SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 1700

Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death
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SPONSOR
Grall
FILED BY
Erin Grall — District 29, Republican [search donations]
DIED IN
Judiciary

Filed under Healthcare.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death; Deleting a provision that precludes certain persons from recovering damages for medical negligence resulting in death, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Lets adult children and parents recover damages in malpractice deaths.

Adult children of a parent who died from medical negligence, and parents of an adult child who died from medical negligence, can now recover wrongful-death damages -- a right medical-negligence claims alone had been denied.

That recovery is still subject to whatever other conditions the wrongful-death statute already imposes, such as the rule letting a parent of a deceased adult child recover only if no other survivors exist.

Nursing home and assisted living facility resident's-rights claims were already exempt from the repealed bar and are unaffected either way; the bill just drops a now-meaningless cross-reference to the provision it repeals.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Lets adult children recover damages when a parent dies of medical negligence majors. 768.21

AIAdult children are no longer barred from recovering the wrongful-death damages available under subsection (3) when their parent's death is caused by medical negligence.

“The damages specified in subsection (3) shall not be recoverable by adult children” bill text, line 31 →
§ 2 Lets parents recover damages when an adult child dies of medical negligence majors. 768.21

AIParents of an adult child are no longer barred from recovering the wrongful-death damages available under subsection (4) when their adult child's death is caused by medical negligence, as defined by Florida's malpractice presuit statute.

“the damages specified in subsection (4) shall not be recoverable by parents of an adult child with respect to claims for medical negligence” bill text, line 32 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Judiciary
1/22/2026
Introduced
1/16/2026
Referred to Judiciary; Appropriations Committee on Health and...
1/9/2026
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 768.21
+0 / −43
s. 400.023
+0 / −15
s. 400.0235
+0 / −18
s. 429.295
+0 / −18