Sep 2, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial · Florida · Tort reform · YMYL

The hospital sticker is not the Florida trial number

After March 24, 2023, evidence of past medical expenses in an ordinary injury case is generally the amount paid, not the amount billed. That is Fla. Stat. § 768.0427, not a rumor.

Last checked Sep 2, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.

People keep a folder of hospital bills. The number at the bottom looks like the case. In Florida, after HB 837, it often is not.

Fla. Stat. § 768.0427, effective March 24, 2023, tells a jury how medical expenses come in. For care that has already been paid, the evidence is generally the amount actually paid by or on behalf of the injured person, not the chargemaster sticker. Unpaid bills, letters of protection, and future care have their own listed rules in the same section. Read the subsection. The details matter.

That is one of the three knobs a legislature can turn. Florida also cut the ordinary negligence clock from four years to two, and replaced pure comparative fault with a 51% bar. The billed-versus-paid rule is the knob most people never hear about until late, because it does not fit on a billboard.

If you looked up an old Florida verdict and thought that is what a case like yours is worth, you are looking at a different set of rules. The law on what the jury can hear changed on March 24, 2023. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future case outcomes. This site will not invent a number for your file.

This is a map, not a valuation of your claim, and not legal advice. Accrual, letters of protection, Medicare, and unpaid balances can change which paragraph of § 768.0427 applies. Last checked 2 September 2026 against the 2026 Florida Statutes, § 768.0427, on Online Sunshine.