Suing in Florida

Under statute 13 Article X of Florida’s constitution, the State of Florida has waived its sovereign immunity in tort cases to the extent that an employee of an agency or subdivision of the state (“Agency”) has negligently or wrongfully harmed an individual. The only cases that can be brought up against the state are ones that can be brought up against private citizens. The state will also be liable for any damages to the same extent a private citizen would. However, there is a cap of $200,000 per claim or judgment and $300,000 per incident, if you have multiple claims coming from the same incident. Before you can file a suit against the state, you must file a claim to both the Agency and the Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) and the DFS and either deny the claim in writing.