JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A bill that would increase how much money victims who are harmed by the government could be awarded in Florida has crossed the halfway mark in the first week of this year’s legislative session.
Currently, when a person is injured by the government in Florida, regardless of how badly they were hurt or what a jury awards them, the max payout they can get is $200,000.
Claims involving multiple victims are capped at $300,000.
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Attorney John Phillips is familiar with the state’s sovereign immunity caps, having represented several cases where they came into play.
One involved two girls run over by a lifeguard vehicle in Atlantic Beach.
“When those two girls, both severely injured, are trying to split 200 or $300,000, it’s not justice,” said Phillips.
To go over the caps, victims have to take their case to the legislature with a claims bill.
It’s a process that can take years to navigate.
“You have to find a bill sponsor, you have to keep your attorney with you, you have to hope that a lobbyist will represent you, and then you also have to hope that both chambers of government will be inclined to hear a claims bill,” said State Representative Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota).
Even when a person does succeed in getting a claims bill filed, the odds of success are low.
Last year, of the 21 unique claims bills that were filed, only nine were approved.
This year, McFarland is sponsoring a bill that would raise the caps for the first time in 16 years to allow more Floridians to be made whole, without having to go through the arduous claims bill process.
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Her bill would set max awards to $500,000 for single victims and $1 million for cases involving multiple victims, starting in October of this year.
Those limits would automatically rise again in 2031 to $600,000 and $1.2 million.
“Claims bills will still come before us as a legislature,” said McFarland. ”It just means that more citizens will be able to seek redress against their government.”
Cities and counties have opposed the bill and raised concerns that it will raise their risk exposure and insurance costs.
But Phillips argues the current system fails too many Floridians.
“Because, you know, our clients’ justice shouldn’t be capped just because a government entity does it,” said Phillips. ”A government entity should probably actually protect people more than individual citizens.”
Last year, efforts to raise the sovereign immunity caps stalled in the Senate.
A bill has been filed again in that chamber this year, but it would not raise the caps as high as the House bill proposes.
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