TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he will veto a bill that seeks to expand lawsuits by some people pursuing medical-malpractice claims involving the deaths of family members.
DeSantis said the proposal (HB 6017) to repeal a long-controversial 1990 law will cause insurance premiums to “skyrocket” by allowing people to expand economic damage claims to include non-economic damages.
“What that is going to do, is that’s going to lead to a flood of lawsuits against practitioners, against hospitals. Malpractice premiums are going to go up,” DeSantis said during an event in Dade City.
DeSantis said he relied upon input from people at health care hospitals and physicians.
“It was pretty overwhelming in terms of the concern,” DeSantis said.
Under the 1990 law, people who are 25 years old or older cannot seek what are known as “non-economic” damages in medical-malpractice cases involving deaths of their parents.
Also, parents cannot seek such damages in malpractice cases involving the deaths of their children who are 25 or older.
The bill, which the governor has not received yet, was strongly supported during the 2025 legislative session by people who allege their family members were killed by medical malpractice.
Health-care and business groups have lobbied against it. Lawmakers could revisit the issue, as DeSantis suggested putting limits on monetary awards.
“What I suggested that was done — I know there was some support for it in the Senate — is that if you had caps on the amount of damages, people could see that and would disincentivize a lot of jackpot justice,” DeSantis said.
Damage caps have been a lightning-rod issue for decades, with health-care groups backing such limits and plaintiffs’ attorneys fighting them.
Supporters of the repeal have said the law prevents people from getting justice for deaths caused by medical malpractice.
“This is a 35-year-old law that needs to be repealed. … It’s unjust. It shouldn’t be on the books,” Senate bill sponsor Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, said before the Senate voted 33-4 to pass the bill on May 1.
The House approved the measure in a 104-6 vote on March 26.
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