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FLORIDA MEDICAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION

A FLORIDA REGISTERED NONPROFIT IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A 501C4

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Coming to Florida? What you should know about the free kill Statute

Coming to Florida? What you should know about the free kill Statute

In light of political and Coronavirus events, many people from what we southerners call "up north" have recently come to Florida either for an extended stay or moved here permanently. Every New Yorker or Pennsylvanian face I see makes me want to educate them about this terrible and law, which is extremely dangerous for roughly half of our residents. I know the Free Kill law is mind blowing, especially because it exists in no other state. Florida is the only one. If you are l

Bill to repeal Florida's Wrongful Death Act dies in Bob Rommel's committee again

Bill to repeal Florida's Wrongful Death Act dies in Bob Rommel's committee again

House Representative Slosberg and (CO-SPONSORS) Bush; Cortes, J.; Driskell; Eskamani; Jenne; Killebrew; and Mercado submitted House Bill 6051 (https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=68915) earlier this year, to repeal Florida's Wrongful Death Act (aka Free Kill law). It died in Bob Rommel's Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 14th, 2020 as COVID came down upon the United States. Rommel's comment on the docket states "Indefinitely postponed and

Is the Free Kill Bill (HB-6051) Dead for 2020?

Is the Free Kill Bill (HB-6051) Dead for 2020?

Florida House Representative Emily Slosberg introduced HB 6051 to fully repeal Florida's Free Kill law in the 2020 legislative session. Co-sponsors of this bill were Bush ; Cortes ; Eskamani ; Jenne ; Killebrew ; and Mercado. Unfortunately the Bill was never heard by the three subcommittees it was slated for (Civil Justice, Insurance and Banking and Judiciary subcommittees). As session comes to a close, the subcommittees have stopped meeting for 2020. We won't have another

CBS News covers Florida Free Kill

CBS News covers Florida Free Kill

Melody Page of Lake Worth, Fla., shares the story of how she lost her father, Ken, to a medical mistake on CBS news. Interviewed by Jay O'Brien, she has no legal recourse because of Florida's so-called "Free Kill Law." In Ken Sandberg's memory, she is trying to get the law changed. The interview aired on WPEC News 12 on Feb. 10, 2020. #wrongfuldeath #freekill #medicalrights #overdose #FLLAW #patientrights #fmra #florida #patientsafety #medmal

The Free Kill Loophole for Insurance Fraud

The Free Kill Loophole for Insurance Fraud

There is a little known loophole that hospitals are using to commit insurance fraud. It's called the Florida Free Kill Law. According to Florida law, if a medical professional causes death to a patient via medically negligent acts, the hospital of employment is not allowed to file an insurance claim for services rendered. It makes sense right: If you kill someone (or employ the killer) by mistake, you don't get paid for it. Health insurance companies are not permitted, b

HB 6051 - An end to Florida Free Kill

HB 6051 - An end to Florida Free Kill

It brings me immense joy to announce that HB 6051 has been submitted by Florida House Representative Slosberg (D), of Boca Raton, to repeal Florida's Wrongful Death Act as it pertains to medical negligence. So much joy in fact, I cried for hours. I cried for my father (victim). I cried for you. I cried because I believe my prayers are on the way to being answered. The bill is co-introduced by House Representatives John Cortes (D), Orlando; Even Jenne (D), Broward and Sam

Shine a Light on Florida Free Kill #FloridaLivesMatter Too

Shine a Light on Florida Free Kill #FloridaLivesMatter Too

The more light we can shed on Florida's Free Kill law, the better. The reason Florida Statute 768.21(8) is in place, is for medical malpractice companies to save money. The flip side of that is that it costs lives. Fundamentally, the reason for all types of insurance is two fold for the customer. Firstly, it protects the insured if something should go wrong. If something does go wrong, the cost of insurance is likely to go up. Secondly, insurance provides accountability.

How does the medical industry profit from death over life?

How does the medical industry profit from death over life?

Now I know the question seems counter intuitive. Does the medical industry profit from death? Sadly the answer is yes, in many cases, and actually more so in Florida than other states. Staggering new statistics were recently released reveal that 10% of deaths in the United States are caused by medical error, in spite of the fact that death may be listed under another cause on the death certificate. *see related article: Medical error is not included on death certificates. Me

Senator Farmer speaks out against Florida's Free Kill law

Senator Farmer speaks out against Florida's Free Kill law

Florida Senator Gary Farmer voices his opinion on Florida's Wrongful Death Act, aka Free Kill during the January 2019, Broward Legislative Committee Session. Because of Florida's Wrongful Death Act, Farmer states, "(In Florida) There is no accountability for a death that is caused by medical error simply because of an arbitrary cut off at age 25. A life is valuable regardless of how old the victim or their survivors are." While we have acquired the support of several legislat

A Heart Surgeon Faces Florida Free Kill Law

A Heart Surgeon Faces Florida Free Kill Law

"There but for the grace of God go I," is a phrase that came about simply because tragedy is something that one does not typically expect. It can happen to anyone at any time. In this case, a prominent heart surgeon, Dr. Lancelot Lester, who spent his career focusing on high risk cases and saved countless lives became a victim of medical error. According to this article in The Palm Beach Post, he suffered a reaction from a high dose of opioids and was not given Narcan (a dr

Where politicians stand on Florida Free Kill

Where politicians stand on Florida Free Kill

Dear Families of Florida Free Kill Victims and Florida Medical Rights Association Supporters, Election Day is near and while I would never tell anyone what to believe in or how to vote, I wanted to share with you which politicians have verbally committed to supporting a Bill to amend Florida's Free Kill Law and who has not. We have reached out to many Senators and House Representatives. The vast majority have not responded. Several responded that they would be willing to me

Project Billboard - Lets Do It!

