I feel fine after a car accident. Do I need a doctor, and how soon?

Should I see a doctor if I feel fine after a car accident?

Yes, see a doctor soon after a car accident, even if you feel fine, because some injuries, such as whiplash or a concussion, can have symptoms that show up later. In Florida, PIP (personal injury protection) medical benefits pay only if you get initial care within 14 days after the crash from a provider type the law lists.

Here is who counts. PIP medical benefits pay for initial care (the law calls it "initial services and care") only if it is lawfully provided, supervised, ordered or prescribed by one of these providers, or provided in one of these places:

• A medical or osteopathic physician (licensed under chapter 458 or 459)
• A dentist
• A chiropractic physician
• An advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) registered under section 464.0123
• A hospital, or a facility that owns, or is wholly owned by, a hospital

A licensed provider of emergency transportation and treatment may also provide initial care.

If you have emergency signs, do not wait. Confusion that does not go away, seizures and repeated vomiting are among the emergency symptoms of a more severe brain injury that call for medical care right away.

For more on crash claims, see car accident lawyers in Melbourne.

What does Florida's PIP 14-day rule say?

The 14-day rule is in section 627.736, Florida Statutes, paragraph (1)(a), which covers PIP medical benefits. It pays those benefits "if the individual receives initial services and care pursuant to subparagraph 1. within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident." Subparagraph 1 is the list of initial care providers shown above.

What PIP medical benefits pay

If you got initial care within 14 days after the crash from a listed provider type, PIP medical benefits pay 80 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. They pay only for the kinds of care the statute lists, and they do not include massage therapy or acupuncture.

Required PIP coverage has a limit of $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits.

Follow-up care needs a referral

Follow-up care is the care you get after your initial care. PIP medical benefits pay for follow-up care only if it comes upon referral by one of the initial care providers and is consistent with the diagnosis from that initial care. Follow-up care may be provided, supervised, ordered or prescribed by a medical or osteopathic physician, a chiropractic physician, a dentist, or an APRN registered under section 464.0123. The law also lists other follow-up providers, including a hospital or ambulatory surgical center and a licensed physical therapist working on a referral from one of the listed providers. All of this still depends on getting initial care within 14 days after the crash from a listed provider type.

The $10,000 and $2,500 limits

PIP pays up to $10,000 for covered care if a physician, dentist, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse, as listed in the statute, has determined you had an emergency medical condition. PIP reimbursement for that care is limited to $2,500 if a listed provider determines you did not have an emergency medical condition. If no physician, dentist, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse has found that you had an emergency medical condition, PIP may pay only up to $2,500.

Section 627.732, Florida Statutes, defines the term for Florida's PIP law. It says an "emergency medical condition" means "a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, which may include severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in any of the following: (a) Serious jeopardy to patient health. (b) Serious impairment to bodily functions. (c) Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part."

In plain words, it is a condition with acute symptoms, which may include severe pain, bad enough that going without immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to cause serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

What delayed symptoms can show up after a car accident?

Some injury symptoms may not show up right away. MedlinePlus, from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, describes two examples.

Whiplash

According to MedlinePlus's page on whiplash, the pain of whiplash may not appear right away after an accident, and sometimes it takes hours to weeks to develop. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, and pain or stiffness in the neck, jaw, shoulders or arms.

Concussion and other brain injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) includes a milder TBI, or concussion. According to MedlinePlus's page on traumatic brain injury, some TBI symptoms may not occur right away and may show up a few days or weeks later. A person can have a mild TBI and not realize it.

MedlinePlus lists these emergency symptoms of a more severe TBI and says to seek medical care right away if there are:

• Changes in alertness and consciousness
• Confusion that does not go away
• Seizures
• Muscle weakness on one or both sides of the body
• Pupils of the eyes that are not equal in size
• Symptoms in just one eye
• Unusual eye movements
• Repeated vomiting
• Walking or balance problems
• Unconsciousness for a longer period of time or that continues (coma)

How long after a crash can symptoms show up?

