SPRING HILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — Tina Fitzgerald of Spring Hill sheds tears as she thinks about her daughter, who died after seeing a doctor.
“That’s difficult. Six years,” Fitzgerald said.
Her daughter passed away in December 2018 at the age of 41 after a major cerebral hemorrhage. Fitzgerald said he treated his daughter as a heart attack patient when doctors first asked for a doctor’s appointment. Her daughter was then moved to another facility, but the doctors there were unable to reverse the decline in health that had progressed under the previous facility. The 41-year-old initially went to the hospital over complaints of head pain and shortness of breath.
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“I said I wanted a meeting with the doctor, but they wouldn’t let that happen,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald was unable to seek damages in the illegal death lawsuit. A 1990 Florida law states that parents cannot sue non-economic damages such as pain or suffering if their children are over 25 years old, unmarried and have no children.
“The magical combination: single, no children. So it’s like she didn’t count,” Fitzgerald said.
Another part of the law states that people over the age of 25 cannot su in similar cases involving unmarried parents.
Fitzgerald said she’s not looking for cash, she’s looking for accountability.
“There’s no amount of money to get her back in the world we can get back,” Fitzgerald said.
Florida Senate Bill 734 and its House peers are aiming to repeal these restrictions.
During a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, insurance broker Alfred Gronobius said Florida had over $20 million in 2023. One was over $200 million. He fears that his number will increase as an opponent.
“Expanding the ability of many people to file illegal deaths will already make the malpractice insurance market even worse,” Gnobius said.
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Village resident Bob Johnson also opposed the bill. He fears he might have to pay more for insurance.
“This bill will increase, accelerate and exacerbate the issues Floridians are experiencing today in the healthcare system, regarding the availability and costs of healthcare,” Johnson said.
Medical malpractice lawyer Jordan Darcy has not purchased concerns that the enemy is involved in rising insurance costs. As a supporter of the bill, he hopes lawmakers continue to move forward with the measure, so there will be full votes on the floors of both rooms.
“The law does nothing to reduce premiums to healthcare providers. They have been increasing premiums since the law was written in 1990,” Darcy said.
Dulcie noted that premiums have risen across the board, including non-medical treatments. He said it shows that there are many factors that lawmakers are currently investigating.
Now Darcy wants Tallahassee’s opponent to think about a group of Floridians who want to do everything they can to heal from their losses. He believes that more restrictions are preventing the closure due to current restrictions.
“What it did is to take victims of illegal deaths out of their ability to seek or deal with them under the Florida Constitution,” Darcy said.
He concludes that, due to the law of restrictions, many families fighting for change today cannot yet take action if measures become law.
The bill continues to pass the committee phase.
Some opponents have said they agree to claim at the maximum damages. The measure was submitted previously, but was not successful in Tallahassee.
