TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are renewing efforts to end what critics call the state’s “free kill” law. A decades-old restriction prevents some families from suing when loved ones die from medical malpractice.
For Daryl Perritt, the issue is deeply personal.
“Why is my son dead? I’m still trying to find an answer to that question, and this law prevents me from finding out why my son is dead,” Perritt said.
WATCH: Florida lawmakers revive “free kill” repeal after DeSantis veto
Perritt’s son Cameron, 29, died from a blood clot after admission to a hospital. Because Cameron was unmarried and had no children, current Florida law bars his father from suing for noneconomic damages — things like pain and suffering.
“If I can’t hold the doctors in hospital and health industry and insurance accountable for my son’s death, then I’m going to hold the lawmakers accountable,” Perritt said.
The Fort Pierce father has since launched a nonprofit, FloridaFreeKill.org, using billboards along major interstates to pressure lawmakers to repeal the law and “restore justice for victims and their families.”
That’s where Rep. Dana Trabulsy (R–Fort Pierce) comes in. She’s sponsoring HB 6003, a bill that would remove the “free kill” exemption from state law, allowing parents of adult children and adult children of deceased parents to recover non-economic damages in wrongful-death medical malpractice cases.
“If you are over the age of 25 and do not have a spouse or dependent children, you are basically cut out of justice for a medical malpractice suit,” Trabulsy said. “It is the right thing to do, and I’m not going to go away.”
The measure overwhelmingly passed the Legislature last session but was vetoed by Governor Ron DeSantis, who argued it would drive up malpractice insurance premiums and healthcare costs.
“It would cause malpractice insurance premiums to skyrocket,” DeSantis said in May. “You can sue for economic damages, but this would open the floodgates for lawsuits.”
The governor has suggested he might support a version of the bill with caps on non-economic damages, but Trabulsy says that’s a nonstarter.
“No, because caps have been determined to be unconstitutional,” she said. “I intentionally filed this as a repealer bill, and as a repealer bill, it can have no amendments.”
Not every Republican is ready to back her. Sen. Keith Truenow (R–Tavares), one of the few lawmakers to oppose the bill last session, says he wants broader reforms.
“We need to balance. We’re out of balance. We got a lot of work to do in the healthcare space,” Truenow said. “Maybe we can get to a landing pad, but you got to look at it as a holistic approach.”
As the new legislative session approaches, families like Perritt’s hope this renewed push will succeed where the first effort failed. Lawmakers are expected to give the bill its first committee hearing Wednesday, signaling it could be among the House’s early priorities.
If the measure passes again and DeSantis vetoes it a second time, supporters say a veto override could be on the table— a rare move that would require two-thirds of the Legislature’s support.
“It’s about justice for all,” Trabulsy said. “That’s the foundation of who we are.”
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