How Does the Newly Signed House Bill 837 Affect Florida’s Citizens?

Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 837 into law on March 24, 2023, changing the landscape of Florida’s civil litigation and revising Florida tort law in the most significant manner in recent memory.  

The bill was touted as a remedy to protect businesses, property owners, and corporations from paying excessive damages in lawsuits. The impact of these changes and amendments will affect how Floridians can seek relief for the wrongs done to them by others. The new law limits the rights of insureds to sue their insurers for wrongly delaying and improperly adjusting claims. Furthermore, the new law limits the rights of people injured by the negligence of others in important ways that may negatively affect Floridian victims of negligence for years to come.

More than one legislator expressed their support for the bill because they hope it will translate to lower premiums. However, the last three bills passed curtailing the rights of consumers failed to encourage insurance companies to lower their premiums. This bill also does not require insurers to make insurance more affordable to their insureds.

Statute of Limitations Shortened

The new law has lowered the time period in which most negligence claims can be brought by reducing Florida’s statute of limitations for general negligence from four years to two years. In other words, most negligence claims accruing after March 24, 2023, must be brought within two years of the occurrence or the claim will be forever barred.  

If a Plaintiff is More Than Fifty Percent At-Fault, There’s No Recovery

According to HB 837, “any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages”. Accordingly, if a jury determines that the Plaintiff was more than 50 percent responsible for the incident their claim will be barred. Prior to this bill’s passing, a Plaintiff’s damages were reduced in proportion to their percentage of liability. 

Policy and Damage Limits

The bill also provides additional protections when dealing with multiple claims on the same policy. This portion of the bill limits an insurer’s duty to act in good faith on behalf of their insured. Consequently, if two or more parties make a claim on a single incident and those claims exceed the policy’s limits, the claimants are entitled to a prorated share, determined by a court or arbitrator, not to exceed the policy’s limits. 



Letter of Protection Must Be Divulged

In Florida, an individual may form an agreement with a medical provider to receive medical treatment while pursuing their claims for damages against the person who caused an injury. The document provides a mechanism allowing a patient unable to pay their medical expenses caused by the negligence of another to wait until the of a case to pay the doctor for services necessitated by the at-fault party’s negligence. Under HB 837, letters of protection must now be divulged in most lawsuit proceedings where a victim of negligence is seeking recovery of medical bills under a letter of protection.

Pharmaceutical Advertisements Are All Over Social Media. Here’s Why.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has not updated its guidelines for pharmaceutical guidelines since 2014. The FDA’s social media guidance requires that sponsored posts that advertise pharmaceutical products evenly balance risk and benefit information but offer no clear instructions pertaining to private social media communications.

With 35 years of experience in both defense and plaintiffs cases, Brett Panter is also a Certified Florida Supreme Court Mediator. He is available to mediate your most essential matters whether it be in-person or via a virtual method of communication such as Zoom.

To inquire about availability, please contact Brett Panter at (305) 662-6178 or bpanter@panterlaw.com.