In recent weeks, The Injury Blog has detailed the debate surrounding the Florida Personal Injury Protection (PIP) law requiring drivers in the state to carry up to $10,000 in personal injury insurance for car accident injuries. Last Friday, state legislators failed to extend this personal injury law, which will officially expire on October 1^st unless the issue is taken into consideration during a special legislative session in June.

This Florida No Fault Law required drivers to purchase the PIP coverage, which would pay up to a maximum of $10,000 in coverage for car accident injuries, regardless of who caused them. Auto insurance companies had been arguing for the death of this Florida personal injury protection law because of what they said were large cases of fraudulent claims. A recent Insurance Journal story indicated that such a move could save insurance companies more than $350 million in payments to hospitals, doctors and clinics treating car accident injuries.

Proponents of this Florida personal injury protection law have warned about the possible ramifications of if it expired, including the fact that 40 percent of car accident victims in the state have no form of health insurance coverage besides mandatory PIP. The Florida Hospital Association warned that getting rid of Florida PIP would cause some hospitals to seriously consider whether they could even maintain trauma centers. The FHA added that it would urge legislators to add PIP to the agenda of its special session.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist expressed confidence in the story that the issue would be resolved in the special session. The state Senate had previously proposed a bill that would extend Florida personal injury protection for car accident injuries for three more years. A study of the current system would have also been concluded by 2010 under this bill in order to determine whether to keep moving forward with PIP at that time. However, the state House failed to take up the plan passed in the Senate, and rather pushed a proposed law that would let PIP go to the wayside and be replaced by $15,000 of coverage that could only be used in emergency rooms and hospital-owned clinics immediately after a car accident. We’ll keep you updated on any more developments with the  Florida PIP debate.