Florida Student Injured in Auto Accident While Traveling in Cuba – Is She Insured?

A University of South Florida student, Barbara Jimenez, was involved in a very serious automobile accident in Cuba. The student was seriously injured. Her cab driver was killed; her boyfriend was also seriously injured, as well as two relatives who also suffered their own bodily injuries.

Through the generosity of a medical transport company, Ms. Jimenez is being returned back to Florida. The question arises for her and almost all travelers – who will ultimately pay for her continuing health care costs, loss of income and any other compensable damages that she might otherwise be entitled to, if the accident had occurred in Florida.

What most Floridians may fail to realize is that your PIP insurance seldom follows you to a foreign jurisdiction, and almost never to a foreign country like Cuba. Most of us need to be aware that we need to acquire health insurance as well as disability insurance, which would insure you for potential injuries and losses when traveling. This may even apply to accidents which occur just over the Florida/Georgia border.

In this case, Ms. Jimenez was in a coma for about five days. And while she can now breathe without a respirator, it is reported that she will require considerable medical attention for her head trauma and other bodily injuries. Ms. Jimenez’s family apparently could not afford to pay for her return to Florida for treatment.

For further information regarding your potential concerns for insurance coverage while traveling, out-of-state and abroad, please feel free to contact the experienced attorneys at the Schulman Law Group, by calling us at (954) 349-3300.