Another personal injury lawyer scheme to inflate lawsuit awards

Florida’s personal injury lawyers are at it again this legislative session. Here is a particularly troubling bill they are trying to pass to make Florida’s courts even worse.

HB 1005/SB 1086, Prejudgment Interest, would allow personal injury lawyers to add interest on top of the amount of damages determined in verdicts or settlements. This interest would start piling up from the day an injury or loss occurred until a verdict or settlement. The effect would be increasing the risk of big damage awards to a point where many defendants would be forced to settle instead of making their case in court.

Currently, Florida judges can award prejudgment interest in limited types of cases where damages are determined from the onset (for example, a breach of contract for a set amount of money.)

Florida courts have rejected prejudgment interest in personal injury cases for a very logical reason: damages in personal injury cases are speculative until a judgement is actually made. HB 1005/SB 1086 would change that and significantly increase the types of cases on which prejudgment interest can be collected.

Why this is bad:

If this legislation passes, the meter would start to run on prejudgment interest on speculative personal injury lawsuits, raising the amount of potential damages and making it more risky for defendants to have a fair shot at making at their case in court.

• It would punish defendants for delays in court proceedings that they did not cause. Personal injury cases can be long, drawn out processes, and it is unfair to hold parties in a lawsuit financially responsible for issues out of their control.
• The possibility of accruing prejudgment interest over a lengthy trial adds pressure to settle a case rather than fight it. The risk of having to pay substantial interest on top of any damages could be too great for many small businesses and individuals to bear. Personal injury lawyers bank on that threat – and use it as yet another weapon to pressure defendants to back down and cut their losses by settling.
• Prejudgment interest on personal injury lawsuit outcomes is also an impediment to appealing a court decision, as the appeals process may keep the interest meter running for years.

Expanding prejudgment interest to personal injury lawsuits is not how justice should work. Help stop this bad legislation by speaking out now.

The most frequent reason legislators use to explain inaction to stopping lawsuit abuse is that they weren’t hearing from their constituents. Don’t be part of their excuse. Take five minutes to urge them to do the right thing and oppose an expansion of prejudgment interest!