The Florida Legislature has approved a controversial bill that would allow some family members to pursue medical malpractice lawsuits over the deaths of their parents and adult children.
The bill repeals the 1990 law that limits who can pursue malpractice cases after a family member’s death. Jacksonville Republican Senator Clay Yarborough is behind the effort. He says the issue came to his attention from hearing the stories of family members.
“This is a 35-year-old law," he said. "It needs to be repealed. It shouldn’t be on the books.”
Currently, due to the 1990 law, parents can’t pursue non-economic damages in malpractice cases involving the deaths of their children if those children are 25 or older. And children 25 or over can’t pursue non-economic damages in malpractice cases involving their parents.
Non-economic damages mean intangible losses from a trauma or injury, such as pain and suffering.
“And I heard all the stories. I wanted to vote for this.”
That’s Stuart Republican Senator Gayle Harrell. She supported an attempt to amend Yarborough’s bill to add a $1 million cap on non-economic damages in all medical malpractice lawsuits involving patient deaths.
“I wanted for individuals to be able to get economic damages and have a limit on what the non-economic damages would be, so that we could also make sure we have physicians and hospitals in the state of Florida," Harrell said. "But unfortunately, we no longer have that cap on the bill.”
Without a cap on damages, Harrell worries the move would drive up medical malpractice premiums and exacerbate the lack of access to medical providers in Florida.
“We already have a tremendous shortfall in primary care, and that includes family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, ER," she said. "And by 2035, we’re going to have the need for over 7,872 additional practitioners. Then, you look at specialty care. This is even more devastating.”
The state is looking at a deficit of more than 10,000 physicians in the near future, Harrell said.
But most senators praised the measure.
“Senators, we have a good bill in front of us," said Orlando Democratic Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith. "We have a clean bill, no caps, because you can’t put a price on a life. The victims and the families of a wrongful death due to medical malpractice deserve this bill, and thank you for bringing it to the Senate floor.”
The Senate voted 33-4 to approve the measure. Given that the House passed the bill in March, it’s now heading to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
