Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Florida (2026)

In Florida, the deadline to file a standard personal injury lawsuit is 2 years from the date of injury for most negligence-based personal injury claims accruing after March 24, 2023.

Governing statute: Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a). Before March 24, 2023, the limitations period was generally 4 years; HB 837 reduced it to 2 years for negligence causes of action accruing after that date.

Medical malpractice claims in Florida have their own deadline: 2 years from the incident or from when the incident was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, but generally no later than 4 years from the incident. If fraud, concealment, or intentional misrepresentation prevented discovery, the period extends 2 years from discovery but generally no later than 7 years; the repose periods do not bar a minor’s claim brought on or before the child’s 8th birthday.

Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(c), § 766.106, and § 766.203. Mandatory pre-suit notice starts a 90-day screening period and tolls the statute of limitations as provided by § 766.106.

Wrongful death claims in Florida: generally 2 years from the date of death. An action against a natural person for an intentional tort resulting in death from acts described in Florida’s murder or manslaughter statutes may be filed at any time. Medical-malpractice wrongful death claims are governed by the medical-malpractice limitations provisions.

Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(c), (5)(e), and (11).

If a government entity is involved, special notice requirements apply in Florida: A tort claim generally must be presented in writing to the appropriate agency within 3 years; a wrongful death claim must be presented within 2 years. A non-medical, non-wrongful-death civil action generally must be filed within 4 years, while medical-malpractice and wrongful-death actions follow the applicable deadlines in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5).

Fla. Stat. § 768.28. Pre-suit notice and denial are conditions precedent; claims are generally deemed denied after 6 months without final disposition, or after 90 days for medical-malpractice and wrongful-death claims. Missing a required deadline can bar the claim.

Florida follows: Modified comparative fault in negligence actions covered by Fla. Stat. § 768.81: a claimant who is more than 50% at fault for their own harm cannot recover; at 50% or less, damages are reduced proportionately. The greater-than-50% bar does not apply to personal injury or wrongful death actions arising from medical negligence under chapter 766. In covered negligence actions, judgment is generally entered against each liable party according to that party’s percentage of fault rather than joint and several liability.

HB 837, effective March 24, 2023, added the greater-than-50% bar, subject to the medical-negligence exception.

Damage caps in Florida: The noneconomic-damages caps in Fla. Stat. § 766.118 for medical-negligence personal injury and wrongful death claims were held unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution. Caveat: This does not establish that every Florida personal injury claim or every category of damages is uncapped; claim-specific statutes may impose separate limits.

For a medical liability claim involving a contingency fee, the Florida Constitution provides that the claimant is entitled to receive at least 70% of the first $250,000 recovered and 90% of amounts above $250,000, exclusive of reasonable and customary costs. The constitutional right may be waived under the procedure prescribed by Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(iii).

Separately, State Attorney General contingency contracts with private counsel are capped on a sliding scale of 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5% across the statutory recovery tiers, with an aggregate fee cap of $50 million.