A push to repeal a 35-year-old state law that blocks access to the courts for family members of certain victims who die due to medical negligence appears to be on a glide path to the Governor’s desk.
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The bill made significant gains Wednesday, getting the nod from the full Florida House and passing its final Senate committee.
Fleming Island mother Cindy Jenkins joined the fight against Florida’s so-called “Free Kill” law in 2023 when her daughter Taylor died due to medical negligence after a car accident.
“They left my child laying there bleeding internally for six hours,” said Jenkins.
The “Free Kill” law was passed in 1990, and prevents family members from suing for pain and suffering damages when their loved one dies due to medical negligence if they’re unmarried, over the age of 25 and have no children under the age of 25.
Jenkins’ daughter had just turned 25 before her death.
State Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) spoke directly to Jenkins before casting her vote in support during the bill’s final committee stop in the Senate.
“Taylor’s life had value. And to all the victims who spoke, your life has value. And if we have to make adjustments to medical malpractice, we can look at that, but carving a group of people and your life doesn’t have the same value as others is not the way to do it,” said Bradley.
Over the years, efforts to repeal the carveout have faced staunch opposition from the medical community, which has argued opening the courts to those like Jenkins could cause medical malpractice rates to skyrocket.
“I do not think that increasing or making it easier to litigate is going to make health care more affordable or accessible to Floridians,” said registered nurse Christine Griner who testified during the Wednesday Senate committee meeting.
But this year, those arguments no longer appear to be a roadblock.
And even though the change would only apply to future cases, Jenkins told Action News Jax she believes it’s stories like her daughter’s that have finally swayed lawmakers to take action.
“It’s never gonna end if we don’t fight with everything we have to stop this law so physicians are held accountable any and every time they take a life,” said Jenkins.
With Wednesday’s committee vote the Senate bill is teed up for a floor vote.
The House and Senate will need to agree on identical language before it can be sent to the Governor’s desk, but as it stands, there are no major differences between the two versions of the bill.
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