Wrongful Death Lawsuit Funding in Florida
State rules that shape pre-settlement funding for Florida wrongful death claims -- estate standing under section 768.20, the HB 837 fault bar, and the McCall damages ruling.
Non-recourse funding is repaid only from a settlement or award. Independent capital providers set the terms.
Bills do not wait for your case.
Rent, medical bills and living costs keep arriving while a case moves through the court. An advance against a pending case can cover them and is repaid only if the case produces a recovery.
The Florida rules that shape this claim
The rules below shape how a Florida wrongful death funding claim is underwritten and how quickly it can move toward resolution.
Two years from the date of death under Florida Statutes §95.11(4)(d), following the 2023 tort reform (HB 837) that shortened Florida's general negligence limitations period; the Florida Wrongful Death Act itself is codified at §768.16 et seq. Standing runs through the estate: the personal representative brings the single wrongful death action on behalf of both the survivors and the estate under §768.20 -- individual survivors do not file separately.
Florida applies modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar since HB 837 amended Fla. Stat. §768.81 in 2023: a claimant recovers nothing if found 51% or more at fault. Because the personal representative's wrongful death action is measured against the decedent's own conduct, a decedent found more than half at fault for the fatal incident bars the survivors' and estate's recovery entirely -- a significant shift from Florida's pre-2023 pure comparative rule.
No cap applies to Florida wrongful death non-economic damages. Survivors -- spouse, children, and in some cases parents -- can recover loss of support and services, companionship, protection, and mental pain and suffering; the estate separately recovers lost earnings and medical and funeral expenses under Fla. Stat. §768.21. Florida previously capped medical malpractice non-economic damages, but the Florida Supreme Court struck down that cap as unconstitutional in Estate of McCall v. United States, 134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 2014) -- there is currently no cap on non-economic wrongful death damages even in a medical malpractice case.
Florida generally does not allow prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages, including wrongful death non-economic and pain-and-suffering damages, before a verdict is rendered.
The county where the death-causing incident occurred or where the defendant resides, under Fla. Stat. §47.011.
Florida has no dedicated consumer litigation funding statute. No statutory cap.
How Florida regulates consumer legal funding
Reviewed September 17, 2026. Legal information, not legal advice.
How terms are set for Florida plaintiffs
Rates and terms are set by the capital provider and written in the provider’s agreement before signing.
Florida wrongful death cases involving a live fight over the decedent's own comparative fault under the post-2023 51% bar, or multiple defendants with cross-claims, tend to run longer than clean-liability, single-defendant claims.
How did Florida's 2023 tort reform change wrongful death claims?
HB 837 shortened the general negligence limitations period and moved Florida from pure comparative negligence to a modified 51% bar. For wrongful death, a decedent found more than half at fault now eliminates the claim entirely, where before it would have simply reduced the recovery.
Before 2023, Florida's pure comparative system meant a decedent's fault only reduced damages proportionally, at any percentage. HB 837's 51% bar makes the fault allocation a threshold question rather than a proportional adjustment, so underwriting a Florida wrongful death claim now requires a clearer view of the liability picture before valuing the case.
Why does the McCall decision matter for a Florida wrongful death funding request?
Estate of McCall struck down Florida's medical malpractice non-economic damages cap as unconstitutional, so a wrongful death claim arising from medical negligence carries no statutory ceiling on non-economic damages -- a materially different position than states that still apply a malpractice cap to a fatal-injury claim.
This means a Florida wrongful death case need not be discounted for an anticipated statutory cap the way a comparable claim in a capped state would be, though the absence of a cap does not by itself establish liability or the strength of the underlying malpractice claim.
Who actually controls a Florida wrongful death claim?
The personal representative of the estate brings the single wrongful death action for the benefit of both the survivors and the estate -- individual family members do not each file their own claim. Funding underwriting looks to the personal representative as the party controlling the litigation.
Because Florida channels the claim through the estate rather than through individual survivors, confirming who has been appointed personal representative, and whether that appointment is uncontested, is an early step in evaluating a Florida wrongful death funding request.
Wrongful Death Funding questions in Florida
The personal representative of the decedent's estate brings a single wrongful death action on behalf of both the surviving family members and the estate, under Florida Statutes section 768.20. Survivors -- typically a spouse, children, and in some cases parents -- do not file individually. Confirming the personal representative's appointment is uncontested is a standard first step before evaluating a funding request.
No. Florida does not cap non-economic wrongful death damages, including in cases arising from medical malpractice -- the Florida Supreme Court struck down the state's malpractice damages cap as unconstitutional in Estate of McCall v. United States (2014). Survivors can recover loss of support, services, companionship, and mental pain and suffering, while the estate separately recovers lost earnings and funeral and medical expenses.
House Bill 837 shortened the general negligence statute of limitations and replaced Florida's pure comparative negligence rule with a modified 51% bar, effective for causes of action after March 2023. A decedent found 51% or more at fault for the fatal incident now bars the wrongful death claim entirely, rather than merely reducing the recovery as under the prior rule.
Two years from the date of death under Florida Statutes section 95.11(4)(d), applying the shortened limitations period HB 837 introduced in 2023. The clock runs from when the person died, not from the date of the underlying injury or negligent act, which matters when death follows a period of medical treatment after the initial incident.
Not currently confirmed. Unlike some states that require funding companies to make specific contract disclosures, Florida has not enacted a dedicated consumer litigation funding statute as of this writing, though proposals have been introduced in past legislative sessions. This should be verified against the current legislative session before being relied on in any client-facing material.
Fla. Stat. §95.11(4)(d) · Fla. Stat. §768.16 et seq. · Fla. Stat. §768.20 · Fla. Stat. §768.21 · Fla. Stat. §768.81 (as amended by HB 837, 2023) · Estate of McCall v. United States, 134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 2014) · Fla. Stat. §47.011
Reviewed September 17, 2026. Legal information, not legal advice.
Request funding for your case.
Pre-settlement funding is a non-recourse purchase of a portion of the proceeds of a pending legal claim — not a loan. If the case does not result in a recovery, nothing is owed. Rates, fees, and repayment terms are disclosed in full in the funding agreement, which the applicant’s attorney reviews before signing. Availability and terms vary by state.