It is the core mission of our firm to fight for justice and ensure that every individual is treated fairly under the law. When the law creates arbitrary obstacles that prevent victims from seeking full compensation, we believe it is our professional and moral duty to speak out and advocate for change.
That is why our Senior Managing Partner Chuck Farah, Trucking Accident and Medical Malpractice Attorney Larry Huttman, and Personal Injury Litigation Attorney Tiffany Faddis recently published an Expert Analysis in Law360, the premier legal news and analysis platform. In their piece, “Fla. Misses Opportunity To Rectify Wrongful Death Damages,” the attorneys argue that Gov. Ron DeSantis’s recent veto of H.B. 6017 was a major setback in the ongoing fight to repeal Florida’s antiquated “Free Kill Law.”
The Veto That Killed Bipartisan Justice
H.B. 6017 was a rare example of overwhelming bipartisan support within the Florida Legislature, passing both the House (104 yeas to 6 nays) and the Senate (33 yeas to 4 nays). The bill’s goal was to grant adult children and parents of adult children the same rights to recover non-economic damages in medical negligence cases as victims of all other types of wrongful death.
As Chuck, Larry, and Tiffany detail in their analyses, Florida Statute 768.21 (often referred to as the “Free Kill Law”) arbitrarily excludes:
- Adult children (25 and older) who lose a parent due to medical negligence from seeking non-economic damages for things like loss of companionship and mental pain and suffering.
- Parents who lose an adult child (25 and older) due to medical negligence from seeking pain and suffering damages, provided the child had no other survivors.
The Flawed Justification for Inequality
The Law360 article examines the history of the medical negligence exception in Florida, tracing it back to the state’s efforts in the late ‘90s to control healthcare costs and medical malpractice insurance rates.
Digging deep into the legal precedent that produced the exemption, the firm’s attorneys brought to light that even Florida Supreme Court Justices disagreed with the premise. Specifically, they highlight the dissenting opinion of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, who wrote that the “past medical malpractice crisis” is not a permanent justification for the “permanent exclusion of an entire class of victims.”
They further quote commentary from Judge Alan Schwartz of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal, who said: “I believe that it is contrary to the requirements of substantive due process and equal protection to discriminate between survivors of the victim of a wrongful death on the basis of their age only to accomplish the stated purpose of making medical malpractice insurance somewhat less expensive.”
Despite the overwhelming legislative support for the bill and the clear consensus that the underlying crisis is long past, Governor DeSantis vetoed the bill, citing concerns in a released statement that it would “increase costs to provide healthcare services” and “drive physicians to leave the state.”
Our Commitment to the Fight
As the authors conclude, the law that prevents adult children and parents of adult children from suing for the death of a loved one due to medical malpractice is simply unfair. They emphasize that too many Floridians who die from medical malpractice do not have qualifying survivors under the existing law.
However, House Speaker Danny Perez has stated his commitment to bring the bill back during the upcoming legislative session, so we’ll continue following the legislative progress. Farah & Farah stands ready to support this effort. We encourage all lawmakers to continue the fight to finally bring justice and equality to all Floridians affected by medical malpractice.
Click the following link to view or subscribe to read “Fla. Misses Opportunity To Rectify Wrongful Death Damages” by Chuck Farah, Laurence Huttman, and Tiffany Faddis in Law360.
Make It a Farah Fight Against Legal Injustice
If you have been impacted by medical negligence or any wrongful death and feel you are being unjustly denied the right to full compensation, you need an advocate with the experience and grit to fight for your rights.
Contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to talk over what happened. We will review your case and discuss your options, all at no cost.