Project Billboard - Lets Do It!

The FMRA team members have been working hard in the background gearing up for lobbying to change the Wrongful Death Act in Florida. In January, 2019 we aim to put up a billboard in Florida's capital, Tallahassee. The billboard will read this or similar (we will be taking votes on a few options): Are You a Florida Free Kill? Visit www.FloridaFreeKill.org to find out if you your death may be legally unaccounted for in the case of wrongful or negligent death during a hospital

Increase Your Chances of Exiting a Florida Hospital Alive

Increase Your Chances of Exiting a Florida Hospital Alive

Florida Medical Rights Association is a health policy advocacy organization, whose bottom line goal is to improve patient safety in Florida hospitals. Our first act is to get Florida's statute 768.21(8) amended. The accountability levels are a problem in Florida One challenge we face in Florida is that the only organization legally policing individual medical files with errors is the hospital administration staff, where the very offenders are employed. Self policing doesn

The End of Florida Free Kill is Near

The End of Florida Free Kill is Near

Welcome to Florida, the Sunshine State, where doctors and medical facilities are not held accountable when their patients die due to medical errors they make that cause death. Now as a full Florida Nonprofit in the process of becoming a 501c(4), Florida Medical Rights Association (formerly Dad's Daisies/Two Daughters) is making great strides. Since you haven't heard much from us lately, I just want to share what we are up to in the background: Debbie had a great meeting with

How Not To Become a Statistic of Wrongful Death by Medical Error

How Not To Become a Statistic of Wrongful Death by Medical Error

Florida Medical Rights Association is an advocacy organization, whose bottom line goal is to improve patient safety in Florida hospitals. "The accountability levels are a problem in Florida" States Melody, Board Chair and co-founder of FMRA. "The bottom line is that Florida's Free Kill law increases medical errors, and these are too often deadly." Medical error is currently listed by the NIH as the 3rd leading cause of death in America. Many deaths caused by medical error

2.3m College Free Kills in Florida

2.3m College Free Kills in Florida

Everybody makes mistakes, it's just a fact of life. Sometimes mistakes, especially those made by health care workers cause the untimely death of patients. In Florida, 53% of those deaths by medical error fall into the category of a Free Kill. In the state of Florida roughly 2.3 million young adults are are enrolled in college. According to Florida's Wrongful Death Act, there is zero accountability required if medical malpractice should occur causing the death of an unmarri

We Support Change in Elder Abuse Laws

We Support Change in Elder Abuse Laws

Florida Representative Watson (Miami-Dade County) and Florida Senator Gibson (Duval County) have submitted HB 259. A Bill worthy of attention from our community of advocates working towards improved medical rights and accountability in the Sunshine State. In full support of this Bill, there are some important points to note in relation to Florida's Wrongful Death Act. If "Florida's Free Kill" Law is not also addressed, the implication is that the Elder Abuse Fatality teams

Update: The Death of Debbie Magiera - Artery Severed in Surgery - FL Law Stands with Hospital

Update: The Death of Debbie Magiera - Artery Severed in Surgery - FL Law Stands with Hospital

FLORIDA'S FREE KILL LAW WINS IN SPITE OF THE AHCA HAVING DOCUMENTED MALPRACTICE, NEGLIGENCE AND HOSPITAL'S FAILURE TO MEET STANDARD OF CARE. DOES THIS SOUND PREPOSTEROUS? FLORIDA LAW (STATUTE 768.21(8) DOES NOT ALLOW MY FAMILY A FAIR TRIAL TO SEEK JUSTICE FOR MY BIG SISTER BECAUSE SHE WAS UNWED & HAD NO CHILDREN IT'S DEPLORABLY TRUE Florida: Where corporations value profit over human life... and get away with it On June 15th 2017 My Sister stepped in to Manatee Memorial Hosp

X-Ray Machine Dropped on Patient - She Died - Florida Law Supports Hospital

X-Ray Machine Dropped on Patient - She Died - Florida Law Supports Hospital

My name is Linda Andrews. My 34-year old daughter, Kayte passed away on March 25, 2017 at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. This is what happened: Kayte had diabetes since age 12. About five years ago she moved to Florida to live with me. She went into kidney failure after coming to Florida and was on dialysis. On March 9, 2017 she went into the emergency room because of severe pains in her side. Pain killers did not touch this pain. So on March 10th, they did

Medical Errors at Manatee Memorial Hospital Caused the Death of My Sister Debbie - Florida Free Kill

Medical Errors at Manatee Memorial Hospital Caused the Death of My Sister Debbie - Florida Free Kill

On June 19th 2017 My Sister Debbie Magiera underwent a routine herniated disk surgery, this surgery was supposed to be an in and out type of procedure. She was operated on by Dr. Timothy Roberts M.D. of Costal Orthopedics @ Manatee Memorial Hospital, Debbie went to the hospital that day expecting she would be home the same night, so her finance went with her and the family did not think this was going to turn into anything serious so we let Bob take her. Shortly after her bac

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