In the past few years, Florida has developed a bad reputation for chipping away at laws meant to protect workers and consumers. One example of this is the loophole in its wrongful death act. If your loved one has no spouse or minor children, the state may not allow you to seek damages in court.
According to U.S. News, if you are the next of kin of someone who is over the age of 25, unmarried and without minor children, you may not have the right to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. Over the years, Floridians have begun to refer to this clause as the “Free Kill” law.
What “Free Kill” means
The term implies that doctors and other responsible parties may face no legal or monetary consequences for contributing to the death of a person who fits a particular demographic. People who oppose the law believe it fails to give equal value to human lives.
What fields it applies to
It is important to note that only health care providers receive the “Free Kill” exemption. If your loved one dies in a car crash, for instance, adult children and the parents of the deceased person may file a wrongful death claim. When legislators extended rights to adult children and parents in 1990, they chose to protect doctors.
Florida first put the “Free Kill” law in place with the alleged intention of protecting consumers from high health care costs. Lawmakers believed that if people continued to sue for medical malpractice, the cost would only continue to climb. Unfortunately, it may cause your family a great deal of heartache.