Florida House District 3 Representative Joel Rudman became “agitated” when questioned over an assertion he made during an interview with Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone of WFTS ABC Action News, a Tampa based news station:
Rudman was being interviewed about HB 129, a bill aimed to repeal 34-year-old legislation called the Wrongful Death Act, which prohibits families of unmarried adults from suing doctors for pain and suffering if a physician’s mistake killed them.
At first, Rudman was nice to Sabrina Davis, whose father had a history of blood clots and died in 2020 after a doctor suspected a pulled muscle was causing knee pain.
“God bless you, we’re gonna see if we can’t do right by you,” he told Davis.
But shortly thereafter Rudman became “agitated” when LaGrone questioned an assertion he made about trial attorneys. “We certainly don’t want there to be a glut of frivolous lawsuits.”
When LaGrone suggested there was “no evidence” of that, Rudman clapped back.
“Now you’re interrupting me. Do you wanna ask me the questions, or would you like me to ask you the questions,” he said before motioning to stop the video recording.
“Let’s cut that. Let’s cut that,” he said, attempting to control the interview. “You’re gonna let me finish, or we’ll throw this out. Start over, start over. No, no. I was making two points. Let me make my points. Who’s the physician here?”
He then pointed to Davis, “Sabrina, you like my help? Tell her to be respectful.”
In the end, HB 129 was never even heard in the House and died March 8 in the Civil Justice subcommittee.
Rudman is seeking re-election. His list of campaign donors includes multiple contributions from the medical industry.
