How HB 837 Changed Florida Personal Injury Cases

 

Key Changes Under HB 837 in Florida

HB 837 was the most consequential rewrite of Florida tort law in a generation. The seven changes below are the ones that matter to a Florida personal injury claimant.

1. The Statute of Limitations Dropped From Four Years to Two

Before HB 837, Florida claimants had four years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. The new law cut that in half.

Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a), the negligence statute of limitations is now two years from the date of the accident. Wrongful death claims also run two years under § 95.11(4)(d). The deadline is hard. Missing it ends your claim regardless of how strong the underlying case is.

Crashes and injuries that occurred before March 24, 2023 keep the prior four-year SOL. Anything after that date is on the two-year clock.

2. Florida Moved to Modified Comparative Negligence With a 51% Bar

Before HB 837, Florida was a pure comparative negligence state. A claimant could recover even at 99% fault, with damages reduced by the percentage assigned.

Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), Florida is now a modified comparative negligence state with a 51% bar. If you are found more than 50% at fault for the accident, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.

On a $250,000 personal injury claim under the new rule:

• 10% fault reduces your recovery to $225,000
• 25% fault reduces it to $187,500
• 50% fault drops it to $125,000 (still recoverable)
• 51% fault drops your recovery to $0 (the bar)

Medical malpractice claims keep pure comparative negligence under a carve-out in § 768.81(6). Every other negligence claim runs under the new 51% bar.

3. One-Way Attorney Fees in Insurance Disputes Repealed

For decades, Florida insureds who prevailed against their own insurance carrier could recover their attorney fees under former Fla. Stat. § 627.428 (general) and § 626.9373 (surplus lines). Carriers who lost paid the insured's lawyer. Insureds who lost paid only their own.

HB 837 repealed those provisions for most policies issued or renewed after March 24, 2023. The change shifts the economic dynamic of first-party insurance disputes (PIP, UM/UIM, homeowners) toward the carrier and away from the insured.

A statutory offer of judgment under Fla. Stat. § 768.79 remains the primary tool for fee-shifting in most personal injury matters.

4. Letters of Protection and Medical Bill Admissibility Caps

Letters of protection (LOPs) are agreements between an injured claimant and a treating provider where the provider holds payment until settlement or judgment in exchange for a lien against the recovery. Under HB 837, codified at Fla. Stat. § 768.0427, LOPs are now subject to mandatory disclosure to the defense, and the structure of the LOP can be examined at trial.

Medical bill admissibility is also capped. Under § 768.0427(2)(b), the amount admissible at trial is generally limited to amounts actually paid by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid (the insured rate), not the amounts billed by the provider. The carrier's underlying paid rate, not the inflated chargemaster rate, becomes the benchmark.

The practical effect: well-documented past medical specials supported by paid receipts hold their value. Pure-LOP-supported bills face higher scrutiny.

5. Bad Faith Reform: The 60-Day Cure Period

Florida statutory bad faith under Fla. Stat. § 624.155 was reformed in two material ways.

First, before filing a bad faith lawsuit, the claimant must file a Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) with the Florida Department of Financial Services and serve it on the insurer. The carrier then has a 60-day cure period to investigate, evaluate, and pay. If the carrier cures within the window by paying the claim or making a reasonable offer, no bad faith action lies.

Second, mere negligence by the carrier is no longer sufficient to establish bad faith. The claimant must show the insurer acted in bad faith under the totality of the circumstances. Comparative bad faith is now allowed: if the claimant or claimant's counsel contributed to the failure to settle, that fault reduces the bad faith recovery.

The reform did not eliminate bad faith liability. It raised the bar for proving it and gave carriers a structured opportunity to fix the problem before exposure.

6. Multifamily Residential Premises Liability Presumption

Under Fla. Stat. § 768.0706, multifamily residential property owners (apartment complexes, condominiums, manufactured home parks) receive a presumption against liability for negligent security claims arising from third-party criminal acts when the property meets the statutory safety standards: secured locks on units and common areas, proper lighting in parking and walkways, security cameras on entry points, and similar measures spelled out in the statute.

Properties that fail to meet the safety standards do not get the presumption. The change does not bar negligent security suits. It raises the prima facie burden on the claimant when the property qualifies.

7. Other Changes Worth Knowing

Additional HB 837 provisions that touch personal injury practice:

• Damage caps interactions. Existing caps on punitive damages under Fla. Stat. § 768.73 remain. HB 837 did not impose a new cap on non-economic damages in standard PI matters.
• Florida no-fault PIP unchanged in core structure. The $10,000 PIP minimum and 14-day medical-treatment requirement under Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a) survived HB 837. Several attempts to repeal Florida no-fault have failed in the legislature.
• Negligent security and transient lodging. Hotels and short-term rentals received parallel presumption treatment under § 768.0706 if they meet equivalent safety standards.
• Discovery and procedural changes. Several procedural amendments adjusted Florida Rules of Civil Procedure timelines downstream of HB 837.

What HB 837 Did Not Change

The two-year statute of limitations applies to most negligence cases, but several Florida claim types run on different clocks:

• Medical malpractice. Two years from the date of discovery (or when discovery should have occurred), with a four-year statute of repose, under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(b). The medical malpractice carve-out also keeps pure comparative negligence rather than 51% bar
• Government claims. Pre-suit notice under Fla. Stat. § 768.28 still required within three years for most government defendants, with separate procedural requirements before suit
• Wrongful death. Two years under § 95.11(4)(d), same as the new general negligence SOL
• Products liability. Four-year SOL with a twelve-year statute of repose under § 95.031
• Property damage only claims. Four years under § 95.11(3)(h)