Florida Tort Reform FAQ: How HB 837 Changed Injury Claims After March 2023

House Bill 837 was signed into law on March 24, 2023, and became Chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida. It changed negligence deadlines, fault allocation, attorney fee recovery, bad faith, and the evidence used to prove medical damages. These are the questions that come up most often.

What is the most important change in HB 837?

For most injury victims, the two-year statute of limitations. General negligence claims dropped from a four-year filing deadline to a two-year deadline. The shortened deadline applies to causes of action accruing after the effective date, so claims that accrued before March 24, 2023 are measured against the old rule.

Does the two-year deadline apply to every injury claim?

No. It applies to general negligence. Other claims keep their own deadlines, including medical malpractice, which has its own statutory framework with pre-suit requirements; wrongful death, which has its own statute; product liability; and claims against government entities, which carry much shorter notice requirements measured in months rather than years. Never assume the general deadline applies to your particular claim.

What does "modified comparative negligence" mean?

Before HB 837, Florida used pure comparative negligence. A plaintiff found 90 percent at fault could still recover the remaining 10 percent from a defendant. Now a plaintiff found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm recovers nothing at all. At exactly 50 percent or below, recovery is allowed, but the award is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.

Is the 50 percent bar absolute?

It is not universal. The modified standard does not apply to personal injury or wrongful death actions arising out of medical negligence, which remain under the pure comparative fault framework. The distinction matters in any case where medical care is a component of the claim.

Did HB 837 eliminate the right to a jury trial or reduce damage types?

The bill did not create a cap on compensatory damages in ordinary negligence cases. What it changed is the process for proving them. A new provision, section 768.0427, governs admissibility of evidence to prove medical expenses and requires disclosures relating to letters of protection, which are agreements to pay for treatment from the proceeds of a case. The practical effect is that billed charges and the amounts actually paid are treated differently than they were before, and the evidence a plaintiff must gather to prove medical damages is more specific.

What happened to one-way attorney fees?

They were repealed. Florida had a series of statutes that let a policyholder who prevailed against an insurer recover reasonable attorney fees from the insurer. Those provisions were repealed by HB 837, following an earlier repeal in the property insurance context. A narrow new path exists allowing fees when an insurer makes a total denial of coverage and the insured prevails in a declaratory judgment action.

What happened to contingency fee multipliers?

A multiplier increases a fee award above the standard lodestar calculation. HB 837 provides that a contingency fee multiplier is appropriate only in a rare and exceptional circumstance, adopting the federal standard. In practice, multipliers that were once routine in Florida fee litigation are now the exception rather than the default.

Why does the fee change matter to me if I am not a lawyer?

Fee rules shape which cases get taken and how hard they get pushed. When fees are recoverable from the opposing party, a lawyer can absorb more risk on a thinner case. When they are not, case selection tightens. The direct consequence for injury victims is practical: strong liability proof and well-documented damages matter more than they did before 2023.

What did HB 837 change about bad faith?

Several things. It specifies that negligence alone is not enough to establish bad faith. It imposes a duty of good faith on insureds, claimants, and their representatives when providing information, making demands, and negotiating. It also limits bad faith exposure where an insurer tenders the lesser of the policy limits or the amount demanded within 90 days of receiving actual notice of the claim, and it extends applicable statutes of limitation by 90 days in actions where no qualifying offer is made in that window.

Did the law change how fault is proved at trial?

The comparative fault statute was amended, and the practical effect of the 50 percent bar is that fault allocation is now an all-or-nothing question at the margin. A defendant who can move the plaintiff from 50 to 51 percent wins completely. That raises the stakes of every apportionment argument and makes witness testimony, video, and physical evidence at the scene correspondingly more important.

Does HB 837 change slip and fall or premises liability claims?

HB 837 addressed aspects of premises liability, and a related bill, HB 1165, separately changed the framework for claims involving criminal acts of third parties on premises. Premises cases in Florida are materially different from what they were before 2023, and the analysis depends on the classification of the person injured and the nature of the hazard.

I was injured before March 24, 2023. Which rules apply to me?

The general rule is that the shortened negligence deadline applies to causes of action accruing after the effective date, while the remainder of the bill applies to causes of action filed after the effective date. Insurance contract provisions generally apply to policies issued or renewed after the effective date. These transition rules are fact-specific and are the single most common source of dispute. Confirm which rule governs your claim rather than assuming.

How long do I actually have to file?

Assume two years from the date of injury if your claim is ordinary negligence and the injury occurred after March 24, 2023, and treat that as the outside limit while you confirm. Some claims are shorter. Some claims are longer. Claims against a governmental entity often require a formal notice within a few months, and missing that notice can bar the claim entirely regardless of how much time remains on the statute of limitations.

Does the shortened deadline apply to wrongful death?

Wrongful death actions are governed by their own statute and their own accrual rules. Do not assume the two-year negligence deadline controls a wrongful death claim. Verify it.

Do I still need a lawyer if my case seems straightforward?

That depends on the facts, not on a general rule. What has changed is that the cost of getting a procedural question wrong went up. A missed deadline extinguishes a claim permanently. A fault allocation five points too high eliminates recovery entirely. The cases where self-representation tends to work are the ones with clean liability, clear damages, and no coverage dispute, and those are also the cases where an insurer is least likely to make a serious error.

Where can I verify any of this myself?

Chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida, is the enrolled act. The Florida Senate and Florida House both publish bill summaries and full text. For deadlines that affect your own claim, confirm the current statute text rather than relying on a summary, including this one.

This FAQ is general educational information about Florida law, current as of the sources cited in the text. It is not legal advice, it does not address the facts of any particular claim, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines apply to every claim and vary by claim type.