No. CS/SB 1366
Filed under Legal.
Claims Against the Government; Increasing the statutory limits on the liability of the state and its agencies and subdivisions for tort claims; revising exceptions relating to instituting actions on tort claims against the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions; revising the period after which the failure of certain entities to make a final disposition of a claim shall be deemed a final denial of the claim for certain purposes; revising the statute of limitations for tort claims against the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions and exceptions thereto, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDAnyone hurt by a state agency's negligence must now sue within two years instead of four, and must first notify the agency in writing within 18 months instead of three years.
The most any single claimant can collect from the state rises from $200,000 to $350,000, and the combined payout per incident rises from $300,000 to $500,000.
Survivors of child sexual battery, abused before age 16, can file a claim against the state at any time, with no notice deadline or statute of limitations, unless their claim already expired before October 2026.
If the state does not act on a claim within four months, down from six, it counts as denied and the claimant can proceed to court; the clock also pauses for every defendant while the claim is pending.
AIThe most the state or an agency must pay one claimant rises from $200,000 to $350,000, and the combined cap per incident rises from $300,000 to $500,000. Anything above those amounts still requires a separate act of the Legislature to pay.
AIA lawsuit against the state or an agency for a claim founded on ordinary negligence must now be filed within 2 years of when it accrued, replacing the 4-year deadline that used to cover it.
AIBefore suing, a claimant must give written notice to the agency and, in most cases, the Department of Financial Services within 18 months of the claim accruing. The previous deadline was 3 years.
AIIf the claim arises from sexual battery of a victim who was under 16 at the time of the act, the claimant may give notice and sue at any time, with no notice period or limitations deadline, unless the claim had already expired before October 1, 2026.
AIIf the Department of Financial Services or the responsible agency does not act on a claim within 4 months of filing, it now counts as a final denial, letting the claimant proceed to court. The previous window was 6 months.
AIWhile the agency is deciding whether to deny a claim, the statute of limitations now pauses as to every prospective defendant in the case, not only in claims involving medical malpractice or wrongful death as before.
AIContracts for inmate health care must now cap a private vendor's liability at whatever s. 768.28(5) allows the state generally, replacing the previous fixed cap of $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident.