Florida’s 2023 Tort Reform Law Tightens Lawsuit Standards

A tort reform bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier in 2023 reduces the time allowed to file a suit, changes Florida’s comparative negligence rules to reduce potential recoveries in personal injury lawsuits, gives insurers a 90-day grace period for bad faith claims, and makes other significant changes to how personal injury claims are litigated in Florida.

Both the American Bar Association and Insurance Journal call the changes “sweeping.”

“The vast majority of attorneys work very hard to provide sound legal representation for Floridians in these difficult circumstances,” Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said in a statement from the governor’s office. “This legislation strikes the right balance and protects the rights of Floridians who suffer a loss while at the same time safeguarding everyone else against the hidden costs of prolonged litigation.”

We review some of the important changes to Florida’s personal injury and insurance law below.

Reduction in the Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations sets a deadline for taking legal action, such as filing a personal injury lawsuit.

The new law reduces the amount of time allowed to start a personal injury claim in Florida from four years to two years. Under the new law, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of injury, or they will not be allowed.

Florida already had a two-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits.

This makes it more crucial than ever to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after suffering any substantial injury caused by someone else’s negligence. An initial legal consultation with Chiumento Law is always free.

New Modified Comparative Negligence Law

Florida courts have followed a doctrine of “pure comparative negligence” when apportioning jury awards in personal injury claims. The 2023 law changes the standard to what is known as “modified comparative negligence.”

Under a comparative negligence standard, once a jury decides to award compensation to the plaintiff in a personal injury claim, it must determine whether the defendant and plaintiff share responsibility for the injury and assign a percentage of liability to each party. Then, compensation is reduced according to the plaintiff’s share of fault for an injury. For example, if the jury assigned 60% of the fault to the defendant and 40% to the plaintiff, the amount of compensation available to the plaintiff would be reduced by 40 percent.

In a pure comparative negligence system, a plaintiff ruled to be 99% at fault would still receive 1% of the jury award. Under Florida’s new modified comparative negligence system, if a jury finds a plaintiff to be more than 50% at fault for the injury under consideration, they are not eligible to recover damages.

Most U.S. states follow a modified comparative negligence system.

If Chiumento Law represents you at trial in a personal injury claim, we will demand maximum compensation. Your attorney will be prepared to refute any evidence presented by the opposing side of your liability in the accident that injured you.

Limits to Bad Faith Lawsuits Against Insurers

Bad faith claims against insurance carriers generally allege that the insurer has failed to investigate or process a policyholder’s claim in a timely manner or has otherwise failed to fulfill its contractual obligations under the policy.

Florida’s 1982 statute pertaining to bad faith lawsuits against insurers created a statutory cause of action for bad faith, which applied to first- and third-party claims.

Florida’s new statute says it cannot be considered bad faith if an insurer makes a claim determination and pays either the maximum allowed by the policy or the amount demanded if it does so within 90 days of receiving actual notice of a claim accompanied by sufficient evidence to support the amount.

The law further states that an insurer’s negligence is not in itself bad faith. It requires the insured, the claimant, or their respective attorneys “to act in good faith in furnishing information regarding the claim, in making demands of the insurer, in setting deadlines, and in attempting to settle the claim.”

As Insurance Journal suggests, “While (the new law) will be helpful to insurers in defending against bad-faith claims, insurers, and claims handlers must still be prudent in adjusting and handling claims – and have due regard for the insureds’ interests.”

Medical Bills Admissible at Trial

A plaintiff’s past, current, and future medical expenses are at the core of most personal injury claims. But what medical providers initially charge patients and what their health insurer or even the patient ultimately pays is often vastly different.

As the ABA explains, the Legislature believed this discrepancy “could lead to an award of an inflated amount of damages and lead to the perception that plaintiff’s injuries are more severe than they are, which may in turn result in the inflation of other damages, such as pain and suffering or future medical costs.”

The new law requires that evidence offered to establish damages already paid for past medical care must reflect the amount actually paid, regardless of the source of payment.

The statute identifies several types of evidence allowed to demonstrate damages that should be paid to the plaintiff for unpaid past and future medical expenses based on whether the claimant has insurance.

Call Our Palm Coast Accident Attorneys

If you have been hurt in an accident, the intricacies of Florida personal injury and insurance law should not be your concern. What you need is prompt, personalized legal guidance to help you understand the steps available to you. If you have a valid personal injury claim, we want to help you hold the insurance provider financially accountable. The personal injury attorneys of Chiumento Law, PLLC, have been making insurance companies pay injured Florida residents for their losses for more than 40 years. We can help you, too!

We are ready to discuss your personal injury claim in a free, no-obligation legal consultation. Just give us a call or fill out our online contact form today.