‘Not surprised — but heartbroken’: Dana Trabulsy urges Gov. DeSantis to reconsider veto of ‘free kill’ repeal

One of the sponsors of legislation to repeal a unique Florida law that prevents lawsuits in many cases of medical malpractice deaths is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to rethink his planned veto of the measure.

In a strongly worded statement, Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy called on DeSantis not to nix the measure (HB 6017), which would repeal a statute critics deride as “free kill.”

Trabulsy expressed “deep disappointment — not surprised — but heartbroken nonetheless” over the Governor’s decision to block the measure.

The bill, also sponsored by Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough and Orlando Democratic Rep. Johanna López, sought to undo a decades-old Florida provision that prevents adults over 25 and their parents who don’t have dependents from seeking noneconomic damages — pain, suffering and grief — in lethal cases of medical malpractice.

Florida is currently the only state in the country with such a restriction, which Trabulsy contended in her Thursday letter makes “some lives … legally worthless.”

“We are the only state that shields bad actors from accountability in such a sweeping way,” she said.

Trabulsy argued that removing the exemption would restore fairness and accountability to the state’s legal system, emphasizing that medical malpractice lawsuits are often prohibitively expensive to pursue when noneconomic damages are off the table.

“In practice, families are locked out of justice not by statute, but by economic reality,” she said.

DeSantis, in announcing his plan to veto HB 6017 Thursday, sided with arguments from medical industry groups that warned the measure could drive up malpractice insurance premiums and worsen Florida’s physician shortage.

“What would this legislation do for the cost of health care in Florida, access to care in Florida and our ability to recruit and keep physicians?” he said Thursday. “It would lead to higher costs for Floridians. It would lead to less access to care in Florida. It would make it harder for us to keep, recruit and maintain physicians in the state of Florida.”

He also cited a lack of caps on legal damages in the bill as a major flaw.

Trabulsy challenged that rationale, arguing such fears are unfounded.

“Medical malpractice insurance is optional in Florida,” she said. “When the good providers pay into the system while the bad actors simply opt out, costs inevitably rise for those trying to do the right thing.”

She also criticized what she described as misleading data being used to oppose the bill, including the widely circulated claim that Florida is “responsible for 10% of national malpractice cases and 78% of national costs.”

“That’s not just hard to believe — it’s statistically impossible,” she wrote, calling on DeSantis to “choose principle over politics.”

“Florida families are counting on us to restore justice,” she said, “and to restore value to every life lost too soon.”

The Legislature overwhelmingly passed HB 6017 on May 1.

In a separate statement, Yarborough said he accepted DeSantis’ decision and would not seek an override.

“For me, this decision has always been about the dignity and the inherent, God-given value of every human life,” he said. “While no sum of money can replace the loss of life, our laws should not place some lives at a higher value than others when it comes to the profound and lasting impact of medical negligence on a family. From the time the Governor took office, his actions have demonstrated he shares these views on the value of every life.”