Insights

Motion for Rehearing of Florida PIP Injunction is Denied

November 26, 2013

On November 26, 2013, the First District Court of Appeals dismissed a motion for rehearing on its October ruling to reverse an injunction placed on reforms to Florida’s PIP system. The reforms, contained within HB 119 and...

MGA Insurance Granted Summary Judgment in PIP Staged Accident Case

November 22, 2013

In an August 15, 2013 decision in Miami-Dade County Court, Defendant MGA Insurance Co. was granted Summary Judgment against Plaintiff Febre’s Medical Center on the grounds that no genuine issue of material fact existed, and...

Mobile X-Rays Lead to Summary Judgment in Milo v. State Farm

November 15, 2013

Plaintiff Milo Diagnostic Center filed suit against Defendant State Farm to recover PIP benefits for mobile x-rays provided to Pedro Barreto, a State Farm insured. According to Florida PIP Statute Section 627.732(2) (2006),...

UAIC v. Atlantic Medical Specialty

November 13, 2013

Atlantic Medical Specialty (Atlantic) provided treatment to Manuel Floyd, an individual insured by United Auto, following a November 19, 2007 automobile accident. Atlantic subsequently filed a PIP claim with United Auto,...

Miami Court Rules on Reasonable and Unreasonable Charges

November 6, 2013

In an October 8, 2013 ruling in the matter New Medical Group, Inc. vs. United Automobile Insurance Company by Judge King in the County Court of Miami-Dade County, the court held that an insurer is not required to expressly...

Six Arrested in Fort Myers and Port Charlotte PIP Fraud Ring

November 5, 2013

A tip from insurance company investigators and a cooperating witness helped bring down a PIP insurance fraud ring that was operating out of Evans Rehab Center in Fort Myers and Charlotte Wellness and Rehab in Port Charlotte....

Florida’s Fight Against Insurance Fraud Rings Featured on ABC’s Nightline

October 29, 2013

Specialists in Florida’s Department of Financial Services, who have been trained to trace Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance fraud, will often spend months following paper trails, pursuing suspects, and managing...

Riviera Beach Woman Fraudulently Billing Insurance Companies, Allege Detectives

October 25, 2013

Two undercover agents, covertly acting as patients who were injured in a car crash, uncovered alleged fraudulent insurance billing practices by Nadine Laurent at Optimum Medical Care in West Palm Beach. In April, the patients...

Jacksonville Man Withdraws City Council Candidacy Following Insurance Fraud Arrest

October 16, 2013

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater recently announced the arrest of former Jacksonville city council candidate Orlando Robles-Santana for insurance fraud. Robles-Santana has been charged with filing false insurance...

Operation Sledgehammer Results in Sentencing of Ninth Person in Car Insurance Scam

October 4, 2013

A Miami woman, who helped manage a widespread car insurance fraud ring from her chiropractic clinic in West Palm Beach, has received a six-year sentence in connection with “Operation Sledgehammer.” Maria Testa Baceiro,...