changes under Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, that went into effect on March 24, 2023. Regardless of the date of loss, if the lawsuit for a claim was filed after March 24, 2023, it could be subject to the new law depending on what type of claim it is. The comparative negligence rule means that the Plaintiff’s damages could be decreased if they are found to have contributed to their damages by their own negligence. Prior to Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, Florida followed the pure comparative fault doctrine. That is, even if a Plaintiff was mostly at-fault for their injuries, the damages awarded to them would be reduced proportionally based on the percentage of fault assigned to the Plaintiff. Since Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, Florida now follows a “modified comparative negligence” system. This means that if the Plaintiff is found to be more than 50% at fault for the car accident, for example, then they will not be able to recover any damages against the Defendant. What Are the Most Important Changes Under Florida’s 2023 Tort Reform Law Affecting Personal Injury Cases? On March 24, 2023, Florida’s New Tort Reform Law went into effect and made significant changes to the existing laws that applied to many different types of personal injury claims. We will not discuss each and every change in this article, but just highlight a few of the most significant changes. Some of these changes have been explained in greater detail in some of the other areas of this article, but here are some of the more significant changes under Florida’s New Tort Reform Law: First is the change from pure comparative negligence to modified comparative negligence standard. That means prior to this new law going into effect, Plaintiffs were able to recover for damages against the other party, even if they contributed to their injuries with their own negligence, under the old law, for example, if damages were found to be $100,000.00, but the Plaintiff was found to be 60% atfault, they would recover $40,000.00 (the total damages reduced proportionately by Plaintiff’s assigned fault percentage). Under the new law, if the Plaintiff in that same example was found to be 60% at fault, they would not be able to recover anything. This has been applied to almost all negligence cases except for medical malpractice cases. Second, prior to the passing of Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, a Plaintiff had four years from the date of loss in standard, non-fatal negligence cases. The new law has shortened that from four years to two years. If a car accident occurred prior to March 24, 2023, that case would still have the 4-year pre-tort reform statute of limitations, but other tort reform changes, such as the modified comparative negligence standard, would still apply to those cases if the lawsuit was filed after March 24, 2023. Third, the admissibility of how a Plaintiff can present evidence the amount of their medical bills was significantly changed under Florida’s New Tort Reform Law. Prior to the new law, Plaintiffs were allowed to present the full amount of charged medical expenses to a jury. Since the new law was passed, Plaintiff’s are limited in what amounts they can present for their past and future medical expenses. Specifically, if the Plaintiff has 16 LAWYER MONTHLY DECEMBER 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz