What Is the Collateral Source Rule in Florida?
If you’re injured in an accident in Florida, figuring out how much compensation you’re entitled to is critical. However, the process isn’t always straightforward, especially when insurance companies are involved. The Collateral Source Rule plays a key role in how past and future medical expenses are valued in personal injury cases. If you have Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, the rule can feel confusing and even frustrating. Understanding how Florida’s Collateral Source Rule works is crucial because it can make a huge difference in your case. Read on to learn more about this often-confusing rule.
What Is Florida’s Collateral Source Rule?
In a personal injury lawsuit, you are allowed to seek compensation for losses caused by someone else’s negligence. This typically includes medical bills, both those you’ve already incurred and those you’re expected to face in the future. Now the question that the Collateral Source Rule addresses is: What happens if someone else, like an insurance company, has already paid some of those bills?
Before March 2023, Florida’s Collateral Source Rule ensured injured victims didn’t get penalized for having insurance or benefits. If you proved another party was at fault, you could present the full amount of your medical bills to the jury, even if your insurance had paid a portion of them or negotiated a discount. Juries were not even allowed to hear evidence about collateral sources like private health insurance, social security benefits, or certain employee benefits.
However, this approach shifted significantly when Florida passed HB837, signed in March 2023. Under the new law, evidence of health insurance payments for past medical expenses may be introduced in court. The law also allows additional evidence to help determine what constitutes a “reasonable” amount for future medical care.
What this means is that compensation may be reduced by amounts already paid or available to you from collateral sources, such as insurance. Since juries may see lower medical expense figures than they would have before the law changed, your overall damage rewards may be reduced. However, it’s important to note that this reduction doesn’t apply to sources that have a legal right to be reimbursed, also known as subrogation.
Why Insurance Type Matters
How the Collateral Source Rule applies depends on whether you have private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Each type of insurance comes with different reimbursement rights and evidentiary rules. So, two people with similar injuries could face very different compensation outcomes depending on their coverage.
Due to the complexity and technicality of these rules, applying them correctly needs careful legal analysis. This is where an experienced personal injury attorney in Florida can help. An attorney can pick out small details like whether a benefit has a reimbursement right, which can have a significant impact on your overall compensation.
Contact Us for Legal Help
If you’ve been injured or have questions about how the Collateral Source Rule may affect your Florida personal injury case, our Fort Myers personal injury lawyer at The Pendas Law Firm can help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
The Pendas Law Firm also represents clients in the Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Bradenton, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Miami, Naples, Ocala, and Melbourne areas.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.76.html