PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION (PIP)

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, it is critical that  that you understand your rights under the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) statutes.


If you have been injured in a car accident, you may pursue a Massachusetts Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claim for lost wages, medical bills and replacement services regardless of who caused the car accident. This is known as “no fault insurance.”

Types of Massachusetts Personal Injury Protection Claims

PIP provides compensation for up to $8,000.00 for people injured in a motor vehicle accident for three types of out-of-pocket expenses:

Medical bills: PIP covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses incurred within two years of the car accident.

Lost wages: PIP covers 75 percent of lost wages caused by injuries you sustain in the automobile accident. However, if you are eligible for a disability plan at work, you will receive only 75 percent of the difference, if any, between the disability plan and the amount you would otherwise be entitled to under PIP.

Replacement services: PIP pays for reasonable expenses to pay non-family members to perform services that the injured person would otherwise have performed for the benefit of himself and/or family members of his household.

Health Insurance and PIP Claims

If you are injured in a car accident and you have health insurance, Massachusetts personal injury protection will pay up to $2,000.00 towards your medical bills. Any remaining medical bills must be submitted to your health insurer in a timely fashion (if not, some health insurance companies may deny payment of your bill). However, PIP may be available to pay medical bills not covered under your health insurance including co-payments.

You must also coordinate payment of your medical treatment between the health care provider (doctor) and health insurer.

Health insurance only impacts the payment of medical bills in Massachusetts personal injury protection claims. Massachusetts personal injury protection remains available for the payment of lost wages and replacement services until the $8,000.00 in PIP coverage is exhausted.

Duty to Cooperate

You must cooperate with the PIP insurer in order to obtain PIP benefits.

PIP Application: You must fill out, sign and submit a PIP application to the insurance company. (The insurance company will send the PIP form to you.)

Medical Examination: The PIP insurer has the right to have you examined by a doctor selected by the insurer.

Medical records, bills and lost wage information: You must submit evidence of your losses to the PIP insurer and authorize the insurer to obtain such information that is pertinent to the claim.

Statement: The PIP insurer has the right to obtain your statement under oath. This is called an examination under oath (“EUO”). If the statement is not taken under oath, you are not obligated to give a statement.

Failure to cooperate with the insurance company may result in denial of your claim.

The duty to cooperate also applies to uninsured and underinsured claims.

Massachusetts PIP

Here is additional information you should know about Massachusetts PIP claims:

Massachusetts personal injury protection is limited to $8,000.00 in coverage and does NOT cover compensation for pain and suffering. In order to obtain compensation for pain and suffering, you must pursue a bodily injury claim, uninsured claim and/or underinsurance claim, show someone was at fault, and meet other statutory requirements.

PIP does not cover people injured while riding a motorcycle.

PIP also covers pedestrians who are injured in a car accident.

Claims for PIP benefits must be submitted to the PIP insurer within two years of the date of the accident.


Below is the link to the Massachusetts statute on PIP coverage:


http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section34m

If you have questions or concerns, please contact The Brookline Law Offices of Harold Levine at (617) 232-7222 or visit our website at HaroldLevineLaw.com.