A day after the issue appeared stalled, the Florida Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would open the door to some people pursuing medical malpractice lawsuits over the deaths of family members.
The Senate voted 33-4 to pass the bill, which would repeal a long-controversial 1990 law. The House passed the bill (HB 6017) in late March, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Under the 1990 law, people who are 25 or older cannot seek what are known as "noneconomic" 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.
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"This is a 35-year-old law that needs to be repealed," Senate bill sponsor Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, said Thursday. "It's unjust. It shouldn't be on the books."
But opponents argued, in part, that a repeal would drive up medical malpractice insurance premiums, exacerbating problems with physician shortages in the state.
"We are going to create even more of a problem in the state of Florida," Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said.
Along with Harrell, the bill drew opposition from Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach; Sen. Stan McClain, R-Ocala; and Sen. Keith Truenow, R-Tavares.
The vote came a day after the bill appeared to be stalled in the Senate following a fierce debate and procedural moves. That included a failed attempt to change the bill to add a $1 million cap on noneconomic — often known as "pain and suffering" — damages in all medical malpractice lawsuits involving patient deaths.
Damage caps have been a lightning-rod issue for decades, with health care groups backing such limits and plaintiffs' attorneys fighting them. Yarborough said the proposed change would have brought "balance" to the bill.
After senators voted 19-18 to reject the proposed addition, Yarborough tabled the bill, leaving it unclear whether it would be considered again. But the Senate on Thursday took up the bill without the change and overwhelmingly passed it.
As a sign of the intensity of the issue, Harrell said a billboard had been put up in front of her neighborhood that attacked her as supporting "profits over people."
"I can tell you that is very devastating to anyone in a political situation where they think Gayle Harrell puts profits over people," said Harrell, whose late husband was a physician. "I do not. I do not."
Other senators rallied to Harrell's defense. Yarborough said there's "no excuse" for the billboard.
"I think it's sick," Yarborough said. "It's cowardly. It's immature."
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