House approves repeal of restriction on wrongful-death claims in medical negligence cases

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House voted 104-6 to pass House Bill 6017, a measure to repeal a provision of state law that restricted recovery of damages for certain deaths resulting from medical negligence.

Representative Trabulsi, sponsor of the bill, said the measure removes an outdated limit that prevented some families from seeking legal redress. “No one should lose a family member due to medical malpractice and lose the ability to access the courts just because they were over the age of 25, unmarried, with no dependents,” Trabulsi told colleagues while closing debate.

Supporters described the change as correcting an “unjust” limitation in Florida law that denied families access to wrongful-death claims. Representative Bracy Davis, speaking in favor, said the law had been “a stain on our state's moral conscience” and recounted stories of families who had sought justice for lost relatives. Multiple lawmakers thanked advocates who had pushed the reform for years and recognized family members in the gallery who had urged the change.

Opponents were few in number on the floor; debate focused on whether the repeal would affect medical liability insurance or health-care costs, though members who spoke in opposition were the minority. The measure was described on the floor as a repeal of “section 768.21, subsection 8” of the Florida Statutes (as stated by a sponsor during debate).

The House adopted the bill and sent it to the Senate. Members recognized family members of victims in the gallery during the debate and read a list of affected individuals into the record.