The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 160 - All About Florida HB 837 Civil Remedies - Florida Tort Reform

The Litigation Psychology Podcast

Sorena Fallin, Partner & Matt Cassman, Associate Attorney from Ragsdale Liggett join Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss the recently signed tort reform bill in Florida, HB 837. The changes apply to causes of action accruing after the effective date of March 24, 2023 and prior to the bill becoming law, reports state that plaintiffs’ firms filed approximately 100,000 lawsuits. Sorena outlines the bill and the impact it will have on defense firms and insurance companies. She shares details about the reduction in the statute of limitations and the change in the law that limits the amount of evidence of past medical bills to what has been paid versus what was billed. The new law changes Florida’s apportionment standard from a pure comparative negligence approach to a modified comparative negligence approach. Also under the new law, if a jury finds that a plaintiff is more than 50% at fault for their own harm, then the plaintiff is barred from recovering any damages from any defendant. This may reduce the volume of litigation for defense firms and may allow more pre-suit resolutions. Sorena and Matt also talk about letters of protection, the overall impact on medical malpractice litigation in Florida, the reaction of the plaintiff's bar, and more. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/9JD