Flashy billboard advertisements for large law firms containing seven-figure personal injury wins are commonplace in the state of Florida. The seven-figure ($1 million or above) verdicts are less common than the average consumer might think, and are typically reserved for catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, and permanent disfigurement.[i] Trials can be lengthy, difficult, painful, and even delay physical recovery,[ii] with the average personal injury case taking anywhere between twelve and eighteen months to resolve, some attorneys report even longer timelines.[iii] If the same permanent disfigurement, wrongful death, or catastrophic injuries are caused by an actor of the State of Florida, those pursuing tort claims against the government entity face an additional roadblock—either accept Florida’s $200,000 sovereign immunity damage cap,[iv] or file a claim bill for the rest of their verdict.
Sovereign immunity has roots in the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as English Common Law. In feudal England, it was illogical and illegal to sue the King, or the “sovereign” because “there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the law on which the right depends.”[v] States may choose whether to “waive sovereign immunity,” for torts committed by the state and its agents while acting within the scope of the employee’s office or employment, and many states have—Florida included. Florida Statute § 768.28 “hereby waives sovereign immunity for liability for torts, but only to the extent specified in this act,” making recovery possible but subject to limitations.[vi] These limitations may be for the type of case which can be brought, or in the form of “caps” on the award of damages an individual can recover when suing the state or its agents.
In Florida, the current $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident caps have not changed since 2010.[vii] Few states offer no waiver of immunity at all, but on the other end of the spectrum, most states offer a greater waiver than Florida, with some having no cap on damages at all. State immunity waivers are usually enacted under a “state tort claims act.” Georgia, a neighboring state with slightly lower average cost of living, offers $1 million per person and $3 million per incident, more than five times what Florida offers under a nearly identically drafted statute.[viii]
Where state actors are immune from suit, Florida offers the option to file a claim bill, which is “a bill that compensates a particular individual or entity for injuries or losses occasioned by the negligence or error of a public officer or agency.”[ix] When damages exceed the $200,000 sovereign immunity waiver, this may appear to be an obvious next step in the process. These damages have already been litigated to the full extent, and a jury has already awarded excess of $200,000. Why, then, are claims bills criticized for “making beggars out of victims”?[x]
Claim bills require further attorneys fees, hiring of lobbyists to persuade the legislature to pass the bill, and majority approval in both chambers of the Legislature. The defense and insurance lobbyists often fiercely oppose the passing of claim bills. Former Senate President Don Gaetz, who fought and stalled every claim bill that reached the Senate floor from 2013 to 2014, stated that whether bills passed was based “not on their substance, but the effectiveness of the lobbyists behind them.”[xi] Even after an injured plaintiff has been awarded damages by a jury based on competent and substantial evidence at the conclusion of a fair trial, recovery can be delayed by years, or entirely blocked if the bill is voted down by the Legislature. As seen in the case of a deceased Florida State University student and football player Devaughn Darling, families can wait over fifteen years to recover for their losses.[xii] Devaughn’s family held press conferences, met with legislators, garnered support, and still waited until 2017 to recover for their loved one’s untimely death in 2001.[xiii] The claim bill method puts individual plaintiffs with less lobbying power and financial means at a disadvantage compared to the defendants, which are frequently sheriff’s offices, hospitals, universities, and the Florida Department of Children and Families—organizations already wielding significant power over the state.
During the 2025 Legislative Session, nine claim bills were passed, totaling $27 million dollars to be paid to people injured by a government entity.[xiv] This figure appears high, however, there were twenty total claim bills up for vote in 2025, amounting to a 45% passage rate.[xv] Some years, such as 2013 and 2014, no claims bills were passed at all.[xvi] Today, there are twelve claim bills currently pending before the Florida Legislature.[xvii]
One bill up for vote during the 2026 Legislative Session is the 2016 case against Broward Sheriff’s Office (“BSO”) of the wrongful death of Christopher Nevarez’s daughter, known by pseudonym “M.N.” who tragically died due to BSO’s negligence in failing to protect her during an open abuse investigation against the biological mother. After filing a fourth amended complaint, the plaintiff prevailed in a jury trial and was awarded $4.5 million dollars, of which $2.61 million was attributed to BSO. To date, Nevarez has only received $200,000.[xviii] At least three other claim bills contain similar narratives of the state failing to protect children under their supervision from abuse or death, and still others involve wrongful death of adults at the hands of police officers. The causes of action for these twelve cases all originate sometime between 2001 and 2020, and the surviving plaintiffs have yet to be paid their full award.
Sarasota Republican Representative Fiona McFarland recently proposed certain amendments to Florida Statute § 768.28 governing sovereign immunity in House Bill 145 (“HB 145”), which would protect citizens and bolster government accountability.[xix] The proposals found in HB 145 may eliminate the need for some claimants to seek claim bills at all. It would allow the state or subdivisions of the state to agree on their own terms to settle claims above the statutory cap without first seeking legislative approval, that is, without a claim bill. In addition, it expressly prohibits insurance companies conditioning liability coverage on the enactment of a claim bill.[xx] Most impactful for claimants is the increase of the sovereign immunity waiver amount to $500,000 per person and $1 million per incident in 2026, to then increase to $600,000 per person and $1.2 million in 2031.[xxi]
HB 145 was met with 104-7 approval in the House on January 15th, 2026, and now must be passed by a majority vote in the Senate.[xxii] A similar bill was passed by the House in 2025 but stalled by the Senate and could not become law.[xxiii] A brief comparison with other states’ sovereign immunity caps shows that Florida’s current cap is outdated,[xxiv] and it is time for change. The State has already been found liable by a jury in most cases, the issue is the distribution method. HB 145 would restore fairness and dignity for injured Floridians and streamline the award process.
