To quote the OrlandoSentinel.com headlines, “Tiger Woods’ wife used a golf club to free him from SUV. Tiger Woods, 33, was unconscious after he struck a fire hydrant and a neighbor’s tree about 2:30 a.m. Friday morning.”As we are all well aware, this minor accident has been in the news since it happened. Although I believe there is more to this story then either Tiger or his wife claim, I believe they are entitled to their privacy, and should be left alone. Many of us have had accidents, and many of us have had marital squabbles. I understand that many are interested in the perceived “dirt” that may be associated with this 2:30 a.m. accident, however, I would prefer that Tiger and his wife be allowed to keep their dirt in their own house.
However, this accident scenario did bring some thoughts and office discussions about Florida laws and automobile insurance coverage. When our law firm handles motor vehicle accidents, most of the cases are the typical collisions that we all see on the news. In Tiger’s case, the accident involved his vehicle, a golf club, a fire hydrant, a tree and his wife.
Florida personal injury protection, under most auto insurance policies, will cover injuries sustained out of the use, ownership or maintenance of a covered motor vehicle. In Tiger’s accident, he will be covered under his PIP for injuries he sustained as a result of striking the tree and fire hydrant. Under most Florida personal injury protection policies, if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault, the medical costs for injuries sustained will be paid under your PIP. For example, if you are in a one-car accident, hit a tree, hit a deer or a cow, or if your wife jumps out in front of your car and you run your vehicle into the garage, PIP will cover your medical expenses. If you are changing your tire in your front yard, on the side of the road or other maintenance issues and you are injured while performing these maintenance tasks, PIP can cover your medical expenses for injuries sustained as a result of the injury provided that your injury is sustained out of the use, ownership or maintenance of the covered automobile.
Under most Florida uninsured/underinsured (UM) coverage, compensation for anything above and beyond medical bills and wage loss would not be covered. Under most UM policies, coverage only exists if you are involved in an accident where there is another vehicle involved. It is often very difficult to collect on a UM claim when there is a “phantom vehicle” involved that causes a collision. A “phantom” vehicle would be a vehicle that causes the driver to become involved in an accident, and the phantom leaves the scene or is unidentifiable. Unless you have some very good, unrelated witnesses that can attest that a specific vehicle forced you to have the accident, you would not likely have a UM claim. In most cases uninsured/underinsured coverage is only available when the claimants damages exceed the PIP available and the bodily injury coverage from the adverse party.
So I hope we have all learned from Tiger’s experience, because accidents can happen to any of us.
