JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida families who were denied access to the courts after losing their loved ones to medical negligence are worried their hopes of repealing a 35-year-old state law may be derailed in the final days of the state legislative session.
It was one of the first bills heard this session - the repeal of Florida’s “Free Kill” law, which prohibits loved ones from suing for pain and suffering in cases of medical negligence when they lose an adult child or parent who is single, over the age of 25, and has no children over the age of 25.
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Fleming Island mother Cindy Jenkins began her fight for the repeal in 2023, when her 25-year-old daughter Taylor died after a doctor failed to treat internal bleeding that had been caused during a car accident.
“After I paid for a private autopsy and I knew exactly what had happened, I wanted to make sure it never happened to anybody else,” Jenkins said.
Read: Local mother hoping 2025 will be the year Florida’s ‘Free Kill’ law is repealed
The clean repeal made it through the full House last month.
But before it was heard on the Senate floor, amendments seen as poison pills by advocates were filed throughout the day Tuesday.
Two were withdrawn, but the third, which was filed by Senate Sponsor Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville) himself, was presented on the floor.
The amendment would have imposed a $1 million cap for all pain and suffering damages in cases of medical malpractice.
It was the addition of caps that killed last year’s effort to repeal the Free Kill law.
“If they amend our bill and pass it with caps, they’re restoring the rights to a few, but hurting the masses and we don’t want to be used,” Jenkins said.
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But in a rare 18-19 vote, Yarborough’s amendment to his own bill was rejected by the Senate.
Moments later, in another surprise twist, Yarborough temporarily postponed his bill before a final vote could be taken.
Jenkins told Action News Jax she’s hopeful senators return to the legislation and send a clean repeal to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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But with only three days left in session, time is running out.
“We should not be walking on eggshells with one branch of government being concerned what the next branch of government is going to do. We should let each branch of government do its job, let bills run their course and then if that branch of government vetoes it, we will cross that bridge,” Jenkins said.
Action News Jax is continuing to monitor this legislation as lawmakers continue to work through their daily agenda.
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