JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Right now, in Florida, if you are over the age of 25, not married and have no children under 25, your loved ones can’t sue if you die of medical negligence. It appears it will stay that way at least for another year as the legislation to repeal the law doesn’t have enough support to pass.
“It basically is not able to move any more this session,” State Senator Clay Yarborough, a Republican representing District 4, said.
Yarborough sponsored Senate Bill 248 to repeal subsection 8 of Florida's Wrongful Death Act. His amended bill passed a judicial committee in January with caps on non-economic medical negligence claims added to it, but it did not make it through any other committees. The 2024 session ends Friday, March 8.
“What I think the good is that's come out of this is that we have a product that we can start with for the 2025 session. And I've already spoken to the incoming president for next year, Senator Albritton, and told him I still want to work on this and repeal that law,” Yarborough said. “But once we get into the actual negotiation, and we have the new presiding officers, we'll have new members that come in after the 2024 election, we'll have to see how they feel about things and pitch it and see what the members are willing to support.”
Sabrina Davis learned about the law after she lost her father in 2020 due to medical negligence. She’s been advocating for change ever since and is disappointed it wasn’t repealed. Two of the five bills introduced this session to repeal or partially repeal the law bared her father’s name. None of them passed.
“This session was very eye-opening for me. I learned a lot. We heard a lot of talk about balance. For me, the foundation of balance in my life began with my mom and my dad. When someone else’s reckless behavior wrecked my life and destroyed that balance, I expect to be able to hold that person to the highest form of accountability. No jury could ever award me enough, and no cap could ever compare to what that doctor took from me. That’s why I chose not to fight against the caps but instead stay focused on the repeal of subsection 8,” Davis said.
For families who have pushed to have the law repealed, Senator Yarborough says don’t give up hope.
“What I would tell them is please don't get discouraged. I know we're now going into the 34th year that this law has been on the books,” Sen. Yarborough said. “We have some very fierce advocates who have continued to say, ‘Hey, we know it didn't happen this year, but we want to work on it again next year.’ That's what they need to do and talk to the members so that they know how they feel. And we're going to give it a shot again.”
Davis says she isn’t about to give up her fight to get the law repealed.
“This outdated law creates a huge lack of trust. We’re talking about a wrongful death. We’re talking about a daughter having to read the weight of her father’s brain, the weight of his heart, to get to the cause of death, a preventable 9-inch-long blood clot. You can’t put a price on that type of pain and suffering. The reality is, the higher the consequence, the less likely that person is to repeat that bad action,” Davis said. “Could lives be saved? Could we have safer healthcare? I think we owe it to our patients and families to rectify this 34-year-old Florida law. With this law in place there is no motivation to do better…My heart hurts for all the families who will experience this in the upcoming year. I can confidently say I tried, and I won’t give up.”