Lawmakers renew push to close unique Florida medical malpractice loophole

SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) – Tina Fitzgerald of Spring Hill is brought to tears thinking about her daughter who died after seeking medical attention.

"It's hard. Six years," Fitzgerald said.

Her daughter died at 41 years old after a massive brain bleed in December 2018. Fitzgerald said doctors treated her daughter as a heart attack patient when she initially sought medical attention. Her daughter was then moved to a different facility but doctors there couldn't reverse the health decline that progressed, Fitgerald said, under the previous facility. The 41-year-old initially went to the hospital over complaints of head pain and shortness of breath.

"I said I wanted a meeting with the doctors, and they wouldn't let that happen," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald was unable to seek damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. A 1990 Florida law states parents cannot sue for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, in malpractice cases if their children are 25 and older, unmarried, and have no children.

"The magic combination: single, no children. So, it's like she didn't count," Fitzgerald said.

Another part of the law states anyone 25 and older cannot sue in similar cases involving unmarried parents.

Fitzgerald said she wasn't looking for cash but looking for accountability.

"There's no amount of money in the world that we could get back that would bring her back," Fitzgerald said.

Florida Senate Bill 734 and its house companion aim to repeal those restrictions.

In a senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Insurance Broker Alfred Gronovius said Florida had eight medical malpractice cases in excess of $20 million dollars in 2023. One was more than $200 million. He fears, as an opponent, that number could increase.

"If we expand the ability of a number of people that could sue for wrongful deaths, we will make an already medical malpractice insurance market that much worse," Gronovius said.

The Villages resident Bob Johnson spoke against the bill as well. He fears he may have to pay more for insurance.

"This bill will increase and accelerate and exacerbate the problems that Floridians are experiencing today in the health care system on the availability and the cost of health care," Johnson said.

Medical Malpractice Attorney Jordan Dulcie doesn't buy the concerns opponents have involving the rising cost of insurance. As a supporter of the bill, he wants to see lawmakers continue to move the measure forward so there's a full vote on the floor in both chambers.

"This law has done nothing to bring down insurance premiums for medical providers. They've continued to increase premiums since this law was on the books in 1990," Dulcie said.

Dulcie noted that premiums have been rising across the board, which includes non-medical. He said that shows there are a multitude of factors in play, which lawmakers are currently investigating.

Now, Dulcie wants opponents in Tallahassee to think about the group of Floridians who want to do whatever they can to heal from their loss. He believes the current restrictions have prevented many from closure.

"All it has done is deprive victims of wrongful death from having the ability to seek or address in the courts, which is their right under the Florida constitution," Dulcie said.

He concludes that many families fighting today for change still won't be able to take action, if the measure becomes law, because of the statute of limitations.

The bills continue to make their way through the committee stage.

Some opponents have stated they would agree to bill with a cap on damages. That measure has been filed before but didn't have any success in Tallahassee.