a particular crash is a question for a Florida attorney. Florida also applies a judge-made presumption that a driver who rear-ends another vehicle was negligent, though the presumption can be rebutted — and a vehicle backing out of a parking space is exactly the kind of fact a defense raises against it.

What you can do

1. If you have not been examined yet, get seen now. Section 627.736(1)(a) ties benefits to receiving initial care within 14 days of the crash.

2. Open a PIP claim with your own auto insurer, and report the crash to the insurer for the car you were riding in.

3. Keep every bill, explanation of benefits, and note about missed work in one place.

4. Ask the responding agency for a copy of the crash report.

5. Ask a Florida lawyer which policy pays first, whether your injuries meet the § 627.737(2) threshold, and how the fault fight between the two drivers affects you.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can hear the whole story is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The limitations period for an injury claim is set by Fla. Stat. § 95.11, and it changed in 2023: accidents before March 24, 2023 were governed by the former four-year negligence period, and later accidents by a shorter one. Your deadline depends on your own dates, and PIP has its own separate 14-day treatment trigger. Have a Florida attorney check both.