My name is Maria, and my father died on June 21, 2022, following a series of devastating medical failures at AdventHealth Orlando.

For years, my father was misdiagnosed—despite multiple CT scans clearly showing stages 1-3 of lung cancer. Those scans were misread or ignored. His cancer progressed to Stage 4 without anyone acting.

Instead of receiving the treatment he needed, he was subjected to more than a dozen unnecessary procedures. By the time doctors finally diagnosed him correctly, it was too late.

To make matters worse, during the final months of his life, AdventHealth launched a hospital-wide rollout of the Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. That rollout introduced system-wide confusion, missing records, and dangerous communication breakdowns among his care team.Doctors couldn’t access critical lab results, medication history, or prior treatments. Records disappeared. One nearly fatal error he was on blood thinners. His physicians had no idea. The system failed to show it. Epic failed. And it almost cost him his life—sooner.

Despite overwhelming evidence of medical negligence—and a Certificate of Merit from an independent physician supporting our claim—I was told I had no legal right to pursue justice for my father’s death.

Why? Because of a Florida law known as the “Free Kill” statute (Fla. Stat. §768.21(8)).

This law states that if a patient is over 25, unmarried, and has no minor children, no one—not even their own family—can bring a wrongful death lawsuit. No matter how gross the negligence. No matter how preventable the death.

This means that in Florida, healthcare providers can make fatal mistakes with zero accountability—simply because of the patient’s marital or parental status. It is cruel, unethical, and Florida is the only state in the country that allows it.

I am calling on the Florida Legislature to repeal this law immediately.

FreeKillRepeal #JusticeForMartin #MedicalAccountability #EpicEHR #Repeal76821

Repeal Florida’s “Free Kill” Law – Pass SB 734 and Protect All Families

Florida is the only state in America where grieving families can be legally denied the right to seek justice after a wrongful death — simply because their loved one was unmarried and had no minor children.

Under Florida Statute §768.21(8), if a person over the age of 25 dies due to medical malpractice and has no spouse or dependent children, no one can sue for pain and suffering — no matter how obvious or devastating the negligence was.

This law has been called what it truly is: a “Free Kill” law — because it shields negligent hospitals, doctors, and healthcare systems from accountability when there’s no eligible survivor to bring a lawsuit.

Florida’s Free Kill law means:
 • Elderly patients can die from medical errors without consequences.
 • Veterans, disabled adults, and college students can die without a legal claim ever being filed.
 • Families are told: “No one can sue. Your loved one doesn’t qualify.”

When no one can sue, there is no justice — and no accountability.

Civil lawsuits are the only legal mechanism in Florida that allow families to:
 • Investigate what went wrong
 • Demand accountability from negligent doctors or hospitals
 • Uncover system failures and force change
 • Prevent the same thing from happening to someone else

But under Florida’s Free Kill law (Statute §768.21(8)), if your loved one dies due to medical malpractice and they weren’t married or didn’t have a minor child, no one can file a wrongful death claim.
Not a parent. Not an adult child. Not a sibling.
No lawsuit. No court. No testimony. No discovery.
Nothing.

That means:
 • Hospitals aren’t questioned under oath
 • Doctors don’t have to explain what they did or failed to do
 • No one reviews the records
 • No money is paid to the family
 • And worst of all — no policies are changed to prevent it from happening again

It becomes as if the person never existed — legally.

When the law blocks families from seeking justice, it doesn’t just abandon them —
it protects those who caused harm.

This year, SB 734 (sponsored with bipartisan support) would repeal the Free Kill provision and give every Floridian’s life equal legal value.

We call on Governor Ron DeSantis Ben Albritton Florida 55+ GuideSenate President Kathleen Kathleen PassidomoPassidomo and Governor Ron DeSantis to act now:
 • Add SB 734 to the Special Order Calendar.
 • Let the full Senate vote.
 • End Florida’s shameful status as the only state with a law like this.

Every life matters. Every family deserves justice.
It’s time to repeal Florida’s Free Kill law.

#EndFreeKill #JusticeForFloridaFamilies #SB734