Here’s hoping you had a fabulous spring weekend and are ready to jump in this week. The trending bill among our readers is the tort reform bill, House Bill 837 (see details in Bill Watch) that was signed by the Governor this past Friday morning. Several defense firms were notified by plaintiff firms that there would be thousands of demand letters for total policy limits, and the underlying case would be served shortly thereafter. In the span of 5 days, the Sun Sentinel reported that there were 90,593 civil cases filed from March 17 to March 22 – that’s 77% of the more than 118,000 cases filed in the first three months of this year. I asked several of my insurance colleagues if they received any of these cases. Here is one example:
The bee sting – Our policyholder’s lawn care company contacted them a couple of weeks after the incident – a bee stung one of their employees while he was mowing their lawn and he is allergic to bees. He went to the hospital and is fine; he was covered by his insurance. She received a letter of representation dated 8/11/2022 from a prominent “billboard lawyer,” a phrase coined by the Governor. Also, this claim was denied because the employee of the law care company received workers’ compensation. Policy limits have been demanded at $300,000.
I have several more examples. Enough said. This newsletter’s Bill Watch has been rearranged for you so you will now know which bills are moving and which ones are not. If there is a bill you are following in the Florida legislature and you don’t see it in our status report below, let us know and we will get you the update. Have a great week and keep up your incredible work!
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 3-27-23
