DeSantis vows to veto ‘free kill' bill
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Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he plans to veto a bill championed for years by victims of medical malpractice who are blocked from suing doctors and hospitals they claim are responsible for the deaths of family members.
DeSantis, however, contended that eliminating the law that prevents people from suing physicians and hospitals for noneconomic damages would cause medical malpractice premiums to 'skyrocket.'
Specifically, HB 6017 lifts a longstanding provision of Florida law that bans parents of single, childless, adult children and adult children of single parents from suing hospitals and physicians if alleged malpractice resulted in death.
The law defines adults as 25 and older.
'What that is going to do is, that's going to lead to a flood of lawsuits against practitioners and against hospitals. Malpractice premiums are going to go up. It's going to be harder to recruit physicians into Florida, and ultimately, health care costs will go up,' DeSantis said when asked whether he would sign the bill into law.
The governor still has not received the legislation. Once he does, he'll have 15 days to veto it, sign it, or allow it to become law without his signature.
The decision to veto the legislation is a stinging defeat for family members who trekked this year to the Capitol to share stories about what they called the 'free kill' law. The bill was opposed by business interests, organized medicine, and hospitals across the state, worried about a flood of new lawsuits including some from estranged children who don't live in Florida and haven't seen their family members in years.
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The Legislature overwhelmingly approved the law, above the threshold needed to override a veto. Those who supported the legislation spoke of the need to hold doctors and health care providers accountable if they make a fatal mistake.
DeSantis said he 'suggested' to the Legislature that it place caps on the amount of non-economic damages people could recover, not only for the new lawsuits allowed under HB 6017, but for all medical malpractice cases. DeSantis noted that 'there was some support of it in the Senate.' He was referencing the Senate's razor-thin vote at the end of the session to reject the caps.
'If you had caps on the amount of damages, people could see that would disincentivize a lot of jackpot justice,' DeSantis said.
The governor said he had spoken with 'lots of folks in health care,' including hospital and physician associations that oppose the bill.
'I mean, it was pretty overwhelming in terms of the concern, you know, that they had on it. If there were caps on that, then it would probably be something that people would be able to live with.'
HB 6017 has been a priority for House Speaker Daniel Perez, who has been at odds with DeSantis over state spending levels and tax relief, among other things.
The ban was initially passed in the 1990s as the state wrestled with rising malpractice premiums. But there has been a concerted effort in recent years, to eliminate the ban. That push has coincided with recent efforts by organized medicine, business, and insurance lobbyists to reinstate caps on pain and suffering in all medical malpractice lawsuits.
Florida had previously passed caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases but the Florida Supreme Court in 2017 ruled them unconstitutional.
DeSantis on Thursday described the 2017 court as 'liberal.'
'I don't think this current court would reach the same conclusion,' he said.
DeSantis, who has been harshly critical of the trial bar and Speaker Perez, said he's aware of the families who appeared throughout the 2025 session to share their stories about how their family and loved ones died.
'I know there have been people that have been victimized, have family members, and it's a really, really sad thing, but I also know you have to look at the global view of what is it going to do for the overall access to care prices, the willingness of physicians to come here. And that was very clear to me in speaking with folks,' the governor said.
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