Taylor Jenkins died in HCA Florida Osceola Hospital in Orlando, Florida, on 3/22/23 (details below). Her 100% single mom lost half of her heart that day, and her little sister lost her very best friend in the world.

In the midst of tragedy, while seeking help from a legal professional, Taylor’s mom was enlightened that Taylor fell under Florida's "FREE KILL" law. Attorney after attorney stated the same. They could not help because Taylor had just turned 25, she had not yet gotten married, and she had no children. 

"FREE KILL" serves to keep the out-of-control medical malpractice insurance premiums in Florida affordable for doctors, but does nothing to address the root cause: the high level of medical malpractice occurring in our hospitals. 

It is too late for justice for Taylor; however, her mom is on a mission to RESTORE EQUAL ACCESS TO FLORIDA'S JUDICIAL SYSTEM FOR ALL, after finding out about Florida's harsh "FREE KILL" law (Fla. Stat. §768.21).

Taylor's Story:

On March 18, 2023, Taylor was sitting at a red light in Orlando, Florida, when she was rear-ended. Taylor was taken by diligent first responders to the closest level 2 trauma hospital within 30 minutes of impact.

Due to “excessive motion and streak artifact limiting evaluation”, and additional imaging not being done for clarity, Taylor was misdiagnosed with frontal lobe subdural hematomas (collection of blood between the brain and skull) and was admitted to the ICU. This is a very serious brain injury and is usually treated with immediate surgery (craniotomy) to remove the hematomas and make room for swelling. (Note: The autopsy report for which her mom paid states repeatedly, “There are no subdural hematomas”.) 

Nevertheless, Taylor's medical record, when FINALLY obtained, reflected coding for a craniotomy. Had Taylor had subdural hematomas, a craniotomy would have relieved brain pressure and made room for brain swelling. This procedure never took place. Taylor's medical record also reflects that the neurosurgeon did not see Taylor until over 7 hours after he was phone consulted regarding the emergency brain injury (that did not exist, per the autopsy report). A second head/brain CT taken about 8 hours after the first showed no subdural hematomas, though the discrepancies between the two scans were not shared with Taylor’s mom or loved ones. 

Tragically, numerous orders placed by the emergency room/trauma team were not carried out until 7-10 hours after the orders were placed. Some orders were never carried out. Period. One of the orders that was never carried out (monitoring central venous pressure) would have helped to identify internal bleeding.

Horrifyingly, a life-threatening torn pelvic artery sustained from the seat belt went undiagnosed for over 12 hours, resulting in Taylor bleeding internally over hours, and hours, and hours. Due to massive amounts of internal blood loss, Taylor developed a large blood filled hematoma in her abdomen, a pool of blood in a hematoma behind her left quadricep, and her distended and rock hard abdomen was engorged with blood.

Taylor’s medical record reflects she was in hypovolemic shock upon arrival to HCA Osceola Regional. Because a subgaleal hematoma (collection of blood outside the skull and between the skull and scalp) was, apparently misdiagnosed, per the autopsy, as subdural hematomas (collection of blood in the skull and between the brain and skull), and because the torn pelvic artery was undiagnosed for so long, Taylor lost so much blood....

Taylor went into hemorrhagic shock. Her heart's left ventricle collapsed. Her heart was failing. Her organs were failing. There simply was not enough blood volume left in her veins to deliver blood or oxygen to her heart, organs, or brain. Per Taylor's medical record, and unbeknownst to her mom and loved ones at the hospital, about 9 hours after Taylor arrived at the hospital she underwent an emergency mass blood transfusion. She received 11 units of blood over a matter of hours. To put this into perspective, the average adult female body contains a total of approximately 10 units of blood.

Taylor's life-threatening torn pelvic artery was not repaired until nearly 16 hours after the accident. Upon leaving the operating room, the trauma surgeon noted in Taylor's chart that she no longer had signs of brain stem function. When a person no longer has brain stem function, they lose the potential for ever regaining consciousness and no longer have the capacity to breathe without life support.  

Taylor's loved ones were never enlightened about the fact that Taylor was lying in the ICU bleeding internally for over 12 hours before the hospital identified that she had a torn pelvic artery. Doctors never shared that an "emergency mass blood transfusion" was being given, nor was Taylor's mom asked to sign consent. Doctors did not convey that Taylor had suffered hypovolemic/hemorrhagic shock, heart failure, and organ failure, or that she had no signs of brain stem function coming out of the operating room to repair the torn artery. Instead, doctors shared how well the surgery to repair the torn artery went, then shifted focus back to the severity of the brain injury. 

