12-05-2025
New bill to repeal Florida's ‘Free Kill' law makes it to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk
Florida's Senate voted May 1 to pass a bill that would repeal the state's so-called 'Free Kill' statute, which restricts who can sue for medical malpractice.
Under the 'Free Kill' law, only spouses and children under 25 of someone who died from medical malpractice can sue for pain and suffering due to loss of life. HB 6017 deletes this provision.
Also titled "Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death," the new bill was filed by House Representatives Dana Trabulsy (R) and Johanna López (D) and is supported by families affected by the 35-year-old law.
Florida's House of Representatives already approved HB 6017 in March in a 104-6 vote. The bill will take effect July 1, 2025, unless vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The American Tort Reform Association wrote a letter to DeSantis May 8 urging him to veto the bill because it would "expose Florida's doctors and other healthcare providers to greater, unpredictable liability." Florida escaped ATR's 'Judicial Hellholes' list just two years ago.
No more "Free Kill": Pensacola families fight to change Florida's 'Free Kill' law. Here's why.
The 'Free Kill' law, found in Florida Statute 768.21, restricts who can sue for medical malpractice.
"The Florida Wrongful Death Act dictates who can file a wrongful death claim when a loved one dies due to medical malpractice," Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein law office states. "Unlike other negligence cases, where most surviving family members can seek compensation, medical malpractice wrongful death cases impose strict limitations."
Related: Florida begins first prosecutions under controversial 'Halo Law'
Florida is the only U.S. state with a 'Free Kill' law.
In 1990, Florida's Wrongful Death Act was expanded to include the 'Free Kill' statute, reportedly aiming to reduce medical malpractice insurance costs and keep doctors in the state.
It made it so only economic damages for funeral costs and medical expenses could be recovered by the adult children (over 25) of the deceased, but not for pain and suffering.
Parents of adult children who die due to medical malpractice cannot receive noneconomic damages under this law.
HB 6017 deletes the provision in Florida Statute 768.21 that prevents people other than the spouse or children under 25 of someone who died due to medical negligence from recovering certain damages.
Unless the bill is vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, it will go into effect on July 1, 2025.
Contributing: Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal, Gray Rohrer, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Will Gov. DeSantis sign, veto bill repealing Florida 'Free Kill' law?
