HB 837: Florida's 2-Year Statute of Limitations, Explained

If you were injured in a Florida motor-vehicle crash on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal-injury lawsuit. Before HB 837, that window was four years. Older cases — where the injury occurred before March 24, 2023 — generally remain on the previous four-year clock, but anything more recent is on the new two-year clock.

This is a separate deadline from the 14-day rule under Florida law. The 14-day rule controls insurance coverage; the two-year limit controls when you can sue. Both clocks start at the crash and both can quietly expire if no one's tracking them.

House Bill 837 was signed into law on March 24, 2023. The headline change for crash victims is the limitations period:

HB 837 also reworked Florida's comparative-negligence framework and modified rules around bad-faith insurance claims. Those changes matter for case strategy, but the limitations cut is the one that most directly affects how an injured patient plans treatment and documentation.

Under the old four-year window, it was common for a crash victim to complete PT, reach maximum medical improvement, and still have years before the limitations period closed. The two-year window collapses that runway. The practical effect for patients:

• PT should be initiated promptly, completed without long gaps, and documented clearly from the first visit.
• Reassessments and discharge summaries with residual deficits need to be ready substantially sooner than they used to be.
• Patients who delay starting PT — even by a few months — meaningfully reduce the time available for treatment and evaluation before the limitations period closes.

• Every Florida-registered vehicle is still required to carry auto insurance, and your own auto policy pays first regardless of fault.
• The clinical standard of care for after a crash physical therapy is unchanged — early, active rehabilitation remains the evidence-based path.
• PT Near Me's billing approach is unchanged: we bill the patient's auto insurance for crash-related care; we do not bill regular health insurance or Medicare.

1. Get seen by a qualifying provider — MD, DO, dentist, PA, ARNP, or hospital — within 14 days of the crash to preserve coverage for crash-related care.
2. Start physical therapy promptly once cleared, so treatment is well documented from the beginning.
3. Start physical therapy promptly once cleared. The same evidence base that supports early PT clinically also produces a clean record before the two-year clock runs.
4. Keep copies of every medical record from the date of the crash forward.