Florida Personal Injury Settlement Rules
Florida changed hard in 2023, so the old advice is wrong now. HB 837 (signed March 24, 2023) cut the personal injury filing deadline from 4 years to 2 years for claims accruing after that date, under section 95.11(5)(a). The same bill switched Florida from pure comparative to modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, codified at section 768.81. To an adjuster, that 51% bar is the big one: a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault now recovers nothing, where before HB 837 they would have collected a reduced share. At exactly 50% fault you still recover half. Florida is a no-fault PIP state, so drivers carry at least 10,000 dollars in Personal Injury Protection that pays your own bills first, regardless of fault, under section 627.736. You can step outside no-fault and sue for pain and suffering only if you meet the serious-injury threshold (permanent injury, significant scarring, or death) under section 627.737. Florida's medical-malpractice non-economic caps were struck down as unconstitutional, so there is no enforceable cap, but malpractice claims carry their own presuit notice and expert-opinion requirements. A serious or contested case needs a lawyer licensed in Florida.
Florida rules at a glance
- Statute of limitations
- 2 yr
- Fault rule
- Modified comparative negligence (51% bar)
- No-fault (PIP) state
- Yes
- General damages cap
- No cap on general damages.
- Medical-malpractice cap
- No enforceable medical-malpractice cap (struck down in McCall (2014) and Kalitan (2017)).
The rules an adjuster applies in Florida
Statute of limitations: 2 years (was 4)
HB 837 cut the negligence filing deadline from 4 years to 2 years for claims accruing after March 24, 2023, under section 95.11(5)(a). The official Florida Senate bill page confirms HB 837 "reduces statute of limitations for negligence actions." (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/837) The current statute still lists "an action founded on negligence" in the 2-year column, and the 2026 regular session ended with that unchanged. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/95.11) The accrual date decides which rule applies to you, so a claim that accrued on or before March 24, 2023 may still carry the old 4-year window. If your accident sits anywhere near that boundary, get the date confirmed rather than assumed.
Negligence rule: modified comparative (51% bar)
Since HB 837 a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing, under section 768.81. At 10% fault you keep 90%, at exactly 50% you keep half, and at 51% you are barred. This replaced Florida's old pure comparative rule with the 51% version of modified comparative negligence, and the personal injury calculator applies that bar automatically once you select Florida. (source: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/mass-torts/florida-tort-reform-three-key-changes/) The change reshapes negotiation. Under the old rule an insurer arguing you were 60% at fault was arguing for a 60% discount. Under the new one it is arguing you get nothing, so a single percentage point of disputed fault around the 50 line is now worth the entire claim.
Worked example: a 60,000 dollar claim at 30% fault
On a 60,000 dollar gross claim, a 30% fault finding leaves 70%, so 42,000 dollars. At exactly 50% you still keep half, which is 30,000 dollars. Move one point to 51% and Florida pays nothing at all. Before HB 837, that same 51%-at-fault claimant would have recovered 49% of 60,000 dollars, which is 29,400 dollars, because Florida was then a pure comparative state. So the 2023 reform turned a 29,400 dollar claim into a zero on identical facts, purely as a matter of the accrual date. That single cliff is why Florida fault arguments are now fought harder than the injury valuation. (source: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/mass-torts/florida-tort-reform-three-key-changes/)
Claims against the state, a county or a city: written notice first
Florida requires a written claim to the agency before you can sue a public body. Under section 768.28(6), an action may not be instituted against the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions unless the claimant presents the claim in writing to the appropriate agency within 3 years after the claim accrues, with a shorter 2-year window for wrongful death. The agency's failure to make final disposition within 6 months is deemed a final denial, and that response window shortens to 90 days for medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/768.28) The presentment step is a condition precedent, so a suit filed against a city or a school board without it can be dismissed even though the underlying 2-year negligence deadline has not run.
Discovery and tolling for injured children
Ordinary negligence in Florida runs from accrual, but the medical malpractice rule is expressly a discovery rule. Section 95.11(5)(c) allows an action "within 2 years from the time the incident giving rise to the action occurred or within 2 years from the time the incident is discovered, or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence," subject to a hard 4-year statute of repose from the incident. Where fraud, concealment or intentional misrepresentation prevented discovery, the period extends 2 years forward but never beyond 7 years from the incident. Both the 4-year and 7-year outer limits carry a carve-out: neither bars an action brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child's eighth birthday. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/95.11)
Damage caps: none enforceable
Florida has no general non-economic cap, and its medical-malpractice non-economic caps were struck down as unconstitutional in Estate of McCall v. United States (2014) and North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan (2017). (source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/court-rules-med-mal-caps-unconstitutional/) The old cap text still sits on the books at section 766.118, which is why several law-firm and AI-generated summaries currently circulating claim Florida "reinstated" a med-mal cap. It did not. The statute is dormant, not revived, and no 2025 or 2026 legislation reinstated it. (source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0766/Sections/0766.118.html)
Medical malpractice: presuit notice and a corroborating expert
No cap does not mean no obstacles. Before serving notice, section 766.203(2) requires the claimant to investigate and to submit "a verified written medical expert opinion from a medical expert ... at the time the notice of intent to initiate litigation is mailed," corroborating reasonable grounds for the claim. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/766.203) Section 766.106 then bars filing suit for 90 days after that notice is delivered, during which the defendant's insurer must investigate and respond by rejecting the claim, offering settlement, or offering to arbitrate with liability admitted. The statute of limitations is tolled during the 90-day period. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/766.106) Factor that dead time in before you rely on a medical malpractice calculator estimate.
