JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A bill that would increase how much money victims who are harmed by the government could be awarded in Florida has crossed the halfway mark in the first week of this year\u2019s legislative session. <\/p>\n
Currently, when a person is injured by the government in Florida, regardless of how badly they were hurt or what a jury awards them, the max payout they can get is $200,000.<\/p>\n
Claims involving multiple victims are capped at $300,000.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Attorney John Phillips is familiar with the state\u2019s sovereign immunity caps, having represented several cases where they came into play.<\/p>\n One involved two girls run over by a lifeguard vehicle in Atlantic Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen those two girls, both severely injured, are trying to split 200 or $300,000, it\u2019s not justice,\u201d said Phillips.<\/p>\n To go over the caps, victims have to take their case to the legislature with a claims bill.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a process that can take years to navigate.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to find a bill sponsor, you have to keep your attorney with you, you have to hope that a lobbyist will represent you, and then you also have to hope that both chambers of government will be inclined to hear a claims bill,\u201d said State Representative Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota).<\/p>\n Even when a person does succeed in getting a claims bill filed, the odds of success are low.<\/p>\n Last year, of the 21 unique claims bills that were filed, only nine were approved.<\/p>\n This year, McFarland is sponsoring a bill that would raise the caps for the first time in 16 years to allow more Floridians to be made whole, without having to go through the arduous claims bill process.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Her bill would set max awards to $500,000 for single victims and $1 million for cases involving multiple victims, starting in October of this year.<\/p>\n Those limits would automatically rise again in 2031 to $600,000 and $1.2 million.<\/p>\n \u201cClaims bills will still come before us as a legislature,\u201d said McFarland. \u201dIt just means that more citizens will be able to seek redress against their government.\u201d<\/p>\n Cities and counties have opposed the bill and raised concerns that it will raise their risk exposure and insurance costs.<\/p>\n But Phillips argues the current system fails too many Floridians.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, you know, our clients\u2019 justice shouldn\u2019t be capped just because a government entity does it,\u201d said Phillips. \u201dA government entity should probably actually protect people more than individual citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, efforts to raise the sovereign immunity caps stalled in the Senate. <\/p>\n A bill has been filed again in that chamber this year, but it would not raise the caps as high as the House bill proposes.<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A bill that would increase how much money victims who are harmed by the 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