Hurt by someone else's carelessness in Northeast Florida? You can talk to Graham today. The call is free, and the phone rings to him, not a call center.
Solo practice in Orange Park. Of Counsel to Soud Law Firm. Florida Bar No. 39104. Georgia Bar No. 881027. Free consultation.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104. Last updated .
Graham W. Syfert represents people injured by the carelessness of others in Northeast Florida. He handles car wrecks, slip and falls, motorcycle and truck crashes, pedestrian injuries, premises liability, wrongful death, and product defects. His office sits at 575 Wells Road, Orange Park. The phone rings to Graham, not a call center.
Florida personal injury claims have a two-year statute of limitations under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes, for any cause of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Florida is a modified comparative negligence state with a more-than-50-percent bar under section 768.81. PIP and no-fault live in section 627.736, and you must see a doctor within 14 days for any PIP benefits at all.
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Section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes, sets the deadline to file most personal injury lawsuits in Florida. House Bill 837, signed in March 2023, cut that deadline from four years to two. The shorter clock applies to causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Older claims kept the four-year window if they accrued before that date.
"An action founded on negligence" must be commenced within two years. Section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes (2023). Read the full text.
Two years sounds like plenty of time. It is not. By the time medical treatment ends, settlement talks fail, and a complaint is drafted and served, months disappear. Wait too long and the claim dies. The defense lawyer will not remind you. Assume the shorter deadline and file early.
Wrongful death is also two years under section 95.11(5)(e), measured from the date of death, not the date of the underlying injury. Medical malpractice has its own clock under section 95.11(5)(c): two years from discovery, with a four-year statute of repose, except in fraud or concealment cases.
Before HB 837, Florida was a pure comparative negligence state. A plaintiff 90 percent at fault could still recover 10 percent of damages. That changed on March 24, 2023. Florida is now a modified comparative negligence state with a more-than-50-percent bar under section 768.81, Florida Statutes.
"In a negligence action, the contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages... however, any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages." Section 768.81(6), Florida Statutes (2023). Read the full text.
The practical impact: at 50 percent or less, the plaintiff recovers, reduced by their percentage of fault. Just past an even split, the plaintiff recovers nothing. Defense lawyers and adjusters fight hard at the 50-50 line because every percentage point matters.
Medical negligence claims are excluded from the more-than-50-percent bar. Those claims still apply pure comparative fault. Section 768.81(6).
Florida is a no-fault state. Personal Injury Protection coverage under section 627.736, Florida Statutes, pays first, regardless of who caused the wreck. PIP covers 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages, up to $10,000 total.
The 14-day rule is the trap. PIP pays nothing for medical care unless treatment begins within 14 days of the crash. Section 627.736(1)(a). Wait two weeks and your own insurance shuts the door.
The $10,000 cap drops to $2,500 if the treating provider does not certify an "emergency medical condition." Section 627.736(1)(a)(3). Make sure the doctor uses the magic words. Sprains, strains, and back injuries can still qualify if documented properly.
PIP is not the end of the recovery. After PIP exhausts, the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability coverage and your own UM/UIM coverage take over.
Roughly one in five Florida drivers has no insurance. Many more carry only the state minimums. UM and UIM coverage under section 627.727, Florida Statutes, stands in for the missing or thin liability policy. It pays your damages when the other side cannot.
Florida insurers must offer UM coverage in every auto policy. Drivers can reject it, but only in writing on a form approved by the state. Most people who lack UM never made a knowing decision; they signed a stack of papers and trusted the agent. Check your declarations page tonight.
UM also stacks under section 627.727(9) unless rejected in writing. Stacked UM multiplies coverage by the number of vehicles on the policy. The premium difference is small. The recovery difference can be enormous.
Florida personal injury plaintiffs may recover past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, lost earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement. Spouses may recover loss of consortium. Children may recover loss of parental companionship in some wrongful death cases.
The collateral source rule under section 768.76, Florida Statutes, requires the court to set off certain benefits, like health insurance payments, against the verdict. Some collateral sources, like Medicare, Medicaid, and certain ERISA plans, carry liens that must be repaid from any recovery. A lawyer who does not negotiate those liens leaves money on the table.
