HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Surrounded by doctors, healthcare lobbyists and Florida’s Surgeon General, Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that he’s killing House Bill 6017, a bill that would have repealed what critics have long dubbed Florida’s "free kill" law.
“This bill would have a lot of negative impacts in a variety of ways across our healthcare system,” he said from a hospital in Fort Myers, adding that if he signed the bill, a repeal would drive up already high medical malpractice premiums in the state and make recruiting physicians here even harder than it already is.
WATCH: Families pledge to 'keep fighting' after veto
The state, like many other states, is dealing with a physician shortage.
The governor’s veto comes weeks after lawmakers in both the House and Senate overwhelmingly voted to repeal the 35-year-old law. The law, known as the Wrongful Death Act, limits family members from seeking economic damages if an unmarried loved one who is 25-years or older unexpectedly dies from medical negligence.
Gov. DeSantis believes a full repeal would also open the floodgates to litigation in a state that has a history of feeding off frivolous lawsuits.
In recent years, Gov. DeSantis has championed efforts to reform frivolous litigation in Florida courts.
During his veto announcement, the governor said he would have supported the bill had lawmakers approved a last-minute amendment to add caps. That amendment ultimately failed.
“If you’re going to unwind what was done 30, 40 years ago and do these non-economic damages, you’ve got to have caps on the amounts and you’ve got to have caps on attorney’s fees,” he said.
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Families struggle to get governor not to veto 'free kill' bill
But families who have spent years fighting to get the law off the books were quick to respond by holding their own press conference in front of a Hillsborough County courthouse and fact-checking some of the governor’s claims.
“Fears that this bill would spike malpractice premiums are unsubstantiated. No actual evidence or credible study has shown that eliminating this exclusion would raise costs,” said Sabrina Davis, whose father died of a misdiagnosed blood clot while he was being treated in a Tampa hospital for knee pain.
Lauren Korniyenko, whose 70-year-old mom bled to death while she was in a hospital, said adding caps would only be another way to keep families from seeking justice.
“Hospitals understand these are expensive cases to pursue, so if you cap it at $1 million, none of these cases will ever see the light of day,” she said.
The governor’s reasoning for a veto mirrors what healthcare lobbyists, doctors and medical advocates have long argued about a full repeal.
As a result, families fighting to get the law off the books fear the governor’s veto is based on information he’s getting from the industry, which has deeper pockets and more influence than everyday families living the impacts of the law.
Despite multiple requests to meet with the governor, none of the families who appeared at the press conference Thursday said they were able to secure a meeting.
Davis said she doesn’t know of a single family who has been able to sit down with the governor about this issue.
The legislature can vote to override the governor. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Senator Clay Yarborough, who introduced a bill in the Senate, said he will not advocate to override the governor’s veto.
“While I wanted to see the bill become law, I accept the governor’s decision,” he said.
While Thursday was a blow to families hoping to see this law gone, they said their fight is far from over.
“For those we’ve lost and those still waiting for justice, we will keep fighting and we will show up year after year after year until justice is restored for families,” said Karen Aguilar.