[i] See Michael Feiner, How Much is the Average Personal Injury Settlement?, Steinger, Greene & Feiner (May 30, 2025), https://www.injurylawyers.com/blog/average-personal-injury-settlement/ [https://perma.cc/GB7X-4LAR].
[ii] See The Effects of Stress on Your Recovery After an Injury or Surgery, ACE Physical Therapy (Mar. 30, 2023), https://www.ace-pt.org/effects-stress-recovery-injury-surgery [https://perma.cc/9Z44-GUCX].
[iii] See How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take in Florida?, Bello Law, https://myprivateattorney.com/how-long-does-a-personal-injury-case-take-in-florida/ [https://perma.cc/368W-MFWN] (last visited Mar. 4, 2026) (reporting between twelve and eighteen month resolution time); see also How Long Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Take in Florida?, Rosen Injury Law (Oct. 30, 2024), https://roseninjury.com/personal-injury-lawsuit-florida/ (reporting up to thirty six months to resolve personal injury cases in Florida).
[iv] Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5).
[v] Kawananakoa v. Polyblank, 205 U.S. 349, 353 (1907).
[vi] Fla. Stat. § 768.28(1).
[vii] See Jesse Mendoza, House Approves Fiona McFarland’s Proposal to Raise Sovereign Immunity Caps, Florida Politics (Jan. 15, 2026), https://floridapolitics.com/archives/774121-house-approves-fiona-mcfarlands-proposal-to-raise-sovereign-immunity-caps/ [https://perma.cc/9P37-H5PG].
[viii] See State Sovereign Immunity and Tort Liability in All 50 States, Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer (Feb. 15, 2023), https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/STATE-SOVEREIGN-IMMUNITY-AND-TORT-LIABILITY-CHART-00219770x9EBBF.pdf [https://perma.cc/4KFB-FASB].
[ix] See Fla. Senate Leg. Claim Bill Manual (Nov. 2024), https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/ADMINISTRATIVEPUBLICATIONS/leg-claim-manual.pdf [https://perma.cc/UG2W-VJU8].
[x] Logan Grutchfield, Making Beggars Out of Victims, How Florida’s Claim Bill System Leaves Claimants to Languish, 35 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol. 1, 1 (2024).
[xi] See Gary Fineout, Behind Florida’s Payments to Victims, Links to Lobbyists, AP News (June 4, 2018), https://apnews.com/general-news-f0c5d7bcf4a64382aceb663b7834d6b9 [https://perma.cc/KA8M-DFMZ].
[xii] See Tia Mitchell, Devaughn Darling’s Family Still Awaits $1.8 Million from State 15 Years After FSU Player’s Death, Jacksonville.com (Feb. 2, 2016), https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sports/college/fsu-seminoles/2016/02/02/devaughn-darlings-family-still-awaits-18/15698229007/ [https://perma.cc/26CC-VF9Z].
[xiii] See Jim Turner, Gov. Scott Approves Payments in FSU Player’s Death, Tallahassee Democrat (June 5, 2017), https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/06/05/gov-scott-approves-payments-fsu-players-death/370089001/ [https://perma.cc/WSF9-WF4W].
[xiv] See Christine Sexton, Florida Legislature OKs $27M in Claims Bill Payments, Fla. Phoenix (May 12, 2025), https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/05/12/florida-legislature-oks-27m-in-claims-bill-payments/ [https://perma.cc/5RD4-H3TL].
[xv] See Bill List – 2025 Session, Fla. Senate., https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bills/2025 [https://perma.cc/HHZ7-QDKG] (last visited Mar. 4, 2026).
[xvi] See Fineout, supra note xi.
[xvii] See Bills Pending Florida Senate Special Master on Claim Bills Committee, LegiScan, https://legiscan.com/FL/pending/senate-special-master-on-claim-bills-committee/id/2442?status=introduced [https://perma.cc/P78W-GUND] (last visited Mar. 4, 2026).
[xviii] See Andrea Torres, Father of Baby Killed in Abuse Case Wins $2.6 Million Judgment Against BSO, Local 10 News (Aug. 17, 2023), https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/08/17/father-of-baby-killed-in-abuse-case-wins-26-million-judgement-against-broward-sheriffs-office/ [https://perma.cc/TX33-U43E].
[xix] See H.B. 145, 2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2026) (proposing amendments to Florida’s sovereign immunity limits).
[xx] See id. (stating that insurance policies may not be delivered “with a provision that conditions liability coverage or the payment of insurance benefits, in whole or in part, on the enactment of a claim bill.”).
[xxi] See Mendoza, supra note vii.
[xxii] See id.
[xxiii] See id. (“A similar proposal passed the House last year with broad bipartisan support but stalled in the Senate without receiving a hearing.”).
[xxiv] See Sovereign Immunity in All 50 States, supra note viii.