No-fault: yes (PIP)
Florida is a no-fault PIP state. Drivers carry at least 10,000 dollars in Personal Injury Protection that pays first regardless of fault, under section 627.736. You can sue for pain and suffering only if you meet the serious-injury threshold under section 627.737. Florida is one of the no fault states, and the 50-state table shows which other jurisdictions put a PIP layer in front of a liability claim. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/statutes/2024/627.736) Repeal bills have been filed repeatedly and have not passed, so the 10,000 dollar minimum still stands. In practice PIP applies to reasonable medical expenses and a portion of lost wages up to that limit, which one emergency-room visit and a few follow-ups can exhaust.
State quirk: HB 837 changed how medical bills are proven
Beyond the SOL and fault changes, HB 837 also changed how medical-expense damages are proven, so juries now see amounts actually paid or allowed rather than inflated invoice charges. That reaches further than the bills themselves, because multiplier-based valuation builds pain and suffering off the medical total, so a lower proven total pulls the whole valuation down with it. (source: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/mass-torts/florida-tort-reform-three-key-changes/) A Florida claimant whose provider billed 40,000 dollars but accepted 12,000 dollars is now arguing from the smaller number, and every multiplier applied to it compounds the difference.
What HB 837 did not change
Three things people assume changed in 2023 did not. Economic damages are still uncapped, so medical bills, future care and wage loss are recoverable in full. Medical malpractice non-economic damages are still uncapped, because the McCall and Kalitan decisions rest on the state constitution rather than on a statute the legislature can simply re-enact. (source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/court-rules-med-mal-caps-unconstitutional/) And the PIP system survived: repeal bills died again in 2026, so the 10,000 dollar first-party layer and the serious-injury threshold both remain. (source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/statutes/2024/627.736)
Estimate a Florida settlement
Preset to Florida rules. The modified comparative negligence (51% bar) rule is applied automatically.
Negotiation range
Low, likely, highWhat the settlement is made of
- Economic damages kept$9,70029%
- Pain and suffering kept$24,25071%
- Removed by fault and caps$00%
The ring is the gross claim of $33,950. The two kept arcs sum to the net figure in the centre, and the red arc is what comparative fault and statutory caps take away.
Settlement breakdown
Gross $33,950| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | $6,500 | 19.1% |
| Lost wages | $3,200 | 9.4% |
| Economic damages | $9,700 | 28.6% |
| Pain and suffering (2.5x economic) | $24,250 | 71.4% |
| Comparative-fault reduction (0%) | $0 | 0.0% |
| Likely settlement | $33,950 | 100.0% |
Share is measured against the gross claim of $33,950. Method: multiplier method, industry standard. Estimate for negotiation, not legal advice.
Rules applied
FL- Negligence rule
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
- Statute of limitations
- 2 years
- Non-economic cap
- None modeled
- Method
- Multiplier, 2.5x
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
Florida settlement questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Florida now?
2 years for claims accruing after March 24, 2023, cut from the old 4 years by HB 837. The shorter clock catches people who relied on the old deadline, so confirm the date your claim accrued.
Does partial fault bar my Florida settlement?
It can. Since HB 837, a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. At exactly 50% you still keep half. Below 50% your award is reduced by your fault share.
What does a 51% fault finding cost me in Florida?
Everything. On a 60,000 dollar claim, 50% fault leaves you 30,000 dollars and 51% leaves you nothing. Under Florida's pre-2023 pure comparative rule the same 51%-at-fault claimant would have recovered 29,400 dollars.
How do I sue a Florida city, county or state agency?
You must first present the claim in writing to the appropriate agency, generally within 3 years of accrual and 2 years for wrongful death, under section 768.28(6). The agency has 6 months to respond, or 90 days for malpractice and wrongful death, and silence counts as a denial.
Is Florida a no-fault state?
Yes. Florida requires at least 10,000 dollars in Personal Injury Protection that pays your own bills regardless of fault. To sue for pain and suffering you must meet the serious-injury threshold.
Is there a cap on medical-malpractice pain-and-suffering in Florida?
No enforceable cap. Florida's med-mal non-economic caps were struck down as unconstitutional in McCall (2014) and Kalitan (2017), so a jury award is not capped by statute. Claims that Florida reinstated a cap are wrong: the old text at section 766.118 remains dormant.
What has to happen before I can file a Florida malpractice suit?
A presuit investigation, a verified written medical expert opinion corroborating the claim, and a notice of intent to initiate litigation. You then cannot file for 90 days while the defendant investigates. The limitation period is tolled during that window.
How long does a child have to bring a Florida malpractice claim?
Section 95.11 sets a 4-year repose and a 7-year outer limit for concealment cases, but neither bars an action brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child's eighth birthday.
About the editorial team
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.
Sources
- Florida Senate HB 837 bill page
- Fla. Stat. 95.11 (limitations, negligence and malpractice)
- ABA: Florida tort reform changes
- Fla. Stat. 768.28 (claims against the state and subdivisions)
- Fla. Stat. 766.106 (presuit notice and 90-day screening)
- Fla. Stat. 766.203 (corroborating expert opinion)
- Fla. Stat. 627.736 (PIP / no-fault)
- Fla. Stat. 766.118 (dormant med-mal cap text)
- Florida Bar: med-mal caps unconstitutional