originally posted by by Brent Cooper , Nathan Adams IV and Tiffany A Roddenberry with Holland & Knight

• Florida has enacted sweeping changes to its negligence liability system by replacing its pure comparative negligence system with a modified comparative negligence system and shortening the statute of limitations in general negligence actions from four to two years.
• The state has amended the standard for bad-faith insurance claims, outlined the evidence that a factfinder calculating medical damages in personal injury or wrongful death actions must consider, and mandated new disclosures about letters of protection used to obtain medical treatment.
• In addition, Florida has limited the use of contingency-fee multipliers when calculating attorneys' fees and modified premises liability law as it relates to negligent security claims.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a far-reaching tort reform bill, numbered CS/CS/HB 837 (HB 837), into law on March 24, 2023. A rush to the courthouse with negligence lawsuits in advance of its effective date on the same day suggests that HB 837 will curtail the overall tort liability confronted by all kinds of companies operating in Florida.

The bill replaces Florida's system of pure comparative negligence with a modified comparative negligence regime, shortens the statute of limitations for general negligence actions from four years to two, amends the standard for bad-faith insurance claims, outlines the evidence that a factfinder calculating medical damages in personal injury or wrongful death actions should consider, requires new disclosures about letters of protection used to obtain medical treatment, limits the use of contingency-fee multipliers when calculating attorneys' fees, and replaces joint and several liability with comparative negligence in certain negligent security cases.

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