For the entire weekend, Taylor's loved ones were led to believe the narrative doctors were sharing that Taylor's brain injury sustained in the accident  (that the autopsy report states did not exist) seemed to be causing her brain to swell and swell to the point it was likely her brain stem was herniating into her spinal column, thus cutting off oxygen to her brain. When Taylor's mom asked the trauma surgeon why a craniotomy was not being performed to make room for brain swelling, he replied, "It doesn't work in these cases". When Taylor's mom asked why additional imaging was not being done to determine precisely what was going on with Taylor's brain, the trauma surgeon replied, "It would not change our course of treatment for Taylor, therefore, it is not necessary". Contrary to the narrative of the trauma surgeon, Taylor’s medical record and CT scan reports did not reflect a brain stem herniation. However, the second head/brain CT scan did not show

On the evening of day one in the ICU, March 18, 2023, Taylor's mom began requesting to see/review Taylor's medical record. Her intent was to get a second opinion and have Taylor transferred to the top trauma hospital in Central Florida. Taylor's mother's attempts continued for 4 days. Every attempt was met with, "It is our policy not to provide access to records until patient release or discharge", even after she looped in an attorney. Regardless of hospital policy, Florida law states a patient/patient representative has the right to see/review their medical record Fla. Stat. § 456.057(6), the right to a second opinion Fla. Stat. § 641.51, and the right to be transferred from one public Florida hospital to another public Florida hospital Fla. Stat. § 394.4686(a). 

On March 21, 2023, doctors advised Taylor's family members they needed to conduct brain death testing. Taylor's mother was still fighting for her rights, under Florida law, to see/review Taylor's medical record, get a second opinion, and have Taylor transferred. She had lost complete faith and trust in the hospital and its doctors because of the extreme disorganization, contradictory communication, lack of action taken to treat Taylor’s brain injury, and sudden urgency around brain death testing and "calling it". The attorney Taylor’s mother looped in highly encouraged her to get a second opinion from another hospital. This attorney was helping out of the pure kindness in his heart. He gave Taylor’s mother his direct cell and made himself readily available to help at every turn, volunteering to communicate with doctors and even participate in a Zoom that the hospital refused to cooperate in scheduling. The attorney simply did not have the heart to enlighten Taylor’s mother about “Free Kill” until after Taylor was gone and the immediate crises was over. As Taylor’s mom’s pleas for access to Taylor's medical record continued so she could get Taylor transferred elsewhere, doctors stressed that under Florida law they did not need consent to proceed with brain death testing and, furthermore, they would pronounce Taylor deceased as long as two physicians agreed. 

On March 22, 2023, doctors proceeded with brain death testing and "called it" at 5:35 p.m.

After experiencing more trauma than any mother should, and tragically losing her first child, Taylor's mom learned that no legal team would conduct a thorough review of Taylor's medical record. Because Taylor was 25, had not yet gotten married, and had no children, Florida law considers her a "Free Kill". Taylor's mom has no recourse from a legal standpoint. This becomes the grim reality, all too often, for those who lose loved ones in Florida hospitals.

Instead of Taylor's mom being able to hand Taylor's medical record over to a skilled professional so she could focus on processing, grieving, giving her undivided attention to emotionally supporting her younger daughter, Madison, and planning a funeral, she had no choice but to personally go through all 915 pages of Taylor's medical record. Not only was this extremely time consuming and emotionally, mentally and physically taxing, it requires a skill set for which many have not been trained. Taylor's mom was forced to learn, page by page, what unfolded in the hospital. She had to re-live the trauma over, and over, and over again regarding the knowns. She also experienced new trauma as she learned of the gruesome unknowns, the mortifying events that had not been disclosed. She has so many questions that will never be answered about how what happened could have possibly happened. These questions will likely never be answered, as she does not have a legal right to depose the doctors or hospital staff.  

Taylor's mom desperately needs your help to end Florida's "Free Kill" law so every Floridian, and the nearly 1.5 million people who visit Florida each year, never have to face the same fate.

There are two groups of people who are considered "Free Kill" in Florida (Fla. Stat. 768.21). 

"Free Kill" Group 1 

• "Adult" child
• 25 or older
• Unmarried
• No children

"Free Kill" Group 2

• Adult
• Unmarried/Widow/Widower
• Children 25 or older

Florida is the only state in the United States with a law that strips away equal access to the judicial system. Innocent people who place their trust in Florida hospitals continue to lose their lives, only for their devastated families to find out they have become part of the "Free Kill" club.

If this law was revoked, ALL families would have the opportunity to have the skilled services of trained professionals who understand medical records. Their questions could be answered by these professionals and, where necessary, the judicial system could be utilized to challenge what happens in Florida hospitals. This would provide an added layer of accountability and, hopefully, increase the standard of care.

By signing this petition, you are supporting the overturning of Florida's "Free Kill" law.

If you are a Florida resident, you are requesting that the senator and representatives for your district draft, support, and give their voice to a bill to overturn "Free Kill" and restore equal access to Florida's judicial system.

If you are a United States citizen, you are petitioning the Supreme Court to declare "Free Kill" unconstitutional and overturn this barbaric law.

Together, we can ensure that EQUAL ACCESS to Florida's judicial system is restored FOR EVERYONE, provide an added layer of accountability so every hospital is held to a higher standard, and, hopefully, increase the quality of care for all.