TALLAHASSEE -- Courts will clog with lawsuits and emergency rooms will overflow if Gov. Charlie Crist and lawmakers let the state's "no-fault" auto insurance law expire in October, a consumer group warned today.

"Totally eliminating it at this time will be a disservice to Floridians," said veteran advocate Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast. "Simply put, it will create a Wild West scenario."

Dartland urged Crist and lawmakers to add the issue, known as PIP in legislative shorthand for personal injury protection, to a special session next month.

Crist and House and Senate leaders have refused to budge, saying the session should be limited to finding ways to trim $1.5 billion in state spending to deal with a budget crisis.

The law that requires motorists to carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection, and speed treatment to accident victims, is riddled with fraud, Dartland acknowledged.

But he said the concept is worth saving. Without it, most of the 4 million low-income drivers in Florida who carry the bare minimum of coverage will lose their only access to health care, he said.

"Eliminating PIP is going to remove the only safety net they have," he said.

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BY JIM ASH
FLORIDA TODAY CAPITAL BUREAU

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