HB 6003 Clears the House Judiciary Committee: What Repealing Florida's Medical Negligence Exception Could Mean for Wrongful Death Settlements

Florida’s debate over the so-called “free kill” provision of the Wrongful Death Act is back for the 2026 session. On November 19, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee voted 15 to 1 to approve HB 6003, sponsored by Rep. Dana Trabulsy and Rep. Johanna López, sending the bill to the House floor ahead of the session that begins January 13 ¹. For counsel, adjusters and parties who resolve medical negligence and nursing home claims, the bill is worth tracking now, because it would change who can recover and what a death case is worth.

What HB 6003 Would Change

Under current law, section 768.21, Florida Statutes, contains a medical negligence exception that bars two groups from recovering noneconomic wrongful death damages in medical negligence cases: children of the decedent who are 25 or older, and parents of a deceased child who was 25 or older at the time of death ². HB 6003 would remove that exception ².

If enacted, adult children of a decedent with no surviving spouse could recover for lost parental companionship, instruction and guidance and for their own mental pain and suffering in medical negligence cases ². Parents of an adult child with no other survivors could recover for their mental pain and suffering ². The bill also makes conforming changes to provisions in chapters 400 and 429 that govern nursing home and assisted living facility claims, and it would take effect July 1, 2026 ²³.

The House staff analysis describes the fiscal effect as indeterminate, noting that the bill may increase the number of medical malpractice lawsuits and the liability in those suits, while increasing potential recoveries for the affected family members ².

A Familiar Fight

This is not the first attempt. A similar bill, HB 6017, passed both chambers in 2025 and was vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 29, 2025 ². Earlier versions passed the House in 2021 and 2022 and died in the Senate ¹². HB 6003 was filed on September 24, 2025, cleared the Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee 16 to 2 on October 15, and completed its House committee stops in Judiciary ¹³.

The opposition has not changed. Physicians, hospitals and insurers warned that the measure would raise health care costs and malpractice premiums and discourage doctors from practicing in Florida, and the governor has called for caps on damage awards ¹. Testifying for the Florida Justice Reform Institute, a lawyer who represents doctors argued that several other states impose similar limits and that caps would still allow victims to be made whole ¹. Supporters argued that the restrictions never controlled malpractice premiums as lawmakers promised in 1990 ¹. As of the committee vote, the bill had no Senate sponsor ¹.

What It Means at the Mediation Table

Until the Legislature acts, current law controls, and pending claims involving adult decedents without a spouse or minor children will continue to be valued without noneconomic damages for adult children or parents ². Even so, the bill’s progress is a variable that careful negotiators will account for:

• Claim valuation. Noneconomic damages are often the largest component of a wrongful death recovery. A change in who may claim them would change the range of reasonable outcomes for an entire category of cases ².
• Effective date questions. The bill as filed carries a July 1, 2026 effective date ³. Counsel evaluating whether to resolve a claim before or after that date should analyze how any enacted version would apply to claims that arose earlier, rather than assume either answer.
• Nursing home and assisted living claims. Because the bill also touches chapters 400 and 429 ², long-term care defendants and their carriers have their own reasons to watch the session.
• Uncertainty as a settlement factor. With a past veto, a governor favoring caps and no Senate sponsor at the time of the vote ¹, neither side can count on the outcome. Parties who quantify that uncertainty openly, rather than argue past it, tend to make better use of a mediation session.

The 2026 session will show whether this version fares differently. Until then, the existing statute governs every case on the docket.

Counsel looking for a certified mediator for a medical negligence, wrongful death or other circuit civil matter can check Tony Roca’s live availability and book a mediation by Zoom statewide.