Hillsborough County has become a hotbed for this type of fraud, law enforcement agencies say. The insurance industry says the ballooning racket adds hundreds of dollars annually to drivers’ insurance premiums.  But the new law unfairly punished legitimate clinics with
stringent, unnecessary regulations, according to attorney Luke Lirot, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of five health care or therapy clinics. Lirot and county attorneys have since been negotiating changes they hope will alleviate the clinic owners’ concerns without dulling the law’s regulatory teeth.

“We were able to show my clients were not the ones that were causing the problems that he ordinance was adopted to try to prevent,” Lirot said.

The draft that county commissioners will consider at their meeting today changes some provisions that Lirot’s clients are challenging. For instance, the amended law eliminates a requirement that a physician affiliated with a clinic must be there at least three days a week for at least four hours each day.  Also removed is wording requiring that PIP clinics be open specific days and hours. Instead, they must maintain “regular business hours.”

Left unchanged, however, is the requirement that a doctor who signs on as an operator of the clinic must be a signatory on the facility’s bank account and insurance policy.  Lirot said many clinics are owned by nondoctors who employ physicians to treat patients.  “I don’t see how having the doctor on the insurance policy changes anything,” he said. But requiring a doctor affiliated with a clinic to have his or her name on the facility’s bank accounts and insurance policy is a key enforcement mechanism recommended by the heriff’s office. Here’s why: Under current state rules, any medical clinic “wholly owned and operated” by a licensed physician is exempt from regulation by the state Agency for Health Care Administration. But in the case of fraudulent PIP clinics, doctors sign the form for the ACHA exemption but never see patients at the clinic.  “Putting them in charge financially is one way to make sure they’re operating the clinic,” aid Chris Brown, legal counsel to the sheriff’s office. “Making them more responsible than they are now might decrease their inclination to sell their license.”  Brown said the ownership issue might be one the county will choose to stand fast on even if it perpetuates the lawsuit.  We may never be able to agree on that,” he said. “To get the best product, it’s better to be fighting over one issue than over a lot of issues.”  Also in response to the lawsuit, the amended ordinance specifically prohibits county inspectors from delving into private patient information without appropriate authorization.  Assistant County Attorney Paul Johnston said he thinks the changes made to the law will satisfy the plaintiffs and they will withdraw the lawsuit.  “A lot of these clinics and practitioners that thought they would be affected by it really aren’t,” Johnston said.  “We clarified it a little bit better for them so they could see they wouldn’t be restricted by the ordinance.”   From Tampa Bay Online

• Be serious. Do not smile or give the appearance that you are making light of the situation.
• Keep it simple. Do not include jewelry or makeup on the areas of the body you are photographing, and keep clothing casual. Make sure there is no clutter or household objects in the background. Include your face. Remember take a complete body shot so you can be identified in the photo. If you have to take additional close ups and that is not possible, take a least a few where you can be identified.
• Multiple shots. Take more photos than you think you need. If you feel it may be helpful to photograph the surrounding area where the injury occurred, do that as well.
• Back it up. Make sure to save a digital copy on a disk or a separate hard drive, or print out the photos. This could be a huge lifesaver for any disputes.

Have you or a loved one been involved in an accident? Did you take photographs? If you did not, do you think they would have been helpful?

If you or someone you know is a victim in a car accident, please call the Spinner Law Firm at 813-991-5099. We’re right here, for you!

1. Park in a safe and secured area – Many individuals will be traveling to Tampa for Gasparilla or maybe just traveling nearby to attend a local Super Bowl Party. Wherever you go try to park your car in a secured garage or parking lot. If possible, avoid street parking or unlit parking lots so as to avoid any possibility of break-ins or hit-and-run accidents. Taking these precautions will also reduce the chances of you suffering any property damage to your vehicle.

2. Be aware of other drivers – Many individuals will be commuting to Tampa to attend the Gasparilla Parade. This means that the roads and highways will have a bit more congestion. Stay a safe distance away from other drivers to allow yourself time to react. Keeping a safe distance will help you avoid any rear end accidents as well as distracted drivers.

3. Inspect your car and roadside supplies before you leave the house – Before you travel on the highway inspect your car and make sure that you have the proper roadside materials to make yourself visible to other drivers on the road in case you have car troubles. Roadside flares, flashers and flashlights will warn oncoming traffic that you are having car problems increasing your chances of roadside assistance and also decreasing the chances of injury.

4. Lock your car – While these two weekends can be great fun they are also great opportunities for some people to get free goodies from your car. Cars will commonly be parked along the streets or in crowded parking lots creating an environment conducive to vandalism. Locking your car will deter others from easy access to your personal belongings.

5. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE – This is the greatest way to avoid any personal injury and car accidents over these next two weekends. Gasparilla and the Super Bowl are many times accompanied by parties which serve alcohol, and plenty of it. Unfortunately, some of these party goers will drink and drive putting everyone at risk. Not making these decisions will significantly reduce your chances of being involved in a car accident or causing the wrongful death of another. Furthermore, taking a taxi will give you a greater chance of avoiding irresponsible drivers.

From: Injury Board network.

• Texting
• Using a cell phone or smartphone
• Eating and drinking
• Talking to passengers
• Grooming
• Reading, including maps, Using a navigation system
• Watching a video
• Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, did you know?