HB 837 also changed how medical damages are calculated at trial. Recoverable past medical bills are now limited to amounts actually paid plus reasonable amounts owed, not the inflated chargemaster rate billed before insurance adjustments.
Punitive damages are available under section 768.72, but only after a separate evidentiary showing of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Section 768.73 caps punitives at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with limited exceptions.
Six steps. Each one protects the case.
The first offer is rarely the last offer. Adjusters use software and policy reserves to anchor the negotiation low. The factors that move the number up are the same ones a jury would consider: the severity of the injury, the permanence, the medical bills, the wage loss, the strength of liability, the venue, and the credibility of the plaintiff and the witnesses.
What does not move the number: how much the plaintiff thinks the case is worth. What does: documented future medical care, an honest treating physician, photographs of property damage, and a lawyer who has tried similar cases to verdict.
Florida Bar Rule 4-7.13 prevents lawyers from promising specific dollar outcomes. Past results do not guarantee future ones. What we promise is that we will work the case the way it should be worked.
Find what happened to you below. Each one is a real kind of case Graham takes. Tap through to read more, or just call.
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Two years for negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes. Older claims kept the four-year window. Wrongful death is two years from the date of death.
Florida is a modified comparative negligence state under section 768.81. If a plaintiff is more than 50 percent at fault, the plaintiff recovers nothing. At 50 percent or less, recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.
Personal Injury Protection under section 627.736 pays 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages, up to $10,000. You must seek treatment within 14 days. The cap drops to $2,500 if the condition is not an emergency medical condition.
No. You owe a statement to your own insurer under your policy's cooperation clause. You owe nothing to the other driver's insurer. Decline politely and refer them to your lawyer.
Yes, if you are 50 percent or less at fault. Damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. Section 768.81, Florida Statutes.
UM/UIM under section 627.727 pays your damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. Florida insurers must offer it; you can reject only in writing. Roughly one in five Florida drivers is uninsured. Carry UM.
Leaving the scene of a crash with injury is a felony under section 316.027. Your UM coverage stands in for the missing driver. File a police report immediately.
Standard contingency: 33-1/3 percent of the recovery before suit, 40 percent after suit is filed and through trial, with stepped-down percentages on amounts above $1 million. No fee unless we recover.
Past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, lost earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life. Loss of consortium for the spouse. Punitive damages in narrow circumstances.
Yes. Adrenaline masks pain. Soft-tissue injuries surface later. PIP requires treatment within 14 days. See a doctor within the first 24 to 72 hours.
Section 768.76 requires the court to set off certain collateral source benefits against the verdict. Some collateral sources, like Medicare and Medicaid, carry liens that must be repaid from any recovery.
Soft-tissue cases that settle pre-suit can resolve in 4 to 9 months. Cases requiring surgery or that go into litigation in Duval Circuit Court typically take 12 to 24 months.
Most cases settle before trial. Settlement may happen pre-suit, after a demand letter, after mediation, or on the courthouse steps. We prepare every case as if it will be tried. That preparation drives settlement value.
A Letter of Protection lets you receive medical treatment now and have the bill paid from settlement proceeds later. Useful when PIP is exhausted and you have no health insurance.
House Bill 837 took effect March 24, 2023. It cut the negligence statute of limitations from four years to two, switched Florida from pure to modified comparative negligence with a more-than-50-percent bar, capped recoverable medical damages, and changed bad-faith and fee-shifting rules.
Yes, but narrowly. Section 768.72 requires a separate evidentiary showing of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Section 768.73 caps punitives at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with exceptions.
Economic damages are out-of-pocket: medical bills, lost wages, property damage. Non-economic damages compensate pain, mental anguish, scarring, and loss of enjoyment of life. Florida does not cap non-economic damages in most personal injury cases after the 2017 Florida Supreme Court decision in North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan.
Graham W. Syfert, Esq., P.A. is at 575 Wells Road, Orange Park, FL 32073. Of Counsel to Soud Law Firm. Free consultation: 904-383-7448.
The consultation is free. There is no fee unless we recover money for you. If you have been hurt and you are not sure what to do next, pick up the phone.
Call: 904-383-7448575 Wells Road, Orange Park, FL 32073
Serving Northeast Florida and South Georgia