Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature is making its second attempt to end a law that lets doctors literally kill certain patients with zero accountability.
They tried it once, but DeSantis vetoed it.
And now Florida Republicans just gave negligent physicians another opportunity to escape justice after killing your family members.
House Committee Passes Identical Bill DeSantis Vetoed Five Months Ago
The House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee voted 16-2 Wednesday to advance HB 6003.¹
If that bill number sounds unfamiliar, don’t worry – the content should ring a bell.
It’s word-for-word identical to HB 6017, which passed the Legislature overwhelmingly last spring only to die on Ron DeSantis’s desk.²
That bill cleared the House 104-6 and the Senate 33-4 – veto-proof supermajorities that Republicans mysteriously refused to use.³
The legislation would end Florida’s "free kill" law, a unique-to-Florida restriction that bars families from suing for wrongful death when medical malpractice kills single, childless adults over 25.⁴
Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy, who sponsored both versions, acknowledged the déjà vu before Wednesday’s vote.
"If you’re feeling a little déjà vu today it’s because you should be feeling a little déjà vu," Trabulsy told the committee. "We heard this exact bill in this committee."⁵
The law also blocks adults from pursuing wrongful death claims when single parents die from medical malpractice.⁶
https://twitter.com/LKorniyenko4FL/status/1978157310183706759
Florida adopted these restrictions during the 1990s claiming they would prevent malpractice insurance premiums from skyrocketing and stop physicians from fleeing the state.⁷
Thirty-five years later, Florida has the highest number of malpractice claims paid out in the nation, commercial insurance premiums remain above the national average, and the state faces a projected shortage of 22,000 primary care physicians by 2030.⁸
So much for that theory.
The Real Battle: Insurance Lobby Wants Damage Caps Back
Here’s what’s really happening behind the scenes.
DeSantis vetoed the 2025 version because it didn’t cap noneconomic damages – things like pain and suffering.⁹
He claimed unlimited damages would cause "jackpot justice" and drive doctors out of Florida.¹⁰
But there’s a bigger game being played.
Florida hasn’t had caps on pain and suffering awards since 2014, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional.¹¹
The court said arbitrary limits on damages violated equal protection.¹²
Since then, DeSantis has appointed the majority of justices to that court.¹³
The insurance and business lobbies see HB 6003 as their vehicle to reinstate caps, betting that a DeSantis-packed court will reverse the 2014 ruling.¹⁴
Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black hinted at this strategy Wednesday, saying his continued support hinges on "reasonable limits" being added to the bill.¹⁵
"While I vote up on this bill today, I am hopeful that in the future, either in this chamber or the next, that reasonable limits will somehow find their way into this bill," Black said.¹⁶
Trabulsy refuses to add caps, calling them unconstitutional.¹⁷ That sets up the same collision course that ended with DeSantis’s veto last time.
The Senate rejected damage caps by a single vote during the 2025 session.¹⁸ One vote stood between insurance companies getting their wish and families getting access to courts.
Families Tell Stories Politicians Don’t Want to Hear
Jacksonville resident Cindy Jenkins testified Wednesday about losing her 25-year-old daughter Taylor at a Florida hospital.¹⁹
Taylor died waiting for emergency surgery.
Jenkins paid for a private autopsy that contradicted the hospital’s account so dramatically that the medical examiner changed the cause of death on her death certificate.²⁰
When Jenkins tried to hold the hospital accountable, she discovered her daughter had been 25 for exactly two and a half months when she died.²¹
That meant Jenkins couldn’t sue for wrongful death under Florida law.
She filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Health against the physician. The department dismissed it.²²
"I do not want the grave of my dead child danced on nor 1,500 people per year to be able to have access to the courts in return for hurting the masses," Jenkins said. "I will wear the badge ‘free kill mom’ like honor."²³
Tallahassee orthopedic surgeon Andy Borom took offense to that "free kill" terminology during his testimony against the bill.
"As if there’s a bunch of physicians who spent their entire adult lives training and taking care of patients who are sitting around salivating at the opportunity to kill people for free," Borom complained. "That’s just gross."²⁴
Borom, 58, threatened to retire up to 10 years early if the bill passes without damage caps.²⁵
He claimed that would mean 40,000 patients wouldn’t be seen and 5,000 surgeries wouldn’t get done.²⁶
What Borom didn’t mention is that he’d still be able to retire a wealthy man thanks to the very malpractice system he claims is too punishing.
Why Politicians Who Claim to Support It Won’t Override the Veto
Here’s the part that should make your blood boil.
Last spring, HB 6017 passed with overwhelming bipartisan support – more than enough votes to override DeSantis’s veto.²⁷
But when DeSantis actually vetoed the bill in May 2025, Republican legislators didn’t even try to override it.²⁸
Senate sponsor Clay Yarborough released a statement saying he "accepted" DeSantis’ decision and wouldn’t seek an override.²⁹ Despite having the votes. Despite families begging for action.
Why? Follow the money.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Medical Association, and Florida Justice Reform Institute all opposed the bill without caps.³⁰
These are the same business lobbies that fund Republican campaigns and employ former legislators as lobbyists.
Politicians got to vote "yes" and look compassionate while knowing DeSantis would kill the bill and they wouldn’t have to override his veto.
It’s the perfect scam for accountability-free governance.
Lawmakers pose for photos with grieving families, cast symbolic votes for "justice," then let insurance industry donors get exactly what they want.
Everyone wins except the families whose loved ones died from medical negligence.
