A single law that transformed Florida negligence law overnight
On March 24, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 837, a sweeping tort reform package that took effect immediately. Among its changes: Florida moved from a pure comparative negligence system, where a claimant's recovery was reduced but never eliminated regardless of their own fault percentage, to a modified comparative negligence system with a 51% bar — a fundamental transformation of Florida tort law that happened literally overnight.
The new rule for most claims
Under the new framework, a claimant found more than 50% at fault for their own injuries is barred from recovery entirely. A claimant found 50% or less at fault still recovers a reduced, proportional amount. Before March 24, 2023, a claimant 90% at fault could still recover 10% of their damages; after that date, the same claimant recovers nothing at all.
The genuinely important exception: medical malpractice stayed pure
This is the detail that makes Florida's current system genuinely distinctive: HB 837's shift to modified comparative negligence explicitly does not apply to medical negligence claims under Florida Statutes Chapter 766. Medical malpractice claims in Florida still follow the older pure comparative rule — a claimant 90% at fault in a malpractice case still recovers 10% of their damages, the same as before 2023, even while every other type of negligence claim in the state now runs on the new 51%-bar system.
Two different systems, running in parallel
The practical result is that Florida now operates two genuinely different comparative negligence regimes side by side, depending entirely on the type of claim. A car accident, a slip and fall, or a premises liability claim follows the new 51%-bar rule. A medical malpractice claim follows the old, more forgiving pure comparative rule. Getting this distinction right matters enormously — the difference between the two systems can be the difference between recovering something and recovering nothing at the exact same fault percentage.
Why the stakes shifted so dramatically for defendants and claimants alike
Legal analysts have noted that the shift to a 51% bar gives defendants considerably more leverage: showing a claimant was more than half at fault now eliminates liability entirely, rather than merely reducing it. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Florida for what that shift actually looks like in negotiations.