• In 2009, 5474 people died in crashes that were reported to involve a distracted
  driver and about 448,000 people were injured.
• In the month of June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or
  received in the US, up nearly 50% from June 2009
• Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted

How can you help avoid distracted driving? As the driver, you must commit to focusing on the road. Do not allow yourself to be affected by any of the internal or external distractions. As a passenger, if you see the driver engaging in any unsafe or dangerous behavior, you must speak up. You have the obligation to tell the driver what he or she is doing is unsafe.

When will the Florida Legislature finally do what dozens of other states have done and pass a ban on texting while driving?

For the third year in a row state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, has introduced legislation to ban motorists’ use of cellphones and other electronic communication devices. Detert’s Senate Bill 416 was endorsed last week by the second committee to consider it. Its companion — House Bill 299 — has yet to be considered in committee.

Florida is one of only 15 states that doesn’t ban texting while driving. The National Transportation Safety Board estimates that 28 percent of all crashes in the U.S. are caused by drivers using cellphones or texting. Deaths linked to texting, emailing, messaging and telephoning represented 9.4 percent of the total 32,885 traffic fatalities nationwide in 2010.

In other words, deaths due to use of phones is a growing problem.  If passed, SB 416 and HB 299 would prohibit drivers of any moving vehicle from texting, emailing or sending instant messages. It would make typing or retrieving electronic communications a “secondary offense,” meaning that the driver would be cited — but only if he or she had been pulled over for another offense.

It is not ideal, but it is a start that we believe will save lives and injury.  Given the Legislature’s past refusal to impose limits on drivers distracted by their phones the “secondary offense” provision makes political sense. Doing something to improve safety is better than doing nothing.

(article found in Gainsville Sun, January 18, 2011)

The bill (HB 119) was approved 10-5 by the Florida House Banking and Insurance Subcommittee. It aims to cut down the fraud that is rampant in the state’s personal injury protection, or PIP, coverage.

Gov. Rick Scott later came out forcefully for the measure, saying he had no problem with its emergency room mandate.

PIP fraud “is costing us a significant amount of money every year,” the governor said. Scott helped start Columbia Hospital Corporation, which merged with another company to become the world’s largest health care company.

Requiring crash victims to be treated in emergency rooms is “one approach … You know there’s other approaches to license providers and all sorts of things,” he said. “(But) I think that bill is a good bill and I’m very supportive of it.”

The proposed law requires those hurt in a wreck to go to a hospital emergency room or hospital-owned walk-in clinic within 72 hours for PIP coverage to kick in.

The bill’s critics warned that it would make people suffer long waits in understaffed, overcrowded emergency rooms, and would prevent them from seeing doctors or other health care providers who already know their health condition.

But Rep. Jim Boyd, the Bradenton Republican sponsoring the bill, explained that crash victims should first be treated in hospitals rather than pain clinics, for instance.

As to the 72-hour limit, he said people injured in a crash shouldn’t be allowed to “just wander in (for treatment) at some point in the future.” He was, however, willing to lengthen that treatment limit to somewhere between 72 hours and 14 days.

PIP fraud “is a tax on every car driver in Florida,” he told the subcommittee. “It’s time to put money back in constituents’ pockets.”

Lawmakers passed PIP coverage in 1972 to ensure that anyone hurt in an automobile wreck could quickly get money to treat their injuries.

The legislation provided that a driver’s insurance company pay up to $10,000 to cover medical bills and lost wages after an accident — no matter who is at fault. All Florida drivers are required to carry no-fault insurance.

But over the years, fraudsters have turned Florida into the top state for staged accidents, particularly in the Miami-Dade and Tampa areas. Some racketeers have even turned it into a profit center, reports show.

The Insurance Information Institute predicted that PIP fraud could approach $1 billion in the state this year, and those costs are passed on to customers through increased premiums. In some sections of South Florida and the Tampa Bay area, that can mean hundreds of extra dollars per year.

State investigators recently found a number of Miami-Dade medical clinics that only treat auto-accident victims and bill primarily for massage therapy.

Investigators also found many clinic owners who had no prior health care experience. Some of them said they had opened auto-crash clinics only because they heard they could make a lot of money.

Rep. Ritch Workman, who has his own version of a PIP overhaul bill, questioned whether hospitals would also learn to abuse the system.

“How long is it before hospitals figure out that PIP equals $10,000?” the Melbourne Republican asked Boyd. “Hopefully never,” Boyd answered with a smile.

Democratic Rep. Evan Jenne of Dania Beach, who voted against the bill, asked why lawmakers would want to limit people’s choice of medical professionals.

“It seems a little Romney-ish,” he added, a dig at the GOP presidential candidate.

Dr. Steven Kailes, who represented the Florida College of Emergency Physicians, said his group didn’t believe that every PIP case needed to come into an emergency room, but understood why it was in the bill.

“The evidence is that PIP fraud is not happening in (hospital) emergency rooms,” he told a reporter. “And yes, not every accident victim needs immediate attention, but those that do, get it.”

In public comments, plaintiffs’ lawyers generally opposed the bill and business and insurance interests supported it.

The bill will next be considered by the House Civil Justice subcommittee. Other PIP overhaul measures are pending in the Senate.

By The Associated Press
Published: January 11, 2012