PIP Benefits - Kimberly Condon

PIP, otherwise known as Personal Injury Protection, is a benefit you receive from your insurance company following a motor vehicle collision.   This benefit is available to you whether you were at fault for the accident or if someone else was at fault.  On average, the minimum PIP benefits available are $15,000.00 or the benefit is good for one year, whichever comes first.  Following an accident where you have suffered an injury, you need to report the injury to your insurance company and they will open up a PIP claim for you.  All of your medical bills need to be sent to YOUR insurance for payment.  This includes ambulance, ER, MD, chiropractic, PT and any other providers you see for your injury.  Some people don’t understand this, wondering why their own insurance company pays the medical bills when someone else was at fault and caused their injury.  In Oregon, this is how it works.  Once you are done treating (you will require no further treatment for your injuries) your insurance will subrogate the amount they have paid out for you to the at fault insurance carrier.  Meaning, your insurance company will get their money back.   I think one of the reasons the laws are geared this way is sometimes investigating an accident can take 30-60 days and in the meantime you are incurring medical bills.  Instead of letting these medical bills go unpaid, the law states that your’ insurance will pay the medical bills and get paid back later.

PIP benefits also include lost wages.  The lost wage benefit has a maximum of $3,000.00 per month or 70% of your average monthly wage, whichever is less.  Unfortunately you will not be paid at 100% from PIP.  The unreimbursed amount should be included in any settlement you receive from the at fault insurance company.  In order to receive lost wages from PIP you have to have missed 14 consecutive days from work to begin with.  You will also need a doctors’ disability slip stating you are unable to work.  PIP will review this information and contact your employer to verify employment, hours worked and how much you make per hour.  Once you have missed 14 consecutive days and are receiving lost wages the benefit continues for 52 weeks.  So let’s say you missed 3 weeks of work and then you were able to return to work, but once you’ve returned to work you find that working is hurting you more, so your doctor puts you back off work for another week; you will still be eligible for benefits.  You only have to miss the first 14 days and the benefits will begin.  This also applies if you are put back to work with restrictions, such as only 2 hours a day.  PIP will continue to pay lost wages less the 2 hours per day.  PIP wage loss is there to help you out in the meantime.  Make sure you read your policy to learn about  your PIP benefits.

My job as a paralegal for Olsen Daines is to help take the headache away.  You are already under enough stress and dealing with pain.   I will work with you and your PIP carrier to make sure your medical bills are being paid and that you are receiving your lost wages.