"Free Kill Laws" Punish Survivors and Protect Doctors
Why grieving families in Florida still can’t sue for a loved one’s wrongful death—and how Missouri gets it right.
In late May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed HB 6017, a bill that would have allowed families to sue for noneconomic damages—such as grief and loss—when medical malpractice kills an adult child or parent.
That might sound uncontroversial. But under Florida’s current statute—commonly dubbed the “Free Kill Law”—if your adult child dies due to a doctor’s negligence, and they have no minor children, you have no right to sue. If your parent dies, same result. No recovery for pain. No legal recognition of your loss. No accountability
What Is the Free Kill Law?
Florida Statute § 768.21(8) bars adult children and parents of adult children from recovering noneconomic damages in medical malpractice wrongful death claims. This is unique—no other state in America has a provision like it.
The statute leaves a gaping hole in accountability, especially for unmarried adults with no minor children. If they die from malpractice, their lives are legally worth nothing to the people who loved them most.
Why Does This Exist?
Proponents argue that it helps keep malpractice insurance rates low and keeps doctors practicing in Florida. But that theory falls apart under scrutiny.
According to a 2024 report from the Florida Department of Health, only 1.3% of doctors who planned to leave the state cited malpractice premiums as a reason. Even fewer blamed liability exposure.
Meanwhile, malpractice insurance premiums are rising nationwide, including in states like Missouri, which does nothave a Free Kill Law.
Missouri Protects Families
Under Missouri’s Wrongful Death Statute, families can hold negligent providers accountable. If a spouse, child, parent, or even sibling dies due to medical negligence, their loved ones can bring a claim for both economic and noneconomic damages.
In short: Missouri values the lives of adult patients. Florida discounts them.
Insurance Rates Are Going Up Anyway
Between 2023 and 2024, malpractice premiums rose:
66.7% of the time in Missouri
61.9% of the time in Florida
The largest increase in Florida was 10.1%, while Missouri’s largest hike was even higher at 13.9%—and Missouri doesn’t deny families the right to sue.
So if Florida’s Free Kill Law was supposed to stop premium hikes, it’s not working.
The Bottom Line
Florida’s law doesn’t protect doctors. It shields negligence.
The Free Kill Law strips families of their legal voice, denies accountability, and prioritizes cost over care. And it doesn’t even do what its supporters claim.
As someone who has stood beside dozens of grieving families, I can tell you that the pain of losing a loved one to medical negligence doesn’t disappear because the victim was over 25, unmarried, or childless. The bond between a parent and child—or between adult siblings, spouses, and partners—is not defined by economic utility. That notion belongs to a time when courts calculated a person’s worth by how many hours they could work in a field. Today, we understand that what’s lost in wrongful death is the relationship itself: the love, the connection, the irreplaceable presence of a human being. When a state like Florida enacts laws that deny grieving families even the chance to seek justice, it tells us what it truly values—and what it’s willing to ignore.