Volume 10

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 172a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Claim forms — HCFA form which does not contain certification that medical provider has truthfully and accurately completed form, utilize correct codes, and comply with HCFA directions does not put insurer on notice of claim and is not properly payable — Medical provider who accepts assignment of benefits must provide copy of assignment to insurer as condition precedent to suit against insurer and must comply with policy terms and conditions — Countersignature — HCFA form which does not contain signature of insured, but indicates “signature on file,” does not put insurer on notice of loss — Medical provider who knows or should have known that information in HCFA form is false, misleading, incomplete or patently deceptive, or who acts in deliberate ignorance of truth, falsity or completeness of the information cannot recover direct payment from insurer — HCFA form must contain name and address of medical provider who actually rendered medical services to insured, not of billing or factoring company — Medical provider must certify on form that services were performed; “signature of file” notation is legally insufficient certification — Medical provider who has used unregistered fictitious name on HCFA form or assignment of benefits cannot recover benefits — Summary judgment granted in favor of insurer

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 200d

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Dispute between insured and insurer — Insured who assigned PIP benefits to medical provider did not have standing to bring suit against insurer, and medical provider’s attempt to reassign benefits back to insured after insured filed suit did not create standing for insured

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 917a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Provider’s action against insurer dismissed based on provider’s failure to attach to complaint a copy of assignment executed by insured and failure to allege in body of complaint that insurer had assigned benefits to plaintiff

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 947c

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Interest — Error for trial court to deny plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment on statutory interest on hospital bill paid one day late or, at minimum, to refuse to submit matter to jury for resolution — There is no exception for minimal claims to statutory requirement that interest be paid on all overdue PIP payments — Any question regarding plaintiff’s entitlement to interest should have been presented to jury, and trial court did not follow correct procedure in questioning claims adjuster about lateness of payment and existence of assignment outside presence of jury — Further, trial court erred in deciding that there was assignment to hospital without sufficient evidence of assignment where court based its finding on claims adjuster’s testimony that bill indicated existence of assignment but claims adjuster did not know if there had been actual assignment — Copy of assignment filed by insurer in appendix to answer brief is not part of record on appeal — Jury instructions — Trial court’s error in giving contradictory and confusing “concurring cause” instruction is not reversible error where plaintiff presented hybrid instruction to court — Further, verdict form set forth proper statement of law

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 427a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Collection agency that has not provided any medical services but which is assignee of medical provider which holds assignment of PIP benefits from insured can pursue claim for breach of contract against insurer but cannot pursue action under PIP statute — Question certified

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1012a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document which assigns proceeds of any settlement or judgment to medical provider but reserves right of suit to insured is not assignment of benefits — Equitable assignment — Absent ambiguity in purported assignment, affidavits regarding parties’ activities before and after signing of purported assignment which medical provider relies upon to counter unambiguous language are irrelevant — Estoppel — No merit to argument that insurer should be estopped from defending on assignment theory because it has paid other claims to medical provider arising out of same accident/patient and paid claim at issue at reduced rate in absence of showing of detrimental reliance by medical provider on insurer’s payment

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 573a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Error to dismiss amended complaint based on motion to dismiss first complaint for lack of standing because medical provider had right to file amended complaint without prior leave of court, as insurer had not yet filed answer or other responsive pleading, and once provider filed amended complaint legal sufficiency of first complaint as well as motion to dismiss directed to it became moot where amended complaint did not express an intention to save any portion of first complaint — Standing — Assignment — Even if medical provider had not filed amended complaint, dismissal of complaint based on language in purported assignment stating that it is assignment of benefits not assignment of cause of action would be error since such language is internally inconsistent and presents fact issue as to who owns cause of action against insurer — Further, a motion to dismiss for lack of standing directed to amended complaint would have failed because amended complaint sets forth cause of action based on equitable assignment

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 298a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Where medical provider submitted bills directly to and received payment directly from insurer but no formal assignment was introduced to trial court, insured had standing to sue — Attorney’s fees — Insured suffered no loss entitling him to damages, including attorney’s fees, where insured incurred no out-of-pocket expenses for medical provider’s services, and medical provider did not bill insured for balance of any reduced payment or seek interest due on late payment by insurer

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 826b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment of PIP benefits by insured to medical provider and assignment in turn by medical provider to recovery specialists is not precluded by statute or case law

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 826a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment of PIP benefits by insured to medical provider and assignment in turn by medical provider to recovery specialists is not precluded by statute or case law