Florida cut the personal-injury statute of limitations in half. What HB 837 actually changed.
Florida's 2023 tort reform replaced a four-year window with a two-year one — and tightened comparative negligence. What it means for active and future claims.
On March 24, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 837 into law. The bill reshaped the economics of personal-injury litigation in Florida in ways that matter to every accident victim — and to every attorney trying to value a case honestly.
Two changes dominate: the general negligence statute of limitations dropped from four years to two, and Florida moved from pure comparative negligence to modified comparative negligence with a 50% bar.
Two years, not four
Before HB 837, Florida negligence claims had one of the more generous filing windows in the country. A crash victim had four years from the date of the incident to file suit. That window — for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023 — is now two years.
Two years is not generous. Medical treatment for serious injuries often extends well past the first year. Insurance negotiations, independent medical examinations, and settlement discussions regularly consume six to twelve months. Two years leaves very little room for the unexpected.
The 50% bar on comparative negligence
Florida formerly let injured plaintiffs recover even if they were 90% at fault — their recovery was simply reduced by their share of blame. HB 837 ended that. Under the new modified-comparative rule, a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
Medical negligence claims are excluded from the 50% bar. But for auto, premises, and product-liability cases, fault allocation is now a threshold question, not just a reduction question.
Why the deadlines matter more than ever
The 2023 reform pushed more investigation into the front of the case. Evidence degrades — witness memory fades, surveillance footage is overwritten, vehicle repairs eliminate physical evidence. Under the old regime, counsel had breathing room to rebuild a stale case. Under the new one, that luxury is gone.
- Preserve evidence immediately: photos, medical records, pay stubs, repair estimates.
- Send a litigation-hold letter to any corporate defendant within the first 30 days.
- Obtain the traffic-crash report (FLHSMV long form, not the short form) as soon as it is available.
- Complete a first round of medical workup before negotiating — insurers exploit pre-MRI settlements.
If your incident was before March 24, 2023
The four-year statute of limitations still applies. But the nation's data shows deadlines are missed most often in the final 90 days, not the first year. If your case is approaching a limitations bar under either regime, do not wait for the calendar.
