March 24, 2015

Tallahassee, Fla. – The Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) today praised the House Civil Justice Committee for passing House Bill 1197, sponsored by Representatives Walter Bryan Hill (R-Pensacola) and Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), and House Bill 1199, sponsored by Representative Larry Metz (R-Yalaha).

Specifically, House Bill 1197, relating to civil remedies against insurers, will create a concrete and concise timetable for insurers and plaintiff attorneys to abide by.

Further, House Bill 1199, relating to damages in personal injury actions, will work to rid inflated damages in the courtroom as, currently, juries in a personal injury lawsuit are only able to see the amount billed when determining damages, not the amount actually paid by the claimant to the health care provider for services rendered, and will prohibit an injured party from being awarded reimbursement for medical services that are not deemed medically necessary.

“We are grateful to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee for passing HB 1197 and HB 1199, and we thank the bill sponsors for proposing these much-needed legal reform measures this legislative session” said Tamela Perdue, general counsel for AIF. “Both legal reform measures are necessary to improve upon our current legal system that, unfortunately, allows bad actors to ‘game’ the system when it comes to third-party bad faith claims and results in inflated damages in personal injury lawsuits, as well as reimbursement for medical services that are not medically necessary.”

“These sensible reforms will help ensure predictability and certainty within our state’s legal system, and will make certain that Florida is a place where businesses can flourish and thrive, in turn, creating jobs and relocating to our state,” said Perdue. “We look forward to continuing to advocate for these bills on behalf of Florida’s business community, as they make their way through the process.”

HB 1197 will be heard next in the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, and HB 1199 will be heard next in the House Judiciary Committee.

For more information on AIF, please visit AIF.com and follow @VoiceofFLBiz.

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