Florida (Mar. 24, 2023)
HB 837 (eff. Mar. 24, 2023). Still intact through the 2026 session.
Last checked Sep 2, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
- If you share blame
- If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your recovery is cut by your share of blame.
- Ordinary injury time limit
- 2 years. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a). Tolling, discovery rules, and other claim types can change that. Use the time-limit tool, then have a lawyer confirm the subsection.
- Caps on pain and suffering
- No general noneconomic cap on ordinary injury claims. Medical bills at trial are now tied closer to amounts paid, not amounts billed (HB 837).
What that actually means
In 2023 Florida cut the ordinary negligence clock from four years to two, and switched from pure comparative fault to a 51% bar. That is what a rewrite looks like on a real file.
If you were hurt after March 24, 2023, waiting until the bills settle is how files die. Claims that accrued before the amendment can still sit on the old clock.
HB 837 also changed how medical damages are proved. Fla. Stat. § 768.0427 generally lets the jury hear what was paid, not the hospital sticker, for past care that has already been paid. Letters of protection have their own disclosure rules in the same section.
Repeal efforts in 2025 did not become law. Treat 2023 as the current map until the statute moves. The two-year negligence clock is now numbered § 95.11(5)(a) in the 2026 compilation.