Six major changes in one bill. The negligence SOL, comparative fault, medical damages, bad faith, fees, and the procedural rules. What changed and what it means.
Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104. Last updated .
House Bill 837 was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on March 24, 2023. It is the most significant Florida civil-litigation reform in a generation. The bill cut the negligence statute of limitations from four years to two, switched Florida from pure to modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar, capped recoverable medical damages at amounts actually paid plus reasonable amounts owed, restructured bad-faith claims, and changed fee-shifting rules. Each change matters in nearly every Florida personal injury case.
Section 95.11(4)(a), Florida Statutes, was amended to set a two-year deadline for any cause of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Older claims kept the four-year window. Two years is now the operating assumption for any post-March-2023 negligence case.
Section 768.81(6) was amended to add the 51 percent bar. A plaintiff more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing. At 50 percent or less, recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share. The medical-malpractice carve-out preserves pure comparative fault for malpractice claims. The change reshapes settlement value at the bar.
Section 768.0427, Florida Statutes (new with HB 837), changed how recoverable past medical damages are calculated. Recoverable amounts are limited to the amounts actually paid (by insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or the patient) plus reasonable amounts owed. The pre-HB 837 practice of presenting inflated chargemaster bills to a jury, even when those bills were never paid, is gone.
Defense lawyers welcomed the change. Plaintiff lawyers argue the rule unfairly excludes the negotiating power that comes with billed-but-unpaid amounts. The new framework requires careful damages presentation: actual payments, contractual adjustments, and the difference between billed and paid.
Section 624.155 was modified to restructure first-party bad-faith claims. The Civil Remedy Notice and 60-day cure period remain. New language addresses what counts as bad faith and limits certain "set-up" tactics that plaintiff bad-faith specialists had developed. The contours of the new framework continue to be litigated in the appellate courts.
Florida's longstanding one-way attorney-fee statute for insurance disputes (under section 627.428) was largely eliminated by HB 837 for property and certain auto claims. The change reduces the financial pressure on insurers to settle small disputes by removing the threat of paying the policyholder's fees on top of any judgment.
Some carve-outs preserve fee-shifting in limited contexts. PIP claims under section 627.736 retained certain fee provisions. The patchwork is now harder to navigate.
HB 837 added a presumption against multifamily property owners in negligent-security cases when certain crime-prevention measures are in place. The presumption shifts the burden to the plaintiff in covered cases. Section 768.0701, Florida Statutes (new with HB 837).
Wrongful death damages categories (section 768.21) remain. The Wrongful Death Act framework is unchanged. PIP coverage rules (section 627.736) are unchanged. UM coverage rules (section 627.727) are unchanged. The Florida Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases were updated to reflect the changes; the underlying instructions on damages categories and standards are mostly unchanged.
HB 837 spawned dozens of pending appellate decisions on retroactivity, savings clauses, severability, and the precise reach of each amendment. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth District Courts of Appeal have all issued opinions. Florida Supreme Court review is ongoing on several issues. Confirm current state of the law before pivotal litigation decisions.