Come on folks. What will it take? Florida Law requires everyone that has a car or motor vehicle that is functional to have Personal Injury Protection benefits (PIP) as part of their automobile insurance policy. Yet many people still do not get this coverage. I see this all too often in my office. These benefits pay for 80% of medical bills and up to 60% of lost wages in the event of an accident. Statistically 1 in 4 Floridians will at some point in their lives be involved in a car accident. So let’s put this all together. Statistically speaking all of us are at substantial risk on the roads every day. We must assume that that even if we are the best defensive drivers that someone on a cell phone won’t see a red light or stop sign, or that some other distraction will impair the “other guys” judgement and then along we come into that intersection on the way to work, to school, to church, synagogue, mosque, or wherever, minding our business, not knowing that in a moment our lives are about to be changed forever. You see that person more often than not won’t see the stop sign, or red light or will be speeding and not be paying attention to the fact that we have braked and hit us or cause us to hit them. It’s a fact that in an accident people get hurt and doctors and hospital bills are expensive. Who will pay those bills? The other guy or gal? Maybe..but that’s a message for a different week. The law however says that WE have an obligation to have that PIP insurance that will pay a good part of those bills. If you do not have that coverage you may by law still go to an emergency room and be treated but you will more often than not require followup care with a medical doctor who may not see you if you don’t have insurance. In short, my job as your prospective attorney and counsellor is not beat you about the head about this, rather I see my role as the town crier yelling at the top of my lungs trying to warn my fellow citizens of the dangers they face to their health, and financial well-being if they do not have this coverage. And by the way with regard to my comment about the emergency room..yes you will be seen but you better believe you will be billed. And emergency room visits are not cheap..you will get a bill from the ER, from the Attending Physician who saw you and for every test that you may have. So please, please Florida get this coverage and keep it or you will be looking at a mountain of bills that you may not be able to afford to pay.