Jacksonville Republican Sen. Yarborough told reporters at the time that the issue had "always been about the dignity and the inherent, God-given value of every human life."³¹
Apparently that inherent value of human life doesn’t extend to actually overriding a veto to protect it.
The Legal Absurdity Florida Created
Get this twisted logic.
If a doctor hits your 26-year-old single daughter with his car and kills her, you can sue for wrongful death including pain and suffering damages.³²
If that same doctor kills your daughter with a botched surgery, you get nothing.³³
Same doctor. Same victim. Same family. Different outcome based entirely on whether the killing happened in a hospital or a parking lot.
Florida is the only state in America with this restriction.³⁴ Every other state recognizes that families deserve justice regardless of the victim’s age or marital status.
The 1990 Legislature claimed this carve-out would save Florida’s healthcare system from collapse due to malpractice costs. Thirty-five years of evidence proves they were dead wrong.³⁵
Medical malpractice insurance rates in Florida remain among the highest in the nation.³⁶ Physician recruitment and retention problems persist.³⁷ And healthcare costs continue climbing.³⁸
The only thing the "free kill" law accomplished was protecting negligent doctors from accountability while denying families access to courts.
What Happens Next
Trabulsy says she won’t add damage caps to her bill.³⁹
That means either DeSantis signs a bill he previously vetoed, or he vetoes it again and Republicans finally find the courage to override him.
Based on last session’s performance, don’t hold your breath waiting for Republican "courage."
The bill still needs to clear multiple committees in both chambers before reaching DeSantis’s desk. Insurance lobby groups are already mobilizing to either kill the bill or force amendments adding damage caps.⁴⁰
If the bill somehow passes both chambers again without caps, DeSantis has made clear he’ll veto it a second time.⁴¹
The question then becomes whether Republican legislators who voted 104-6 and 33-4 for the bill will finally override the veto – or whether they’ll once again let insurance industry donors dictate the outcome while families like Cindy Jenkins’s continue getting denied justice.
Some committee members Wednesday hinted they expect caps to be added during the process.⁴²
That suggests backroom deals are already being negotiated with the insurance lobby to craft a "compromise" that protects negligent doctors while throwing families a symbolic bone.
For families who’ve lost loved ones to medical negligence, the message from Tallahassee is clear: your grief matters less than insurance company profits. Your access to justice matters less than protecting doctors who make fatal mistakes.
And your dead children’s lives will continue being valued differently than others’ based entirely on arbitrary age cutoffs and marital status – unless Florida Republicans suddenly discover they actually care more about justice than campaign contributions.
Don’t bet on it.
¹ Christine Sexton, "Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes ‘free kill’ bill governor vetoed last year," Florida Phoenix, October 15, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Multiple sources, "Florida Legislature overwhelmingly passed HB 6017 in 2025," Various Florida news outlets, May 2025.
⁴ Christine Sexton, "Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes ‘free kill’ bill governor vetoed last year," Florida Phoenix, October 15, 2025.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Multiple sources on Florida malpractice statistics and physician shortage projections, Various medical and news sources, 2025.
⁹ Multiple sources, "DeSantis veto reasoning for HB 6017," Various Florida news outlets, May 29, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Legal sources, "Florida Supreme Court ruling on malpractice caps," McCall v. United States, 2014.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Public record of DeSantis judicial appointments to Florida Supreme Court, 2019-2025.
¹⁴ Multiple legal analysis sources on insurance industry strategy, Florida legal publications, 2025.
¹⁵ Christine Sexton, "Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes ‘free kill’ bill governor vetoed last year," Florida Phoenix, October 15, 2025.
¹⁶ Ibid.
¹⁷ Multiple sources, "Trabulsy position on damage caps," Various Florida news outlets, October 2025.
¹⁸ Multiple sources on 2025 Senate amendment vote on damage caps, Florida legislative reports, May 2025.
¹⁹ Christine Sexton, "Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes ‘free kill’ bill governor vetoed last year," Florida Phoenix, October 15, 2025.
²⁰ – ²⁶ Ibid.
²⁷ Multiple sources on HB 6017 passage margins, Florida legislative records, May 2025.
²⁸ Multiple sources on lack of veto override attempt, Various Florida news outlets, June 2025.
²⁹ Multiple sources quoting Yarborough statement after veto, Various Florida news outlets, May 30, 2025.
³⁰ Multiple sources on business lobby opposition to HB 6017, Various Florida news outlets, May 2025.
³¹ Multiple sources quoting Yarborough on human life value, Various Florida news outlets, May 2025.
³² Legal explanation of Florida wrongful death law disparities, Florida legal sources, 2025.
³³ Ibid.
³⁴ Multiple sources confirming Florida is only state with this restriction, Various legal and news sources, 2025.
³⁵ Multiple sources on 1990 law intent and 35-year outcomes, Various Florida news and legal sources, 2025.
³⁶ Multiple sources on Florida malpractice insurance rates, Medical association reports, 2025.
³⁷ Multiple sources on Florida physician shortage projections, Healthcare industry reports, 2025.
³⁸ General healthcare cost trends in Florida, Various healthcare sources, 2025.
³⁹ Multiple sources on Trabulsy refusal to add caps, Various Florida news outlets, October 2025.
⁴⁰ Multiple sources on insurance lobby mobilization, Florida political sources, October 2025.
⁴¹ Multiple sources on DeSantis veto threat for bills without caps, Various Florida news outlets, May 2025.
⁴² Christine Sexton, "Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes ‘free kill’ bill governor vetoed last year," Florida Phoenix, October 15, 2025.
