{"id":5771,"date":"2025-10-16T00:32:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T00:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5771\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T00:32:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T00:32:15","slug":"free-kill-loophole-bill-returns-after-veto-florida-families-continue-push-for-medical-malpractice-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5771\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Free Kill\u2019 loophole bill returns after veto, Florida families continue push for medical malpractice reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV\/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Florida patients could soon have more power to take legal action against doctors who make serious mistakes, as lawmakers tackle closing the state\u2019s so-called \u201cFree Kill\u201d loophole<\/a> in their first bill of the legislative session.<\/p>\n

The issue has persisted despite Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoing similar legislation last spring. Currently, if a single adult dies from medical negligence in Florida, their adult children cannot sue over the death, a legal gap that has left families like Beth Young\u2019s without recourse.<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s mother, 66-year-old Deborah Linthicum, died in August 2023 after what should have been a one-night stay at the hospital for a routine procedure. Instead, after a week in the hospital, Linthicum never went home.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just was a very kind person, you know, and it\u2019s heartbreaking that she\u2019s not here because she was only 66, you know, and she had plenty of life left,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

Young believes malpractice from the procedure contributed to her mother\u2019s death, citing conflicting medical opinions about the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne doctor said that it was old blood that she had prior to the procedure. And then the other doctor who did the to try to fix her with her brain, said there was only new blood,\u201d Young said. \u201cSo, having different things of, old and new, it kind of like showed me, hey, this is, we need to look into this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida politics:<\/p>\n

Young didn\u2019t pursue the case further because of Florida\u2019s legal loophole, which prevents adult children from suing when a single adult dies from medical negligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing about the jackpot justice and none of the money. I\u2019d rather have my mother. Because she deserved quality of life,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s story isn\u2019t unique in Florida. Sabrina Davis has been pushing to repeal the loophole for years after her father, Keith, died in a Hillsborough County hospital five years ago following a misdiagnosis. The state fined the doctor over her father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe that if I had the opportunity that other people have to take this doctor to court for everything like other people have, then maybe we could have a safer health care system,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a House committee passed a bill that would close the loophole. Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, sponsored the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that is fair. I think that our families deserve justice for their loved ones who have been victims of medical malpractice,\u201d Trabulsy said.<\/p>\n

The healthcare industry opposed the bill during Wednesday\u2019s committee hearing, with some arguing it could worsen Florida\u2019s doctor shortage.<\/p>\n

Dr. Andrew Borom, a Tallahassee surgeon, told the committee the legislation would discourage physicians from practicing in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an old trope in economics that if you want more of something, you reward it, if you want less of something, you punish it,\u201d Borom said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any sense to me if the legislature has such a low value for physicians in this state, wants to disincentivize physicians from coming here or from continuing to practice, that they go ahead and consider a bill like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Florida legislature already considered similar legislation last session, passing it overwhelmingly. However, DeSantis vetoed the bill because it didn\u2019t include damage caps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do that, then you are totally disincentivizing frivolous lawsuits because they\u2019ll know there\u2019s a limited amount an attorney is going to be able to recover,\u201d DeSantis said in May.<\/p>\n

Trabulsy defended her approach, noting that damage caps have been found unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I truly believe that my version was the right version last year. I know that one of the things that the governor really wanted us to add was caps, but caps have been found to be unconstitutional,\u201d Trabulsy said.<\/p>\n

For Young, repealing the \u201cFree Kill\u201d loophole would help hundreds of Florida families facing similar tragedies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want our families back. We want our family members. Nothing can give us justice or whatever, but repealing this law for the next victims or the next families would help,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

The bill hasn\u2019t been filed in the Senate yet, though senators are expected to file companion legislation in the coming weeks. Florida remains the only state that bans some people from suing for wrongful death in medical malpractice cases.<\/p>\n

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