Volume 14

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 919a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Dispute between insured and insurer — Error to enter summary judgment finding insured executed valid assignment of benefits to medical provider where assignment is missing critical terms, including name of provider and insurer, and provider testified that he did not consider assignment complete without missing terms

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1170a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — “Consent to Treatment and Authorizations Guarantee” is assignment of benefits — Pre-suit request for copy of declarations page, PIP log or information normally compiled therein, and policy must be honored by insurer — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — Priority of payments — Hospital lien not recorded within ten days of insured’s discharge from hospital was not timely recorded and should not have taken priority over medical provider’s bills which were received by insurer prior to receipt of actual hospital bill

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 485b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Assignment not specifically naming doctors that treated insured and filed claim, but naming hospital where treatment was provided, is legally sufficient

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 187b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Language of assignment clearly and unambiguously shows intention of insured to assign PIP benefits to medical provider in exchange for medical services rendered — Provider’s provision of assignment to insured for his signature, treatment of insured, submission of bills to insurer, and filing of suit against insurer indicates intention of provider to accept assignment of benefits — Assignment is valid despite absence of provider’s signature and date of execution — Insurer may lack standing to attack formation of assignment to which it was not party

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 171a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — MRI — Allowable amount — Adjustment to Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in South Region — Calculation — CPI calculation must be made annually and cumulatively, reflecting combined prior years’ increases from 2001 through August 1 of year MRI was performed — Correct CPI calculation reveals insurer paid medical provider less than allowable amount for MRI — No merit to argument that no CPI adjustment for 2002 was due because 2002 statute erroneously referred to nonexistent CPI for State of Florida where 2003 amendment clarified that payments were to be adjusted to CPI for south region — No merit to arguments that assignment from insured is not valid and that provider failed to comply with disclosure and acknowledgment form and demand letter requirements

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 170a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — MRI — Allowable amount — Adjustment to Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in South Region — Calculation — CPI calculation must be made annually and cumulatively, reflecting combined prior years’ increases from 2001 through August 1 of year MRI was performed — Correct CPI calculation reveals insurer paid medical provider less than allowable amount for MRI — No merit to argument that no CPI adjustment for 2002 was due because 2002 statute erroneously referred to nonexistent CPI for State of Florida where 2003 amendment clarified that payments were to be adjusted to CPI for south region — No merit to arguments that assignment from insured is not valid and that provider failed to comply with disclosure and acknowledgment form and demand letter requirements

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1043b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Equitable — Where at time of emergency treatment insured was unable to sign Consent to Treatment and Authorizations Guarantee form because of injury to arm, and insured filed affidavit indicating his intention to assign benefits, trial court erred in failing to find equitable assignment

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1042a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Summary judgment — Opposing affidavit — Error to refuse to consider opposing affidavit because it was not in court file because rule only requires that affidavit be served on opposing counsel two business days before hearing, and this was done — Standing — Assignment — Document is not assignment or equitable assignment where document states that insured is still responsible for charges, and insured asserted in affidavit that he did not authorize medical provider to file suit against insurer and that he made payments to provider — Error to enter summary judgment in favor of provider who was not assignee of insured on count for declaratory relief regarding insurer’s failure to provide declarations page, policy and PIP log to provider presuit

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 877b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Dispute between insured and insurer — Where insured assigned PIP benefits to medical provider in assignment providing that it could only be revoked by written consent of provider, alleged revocation not signed by provider is invalid, and insured lacks standing to bring suit against insurer

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 389b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Revocation — Where insured assigned benefits to one of medical providers whose bills were subject of insured’s suit against insurer and did not execute revocation of assignment until after filing suit, insured lacked standing to bring claim for that provider’s services — Partial summary judgment granted in favor of insurer