The measure is virtually identical to a bill lawmakers overwhelmingly approved<\/a> in May, only for Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto it<\/a> later that month, pointing to its lack of caps on damages as an incentive for lawyers to pursue what he called \u201cjackpot justice<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy and Orlando Democratic Rep. Johanna L\u00f3pez have revived the proposal, still without limits on what plaintiffs can receive.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re feeling a little d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu today, it\u2019s because you should be,\u201d Trabulsy told the panel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The law in question is a 1990 carve-out in Florida\u2019s Wrongful Death Act<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Critics of the restriction dubbed it \u201cfree kill<\/a>,\u201d arguing it unfairly shields careless providers while leaving some families without the same recourse afforded to others. Many medical professionals take exception to that label, contending it suggests that doctors are willfully irresponsible or eager to take lives.<\/p>\n Trabulsy said the Governor\u2019s \u201cjackpot justice\u201d term is far more offensive and noted that Florida law requires pre-lawsuit investigations before the filing of a wrongful death claim, meaning \u201cno one can just go out and file a frivolous lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n But the state already has arguably unfair protections for medical wrongdoing, she said, citing an existing Department of Health policy\u00a0that allows\u00a0doctors to shield<\/a> malpractice settlements under $100,000 from public disclosure.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just gets pushed under the rug,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Department of Health knows it, but if we\u2019re seeking a physician, we don\u2019t get to find that out. So, I would agree we need some work there.\u201d<\/p>\n As was the case with prior iterations of the bill, HB 6003 faced ample opposition from industry groups.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Andy Borom, an orthopedic surgeon in Tallahassee<\/a>, said enacting HB 6003 would reduce health care access, as doctors already facing rising costs might opt to retire early rather than take on the risks the bill introduces.<\/p>\n Doctors in Florida, he said, already pay the highest number of medical malpractice claims in the country, an assertion supported<\/a> by the Florida Hospital Association. A recent survey<\/a> by a Florida-based personal injury firm found that Florida had the second-highest number of payouts between 2020 and 2024, behind New York.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your goal is to just throw another golden bone to the trial lawyers, you can feel free to do that,\u201d Borom said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Vivian Gallo, head of claims at insurance company Howden<\/a>, reiterated many of the talking points she shared when speaking against the legislation last Session<\/a>. Since 2019, she said, Florida\u2019s 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%.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, 13 insurance carriers have stopped writing medical malpractice insurance in Florida, and those that still do have reduced the amount they\u2019ll cover. The cause, she said, is \u201cnuclear verdicts\u201d in which plaintiffs win $20 million or more, which have grown more common in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tripling in the last two and a half years. That\u2019s a huge increase,\u201d she said, adding that if lawmakers insist on passing the bill again, they should cap non-economic damages \u201cin line with what other states have done.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s \u201cfree kill\u201d colloquial descriptor \u201ccouldn\u2019t be further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo weeks ago, seven physicians lost their licenses,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, there is recourse to make sure that bad physicians do not continue to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, AARP and Florida Medical Rights Association appeared in support of HB 6003.<\/p>\n So did numerous surviving family members, including Cindy Jenkins, who lost her 25-year-old daughter in 2023 due to what she described as \u201creckless negligence\u201d at a Kissimmee hospital, and Beth Young, whose mother died the same year after a \u201csimple, overnight watchman procedure<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Restaurateur Daryl Perritt, who is paying for a billboard<\/a> at the state line advising visitors that they\u2019re entering the \u201cFree Kill State of Florida,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve listened to stories like mine for 30 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cvery familiar\u201d with it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to hear one of them come up and speak about something other than money,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t need money. I need answers.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa Crocker, a business development specialist who is running for Miami Mayor<\/a>, shared how her father died of \u201cegregious and unconscionable medical negligence\u201d at North Shore Medical Center, which has faced numerous medical malpractice lawsuits<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the right person died \u2014 meaning the wrong age, the wrong family structure \u2014 there is no legal path to justice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Florida Medical Rights Association Deputy Director Darcy McGill, who found her mother dead in a hospital bed \u201ccovered in blood\u201d two days after minor hip surgery, said capping non-economic damages \u2014 last proposed<\/a> at $1 million \u2014 doesn\u2019t improve safety, lower premiums or improve health care.<\/p>\n McGill said that while HB 6003 aims to end \u201cfree kill,\u201d there\u2019s a parallel effort underway to reimpose caps on currently admissible non-economic claims. The problem is, the Florida Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down<\/a> measures capping those damages, ruling them unconstitutional.<\/p>\n \u201cLobbyists claim caps create balance,\u201d she said. \u201cIn truth, they create barriers, shielding powerful industries while silencing families.\u201d<\/p>\n Davie Democratic Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a criminal defense lawyer, said there are myriad other professions in Florida \u2014 general contractors, Realtors, architects, cosmetologists, taxi drivers and lawyers, among others \u2014 where insurance coverage is mandatory.<\/p>\n But doctors in the Sunshine State have another option: to \u201cgo bare<\/a>\u201d and not carry any insurance, opting instead to take out relatively small lines of credit.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople deserve to be compensated the same as if that gross negligence killed someone in an automobile accident, plain and simple,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He suggested that Trabulsy and L\u00f3pez reconsider including \u201creasonable limits\u201d on payouts. Rep. Paula Stark, a St. Cloud Republican, agreed.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the business community\u2019s concern,\u201d she said. \u201cThat simply does not outweigh people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican Reps. Kim Berfield and Danny Nix \u2014 a hospital government relations executive and a commercial Realtor, respectively \u2014 voted against HB 6003 but didn\u2019t debate over it Wednesday.<\/p>\n Notably, both voted for<\/a> its 2025 version.<\/p>\n HB 6003 does not yet have a Senate companion. Its sponsor last year, Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough, told Florida Politics he wouldn\u2019t refile the proposal<\/a> because he expects \u201cthe same outcome from the 2025 Session.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2023-8-24_PIAM_Display_728x90-1.jpg\")
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<\/a>(L-R) Reps. Johanna L\u00f3pez and Dana Trabulsy, a Fort Pierce Republican and Orlando Democrat, respectively, acknowledge victims\u2019 families in the House Chamber gallery during the passing of the 2025 Session\u2019s repeal of \u2018free kill\u2019 in March. Gov. Ron DeSantis later vetoed the measure. Image via Sarah Gray\/Florida House.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Free-Kill-State-of-Florida-billboard-640x576.jpeg\")
<\/a>The billboard reading \u201cWelcome to the Free Kill State of Florida\u201d stands near the Florida Welcome Center on I-95. Daryl Perritt says he intends to keep the sign up until Florida\u2019s \u201cfree kill\u201d law is overturned. He\u2019s also working to see many other such signs rise across the state. Image via Daryl Perritt and Cindy Jenkins.<\/p>\n