Proposed repeal of Florida’s ‘free kill’ law again advances to penultimate House committee

The 2026 Legislative Session isn’t set to start for another three months, but already one of its most contentious legislative proposals is just one vote from reaching the House floor.

Members of the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee voted 16-2^[1] to advance HB 6003^[2], which would repeal a unique Florida law^[3] that denies some families the ability to sue for noneconomic damages — like grief and loss of companionship — if a hospital or doctor’s error kills their loved one.

The measure is virtually identical to a bill lawmakers overwhelmingly approved^[4] in May, only for Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto it^[5] later that month, pointing to its lack of caps on damages as an incentive for lawyers to pursue what he called “jackpot justice^[6].”

Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy and Orlando Democratic Rep. Johanna López have revived the proposal, still without limits on what plaintiffs can receive.

“If you’re feeling a little déjà vu today, it’s because you should be,” Trabulsy told the panel Wednesday.

“In Florida, we have world-class doctors. This is in no way, shape or form a bill that is punishing the doctors or our medical staff. This bill is simply to repeal a piece of law that is unjust.”

The law in question is a 1990 carve-out in Florida’s Wrongful Death Act^[7] meant to appease insurers and medical practitioners while keeping insurance costs down. It bans families from suing for wrongful death due to medical negligence if a parent or offspring is 25 or older, unmarried and without children under 25.

Critics of the restriction dubbed it “free kill^[8],” arguing it unfairly shields careless providers while leaving some families without the same recourse afforded to others. Many medical professionals take exception with that label, contending it suggests that doctors are willfully irresponsible or eager to take lives.

Trabulsy said the Governor’s “jackpot justice” term is far more offensive and noted that Florida law requires pre-lawsuit investigations prior to the filing of a wrongful death claim, meaning “no one can just go out and file a frivolous lawsuit.”

But the state already has arguably unfair protections for medical wrongdoing, she said, citing an existing Department of Health policy where doctors can shield from public disclosure^[9] malpractice settlements under $100,000.

“It just gets pushed under the rug,” she said. “The Department of Health knows it, but if we’re seeking a physician, we don’t get to find that out. So, I would agree we need some work there.”

As was the case with prior iterations of the bill, HB 6003 faced ample opposition from industry groups.

Among them: the Florida Hospital Association, Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Justice Reform Institute, Florida Orthopaedic Society, Florida Insurance Council and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association.

Andy Borom, an orthopedic surgeon in Tallahassee^[10], said enacting HB 6003 would reduce health care access, since doctors who already face rising costs will opt to retire early rather than face risks the bill brings.

Doctors in Florida, he said, already pay the highest number of medical malpractice claims in the country, an assertion supported^[11] by the Florida Hospital Association. A recent survey^[12] by a Florida-based personal injury firm found Florida had the second-most payouts between 2020 and 2024, behind New York.

“If your goal is to just throw another golden bone to the trial lawyers, you can feel free to do that,” Borom said. “But if you actually want physicians that are well-trained, well-experienced, to stay here in Florida and take care of you and your patients, you need to reconsider this.”

Vivian Gallo, head of claims at insurance company Howden^[13], reiterated many of the talking points she shared when speaking against the legislation last Session^[14]. Since 2019, she said, Florida’s medical malpractice insurance premiums have been up to 70% higher than national rates, while the premiums and deductibles hospitals in the state must pay both rose 60%.

Meanwhile, 13 insurance carriers have stopped writing medical malpractice insurance in Florida, and those that still do have reduced the amount they’ll cover. The cause, she said, are “nuclear verdicts” in which plaintiffs win $20 million or more, which have grown more common in recent years.

“It’s tripling in the last two and a half years. That’s a huge increase,” she said, adding that if lawmakers insist on passing the bill again, they should cap noneconomic damages “in line with what other states have done.”

Lobbyist Chris Nuland, who spoke on behalf of nearly a dozen organizations, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the state law’s “free kill” colloquial descriptor “couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Doctors are still responsible for economic damages for medical malpractice, he said, and providers suspected of endangering or neglecting patients face scrutiny from the Florida Board of Medicine.

“Two weeks ago, seven physicians lost their licenses,” he said. “So, there is recourse to make sure that bad physicians do not continue to practice.”

Representatives of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, AARP and Florida Medical Rights Association appeared in support of HB 6003.

So did numerous surviving family members, including Cindy Jenkins, who lost her 25-year-old daughter in 2023 due to what she described as “reckless negligence” at a Kissimmee hospital, and Beth Young, whose mother died the same year after a “simple, overnight watchman procedure^[15].”

Restaurateur Daryl Perritt, who is paying for a billboard^[16] at the state line advising visitors that they’re entering the “Free Kill State of Florida,” spoke of losing his 33-year-old son last year due to blood clots at a St. Johns County hospital, where staff were advised beforehand of his susceptibility to embolisms.

“You’ve listened to stories like mine for 30 years,” he said.

Perritt noted how every surviving family member who spoke against the law only learned of it after their loved ones died. Conversely, he said, those arguing for keeping the law intact or adding caps are “very familiar” with it.

“I’d like to hear one of them come up and speak about something other than money,” he said. “I don’t need money. I need answers.”

Alyssa Crocker, a business development specialist who is running for Miami Mayor^[17], shared how her father died of “egregious and unconscionable medical negligence” at North Shore Medical Center, which has faced numerous medical malpractice lawsuits^[18] in recent years.

“If the right person died — meaning the wrong age, the wrong family structure — there is no legal path to justice,” she said.

Florida Medical Rights Association Deputy Director Darcy McGill, who found her mother dead in a hospital bed “covered in blood” two days after minor hip surgery, said capping noneconomic damages — last proposed^[19] at $1 million — doesn’t improve safety, lower premiums or improve health care.

McGill said that while HB 6003 aims to end “free kill,” there’s a parallel effort underway to reimpose caps on currently admissible noneconomic claims. The problem is, the Florida Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down^[20] measures capping those damages, ruling them unconstitutional.

“Lobbyists claim caps create balance,” she said. “In truth, they create barriers, shielding powerful industries while silencing families.”

Davie Democratic Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a criminal defense lawyer, said there are myriad other professions in Florida — general contractors, Realtors, architects, cosmetologists, taxi drivers and lawyers, among others — where insurance coverage is mandatory.

But doctors in the Sunshine State have another option: to “go bare^[21]” and not carry any insurance, instead taking out relatively small lines of credit.

“People deserve to be compensated the same as if that gross negligence killed someone in an automobile accident, plain and simple,” he said.

Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black, a cattle rancher, said he believes HB 6003 comes from a place of compassion and seeking justice, but expressed concern about the impact on health care costs.

He suggested that Trabulsy and López reconsider including “reasonable limits” on payouts. Rep. Paula Stark, a St. Cloud Republican, agreed.

Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner, a trial lawyer from St. Petersburg, said she hoped to hear opponents of HB 6003 offer an alternative solution to the problem, but none did.

“I understand the business community’s concern,” she said. “That simply does not outweigh people’s lives.”

Republican Reps. Kim Berfield and Danny Nix — a hospital government relations executive and a commercial Realtor, respectively — voted against HB 6003 but didn’t debate over it Wednesday.

Notably, both voted for^[22] its 2025 version.

HB 6003 does not yet have a Senate companion. Its sponsor last year, Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough, told Florida Politics he wouldn’t refile the proposal^[23] because he expects “the same outcome from the 2025 Session.”

HB 6003 will next go to the House Judiciary Committee^[24], after which it would reach the chamber floor.