John Uustal joined other prominent attorneys in criticizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis following his veto of House Bill 6017, also known as the “Free Kill” bill, on Thursday.
Under current Florida law, if a malpractice victim is unmarried and has no minor children, their family cannot pursue recovering damages for medical negligence resulting in death.
“There’s no rational justification for intentionally giving legal immunity to medical providers, especially for-profit hospitals raking in insane amounts of money,” said Uustal. “Why should it be, essentially, legal to commit horrible malpractice that kills young people who don’t happen to be married? Or older people who’ve lost their spouse? It doesn’t make any sense, it’s pure power.”
The decision has drawn criticism from leaders of the legal community, including John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan and Rick Ellsley of The Ellsley Law Firm who argue that the governor is putting the interests of the insurance industry ahead of justice for victims and families.
For many families and advocates, the veto of HB 6017 is the painful continuation of a law that some say leaves too many without justice.
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