Florida Legislature passes law to repeal “Free Kill” provision in Wrongful Death Statute

Florida’s Wrongful Death Act

Under Florida law, a wrongful death occurs when a person’s death is caused by negligence or some other wrongful act. Common examples of wrongful death claims are incidents such as a car accident or slip and fall, defective product, an intentional act, or medical malpractice. The act specifies who can make a claim for wrongful death when a family member dies.

Under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, when a death occurs specifically because of medical malpractice, only the spouse of the decedent or the decedent’s minor children can bring a claim.  Specific language in the statute, added 35 years ago, prevents adult children over the age of 25 and parents of adult children over the age of 25 from filing a claim for wrongful death in medical malpractice cases. This section of the statute is commonly referred to as Florida’s ‘Free Kill’ law.

What is the ‘Free Kill’ Law?

The ‘Free Kill’ law is the colloquial term used to refer to section 768.21(8), Florida Statutes, which is a part of Florida’s Wrongful Death Statute. This section prohibits adult children and parents of adult children from seeking damages for the wrongful death of a loved one that died due to medical malpractice. Florida passed this law in 1990 in the hope of preventing physicians from leaving Florida due to the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance rates. There is no similar limitation where the death is caused by negligence other than medical malpractice, for example, a car accident.

Who is affected by the ‘Free Kill’ Law?

Both adult children over 25 years old and parents of children over 25 years old are affected by this law. For the purposes of this statute, children are considered adults after the age of 25.

Adult children over 25 cannot sue for damages in a claim relating to the wrongful death of their parent. The ‘Free Kill’ law prevents adult children from recovering compensation for emotional damages related to the death of their parent– which includes lost parental companionship, instruction, guidance, and mental pain and suffering.  

Parents of adult children cannot sue for pain-and-suffering damages in a claim for the wrongful death of their adult child. The ‘Free Kill’ law prevents parents of adult children from recovering emotional and psychological damages in a wrongful death or medical malpractice of their deceased child.

Efforts to Repeal the ‘Free Kill’ Law

For years Florida legislators have tried to repeal the ‘Free Kill’ portion of the Wrongful Death Statute to no avail. Finally, in May 2025, the Florida Legislature passed HB 6017 with overwhelming bipartisan support. HB 6017 would end the ‘Free Kill’ law in Florida, which would allow adult children and parents of adult children to sue for pain-and-suffering damages caused by the death of their loved ones in medical malpractice cases.

HB 6017 must be signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to become law. While it has yet to be confirmed whether Governor DeSantis will sign HB 6017, there is speculation that the Governor will sign HB6017 which will repeal Florida’s ‘Free Kill’ law.

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