Florida Tort Reform 2023
The Florida Tort Reform bill that passed in March 23, 2023 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that makes a number of changes to the state's tort laws. The bill's main goal is to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits and to make it more difficult for plaintiffs to recover damages.
The bill does a number of things to achieve these goals, including:
Limiting attorney fees. The bill caps attorney fees in certain types of cases, such as car accident cases and medical malpractice cases. This is intended to make it less expensive for defendants to defend themselves against lawsuits.
Thus House Bill 837 would still allow one-way attorney fees in claims pertaining to insurance company coverage refusal.
Making it more difficult to recover damages. The bill raises the standard of proof for plaintiffs in certain types of cases. This means that plaintiffs will have to provide more evidence to prove that they were harmed by the defendant's actions.
Providing immunity for certain types of defendants. The bill provides immunity for businesses and other defendants in certain types of cases, such as cases involving car accidents. This means that these defendants cannot be held liable for damages, even if they were at fault.
Change from Comparative Negligence. A change from pure to modified comparative negligence. In Florida, the predominant legal principle that is applied when determining reparation for an incident caused by another person is comparative negligence. This means that your compensation from a defendant may be altered based on how much responsibility or fault it is considered you held in the accident. For instance, if one defendant is perceived 60% responsible and a plaintiff 40%, then only 60% compensation will be granted instead of receiving full restitution.
Comparative negligence has two separate types. Florida currently uses pure comparative negligence.
-A key feature of the bill is to modify the current legal system to only allow for damage recovery from negligent acts if the victim is less than 50% responsible for the accidental situation.
Change in the Statute of Limitations. Prior to House Bill 837, the statute of limitations to bring a negligence lawsuit was four (4) years, after the passing of the House Bill 837 the statute of limitations to bring a negligence lawsuit is two (2) years.
Change in Medical Treatment. This House Bill 837 will undoubtedly affect the future of car accident cases. The market for medical treatment is based on either Medicare/Medicaid; Workers Compensation, Insurance Company coverage rates, and private pay. The proposed House Bill 837 will affect the private pay market. This likely means a reduce services and lower quality of treatment. If an uninsured individual requires medical treatment, the House Bill 837 restricts reimbursements at the Medicare rate. If a Medicare rate is unavailable, 140% of Medicaid’s rate will be used for reimbursement. This change to current law is profoundly concerning for uninsured Floridians. While the proposed law would require reimbursement at Medicare and Medicaid rates, it does not provide a provision requiring doctors to use those rates for billing.
Limits the amount of damages that can be awarded in non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are damages that are awarded for pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of companionship. The bill limits the amount of non-economic damages that can be awarded to $500,000.
Requires plaintiffs to file a notice of intent to file a lawsuit within 180 days of the date of the injury. This is intended to give defendants more time to investigate claims and to prevent plaintiffs from filing lawsuits late.
Requires plaintiffs to provide a medical certificate from a doctor before they can file a lawsuit. This is intended to ensure that plaintiffs have actually been injured before they file a lawsuit.The bill has been controversial, with some arguing that it will make it more difficult for people who have been injured to get justice. Others argue that the bill is necessary to protect businesses and other defendants from frivolous lawsuits.
The bill is still being implemented, and it is too early to say what its long-term impact will be. However, it is clear that the bill is a major change to the state's tort laws. It is also clear that this new legislation unilaterally benefits the insurance companies.
See more information on the House Bill 837 at the link below:
https://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=77575