Going by these sources, whiplash pain sometimes takes hours to weeks to develop, and some brain injury symptoms may show up a few days or weeks later. That is one reason to get checked soon, even when you feel fine.

How the 14 days work in real life

• The clock starts at the crash. The law counts the 14 days "after the motor vehicle accident," not from the day your pain starts.
• You feel fine at the scene and get stiff two days later. To get PIP medical benefits, get initial care from a listed provider type within 14 days after the crash.
• You went to a hospital ER the same day. Care provided in a hospital is on the initial care list. If you later need follow-up care, such as physical therapy, PIP medical benefits pay for it only upon referral by an initial care provider, and it must be consistent with the diagnosis from your initial care.
• What a listed provider determines about an emergency medical condition can change the PIP limit for your care, $10,000 or $2,500, as explained above.

More questions about seeing a doctor after a crash

Does the ER, urgent care or a chiropractor count?

Initial care counts if a medical or osteopathic physician, a dentist, a chiropractic physician, or an APRN registered under section 464.0123 lawfully provides, supervises, orders or prescribes it, or if it is provided in a hospital or in a facility that owns, or is wholly owned by, a hospital. So care in a hospital ER or from a chiropractic physician fits the list, and an urgent care visit can count when the care fits that list. PIP pays up to $10,000 for covered care if a physician, dentist, physician assistant or APRN, as listed in the law, has determined you had an emergency medical condition, and reimbursement is limited to $2,500 if a listed provider determines you did not. PIP medical benefits do not include massage therapy or acupuncture.

What if I wait more than 14 days to see a doctor?

PIP medical benefits may not be available, depending on when and where you first got care. As the law is written, they pay only if you get initial care from a listed provider type within 14 days after the crash. Your health still comes first, so get checked if you have symptoms. If you have already waited, see I waited to see a doctor after my accident. Do I still have a claim?

Who pays for my doctor visits after a crash?

PIP medical benefits pay 80 percent of all reasonable expenses for the medically necessary care the law lists, if you got initial care within 14 days after the crash from a listed provider type. Those payments are subject to the PIP limits explained above. For more, see Who pays my medical bills after a car accident in Florida?

What should I do in the 14 days after a crash?

• Get checked soon. To get PIP medical benefits, get initial care within 14 days after the crash from one of the listed provider types shown above.
• Go right away for emergency signs of a more severe brain injury, such as confusion that does not go away, seizures, repeated vomiting, or walking or balance problems.
• Tell your provider about every symptom, including ones that start after your first visit.
• Keep your records: visit summaries, referrals, bills and receipts.
• Get a referral for follow-up care. PIP medical benefits pay for follow-up care only upon referral by an initial care provider, and only if it is consistent with the diagnosis from your initial care.
• Know the limits explained above: what a listed provider determines about an emergency medical condition can change the PIP limit for your care.

For the full list of steps after a crash, see What should I do right after a car accident in Florida?

Your deadline to sue

Under section 95.11, Florida Statutes, a lawsuit for an injury caused by negligence (careless conduct) must be filed within two years. That two-year limit applies only to claims that arose after the 2023 change took effect on March 24, 2023, and a negligence lawsuit against a Florida state or local government agency must be filed within 4 years after the claim arises, except medical malpractice and wrongful death claims, which follow the deadlines in section 95.11(5). Before you can sue a government agency, a written claim generally must be presented within 3 years after the claim arises (2 years for wrongful death) and then denied, or left without a final decision for the time the law allows. Learn more in How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Florida?

Talk to a Melbourne car accident lawyer

Douglas R. Beam, P.A. is a personal injury law firm in Melbourne, Florida. If you were hurt in a crash and have questions about PIP or your claim, you can talk with us in a free consultation.

Call us at (321) 723-6591, or send us a message through our website. Our office is at 25 West New Haven Avenue, Suite C, Melbourne, FL 32901.

Sources

• Section 627.736, Florida Statutes
• Section 627.732, Florida Statutes
• Section 95.11, Florida Statutes
• Section 768.28, Florida Statutes
• Chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida
• Whiplash, MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
• Traumatic brain injury, MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine)