Florida ends decades-old ban on malpractice lawsuits by certain surviving family members.
For decades, grieving families in Florida found themselves unable to take legal action when an unmarried adult child or a parent died because of medical negligence. That’s now changing. Lawmakers voted to repeal a rule that had blocked parents of deceased adult children and adult children of deceased parents from suing for emotional damages in such cases. This rule (HB 6017), nicknamed the “free kill” law by critics, had been in place since 1990. Supporters of the repeal said the old law was unfair and left too many people without a way to hold medical providers responsible when serious mistakes were made.
When it first passed, lawmakers claimed the restriction would help keep insurance costs low and prevent doctors from leaving the state. But over the years, families who suffered terrible losses with no way to seek justice began to speak out. They argued that the promise of lower insurance rates never really came true, and in the meantime, many families were left with grief, anger, and no legal recourse.
Some people, including doctors and insurance representatives, argued against the repeal. They said it would lead to a wave of lawsuits that could raise health care costs and drive providers away. Others believed the change was long overdue. They felt that protecting families was more important than protecting profits.
Emotions ran high during debates in the state Senate. One senator said she felt personally attacked in her own neighborhood because of her support for keeping some limits on payouts. Billboards even popped up criticizing her by name. Her colleagues defended her character, saying the criticism had gone too far and that public service shouldn’t mean becoming a public target. Another senator, who had worked on the bill for months, was praised for taking the time to work across the aisle and for listening to concerns on both sides.
The stories from families were hard to ignore. One woman said her daughter died because of what she described as awful medical care, yet she had no legal right to pursue damages because of her daughter’s age and family status. Another said her elderly mother died after a routine surgery, and the hospital staff missed many signs of a deadly infection. She was left with heartbreak—and no legal way to demand answers or accountability.
Critics of the old law said it created a loophole for medical providers to avoid responsibility if the person who died didn’t fit into a narrow category. They said this sent the message that some lives just didn’t matter as much as others. They also pointed out that medical malpractice insurance premiums remained high in Florida even with the law in place, undercutting the idea that the rule had helped keep costs down.
In the end, lawmakers in both parties agreed that the law had created too much pain for too many families. The bill to repeal it passed with strong support and now heads to the governor. If signed, it will allow more people to take their cases to court when they believe a loved one’s death was caused by medical error. It won’t undo the past, but it could bring some measure of justice to those who had none. And it may serve as a reminder that while medical professionals do important and difficult work, they are not above accountability when something goes wrong.
Sources:
HB 6017 (2025) – Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death
Florida lawmakers vote to repeal ‘free kill’ law for medical malpractice
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