Uninsured motorist insurance pays you when a driver who is uninsured injures you. If a governmental entity vehicle injures you, it is considered uninsured and you can make a claim against any available uninsured motorist (UM) insurance – if it was purchased. Young v. Progressive Southeastern Ins. Co., 753 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 2000). This is great news for several reasons, which are discussed in some of the examples below.
Example #1
You are in a car that is hit by a Miami-Dade County public bus or any vehicle of a governmental entity in Florida. You have a herniated disc in your neck and you need a cervical (neck) fusion. You want to get your medical bills paid after a car accident in Florida. You should know that Personal Injury Protection (PIP) will pay some of your medical bills and lost wages. Assume that there is $150,000 available in uninsured motorist (UM) insurance. Because every governmental entity in Florida has limits on the damages that you can recover in tort, the most that Miami-Dade County is responsible for paying you up to $200,000. You would have to prove the value of your damages.
You can still make a UM claim – against any available UM insurance – immediately after the accident. You should open a claim with the UM insurer as soon as possible following the accident or incident.
You can settle your UM case before you settle the case against Miami-Dade County. The county will not get a credit for your settlement with the county.
Example #2 – County Won’t Get Credit if You Settle with UM insurer
Same facts as Example #1 above. Assume your case is worth at least $200,000. If you settle with the uninsured motorist (UM) insurer for $200,000 before you settle with the county, Miami-Dade county will not get a credit for the $200,000 that the UM insurer paid you. You can still make a claim against the county who may also pay you $200,000 for this serious injury. You basically have an opportunity to collect the same money twice.
If possible, you should wait to settle your case against Miami-Dade County until you have settled your UM case. This is because the UM insurer is entitled to get an offset for any amounts paid by the governmental entity.
Example #3 – UM gets credit for settlement for settlement with governmental entity
Same facts as Example #1 above. Assume your case is worth $200,000. If you settle with Miami-Dade county for $200,000 before you settle with the uninsured motorist (UM) insurer, the UM insurer will get a credit for the $200,000 that Miami-Dade County paid you. So, assuming that your personal injury case is worth $200,000, the UM insurer will not pay you any money. The formula is as follows
UM insurer may pay = Value of Case – Amount Paid by Governmental Entity
In this case, by plugging in the numbers it is:
UM insurer may pay = $200,000 – $200,000
UM insurer may pay = Zero (0)
Have you ever recovered money from an uninsured motorist (UM) insurer when someone was injured by a governmental entity? If so, please tell me about it.