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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to the Department of Highway Safety and

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Motor Vehicles; providing for the relief of Timothy Kulik

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and Theresa Ann Kulik; providing an appropriation to

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compensate them for injuries and damages sustained as a

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result of the negligence of the department; providing a

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limitation on the payment of fees and costs; providing an

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effective date.

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     WHEREAS, on March 30, 1996, Dr. Timothy Kulik, a dentist

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from South Bend, Indiana, and his family, including his wife

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Theresa Ann Kulik and their two teenage children, were en route

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from Indiana to South Florida on Interstate 75, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's son, Michael Kulik, was driving the

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family vehicle as the Kuliks traveled Interstate 75 in Columbia

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County, Florida, heading southbound within an extended

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construction zone, and

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     WHEREAS, Michael Kulik had been following a grey van for

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some time, keeping up with traffic, traveling in the right lane,

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when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James Bond pulled behind the

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Kulik vehicle and turned on his blue lights, indicating that the

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Kulik vehicle must pull over, and

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     WHEREAS, Michael Kulik, an inexperienced driver who had less

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than 1 year of total driving experience, pulled the vehicle off

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the road onto a shoulder still within the construction zone at a

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point where there was no emergency lane, and

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     WHEREAS, the left rear tire of the vehicle came to rest on

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asphalt less than 6 inches off the right white line delineating

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the shoulder of the road, with the left front tire approximately

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18 inches onto the shoulder, and

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     WHEREAS, the two right wheels came to rest on grass due to

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the narrow shoulder created by ongoing construction in that area,

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and

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     WHEREAS, a large grassy area separated the roadway from a

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large rest area, and

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     WHEREAS, testimony indicated that the swale was gentle and

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dry, allowing for vehicles to pull well off the road without risk

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of getting struck, and

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     WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, James Bond, in

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pulling the vehicle over, parked his vehicle approximately 15

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feet off of the roadway, and

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     WHEREAS, the pictures of the accident scene do not depict

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where Trooper Bond was parked at the time of the accident because

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he moved his vehicle after the fact, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond stated in deposition testimony that he

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noticed the proximity of the Kulik vehicle to the lanes of

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traffic and recognized the danger, but he did not feel it

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necessary to instruct Michael Kulik to move the vehicle further

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from the roadway because he felt that the family posed a flight

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risk, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond did have available a bullhorn to hail

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motorists from inside his vehicle but testified that his

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supervisors had discouraged its use, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond further failed to position his marked

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cruiser in a manner so as to alert oncoming motorists of the

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hazard he created and over which he had control, instead choosing

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to pull his automobile far off the roadway to an area of safety,

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and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond approached the Kulik vehicle from the

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passenger side and engaged the driver through the passenger

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window, and

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     WHEREAS, when asked at trial, Trooper Bond testified that

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approaching the Kulik vehicle from the driver's side would have

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placed him in danger of passing motorists, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik was in the front passenger seat and

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was notably agitated by the fact that his son received a ticket

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when he was merely following his father's instructions in keeping

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up with traffic through this construction zone, and voiced his

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displeasure to Trooper Bond during the stop, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik testified that he used some profanity

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when told to shut up by Trooper Bond, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond denied memory of any profanity, and

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     WHEREAS, when the ticket had been issued, Timothy Kulik

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offered to replace Michael Kulik as the driver because the son

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was noticeably shaken by the incident, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik exited his seat and walked around the

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rear of the vehicle, heading up the driver's side of the

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Chevrolet Suburban, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik passed his son Michael near the rear

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wheel and walked to the front door which had been left ajar by

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his son, and

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     WHEREAS, unfortunately, Timothy Kulik has no memory of

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events from this point on, and

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     WHEREAS, expert testimony revealed that Timothy Kulik opened

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the driver's door using his left hand, and

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     WHEREAS, as he did so, a large motor home passed and

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impacted the open door pinning Timothy Kulik's entire left arm

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between the door and motor home, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's left arm was practically severed in

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the impact, and

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     WHEREAS, as the motor home passed, it dragged Timothy Kulik

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and the door forward at high speed, throwing him around the door

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and forward onto the pavement in front of the Suburban, and

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     WHEREAS, the highway patrol policies and procedures clearly

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stated that a trooper is not to hesitate to direct a stopped

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motorist to an area of safety before instituting enforcement

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action, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond testified that he saw the proximity of

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the stopped Kulik car to the traffic lanes of Interstate 75 but

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chose to leave the Kuliks in a position of danger, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also allowed that, in his more than

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20-year career, he often saw motorists change drivers following a

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traffic stop, and

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     WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also acknowledged that the Florida

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Highway Patrol policy manual allowed for a trooper to instruct a

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motorist to stay in the vehicle, and

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     WHEREAS, because of a defense error, Trooper Bond's

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employment file was discussed in court and, as a result, it was

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revealed that Trooper Bond had been sanctioned more than once for

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displaying a very poor attitude, a fact that was key to

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substantiating Timothy Kulik's testimony that Trooper Bond was

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very abrasive when he approached the vehicle and baited Timothy

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Kulik into retaliating, and

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     WHEREAS, an emergency room physician and his wife, an

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emergency room nurse, were the first persons on the scene of the

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accident, and

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     WHEREAS, the couple rendered trauma care and assisted in

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stemming Timothy Kulik's profuse bleeding until local emergency

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teams arrived, and

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     WHEREAS, simply put, Dr. Timothy Kulik's left arm was

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shattered by the impact of the accident, and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. Kulik's arm, from the shoulder down to the

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wrist, was mangled, and no use of his hand or arm was possible

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for many months, and

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     WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik underwent seven or eight significant

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surgical procedures, and

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     WHEREAS, muscle transpositions have helped Dr. Kulik with

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simple grasp functions, but overall there is no dexterity to the

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left hand and minimal range of motion to the arm, and

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     WHEREAS, as a result of the accident of March 30, 1996, Dr.

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Timothy Kulik's arm is virtually useless, and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. Timothy Kulik was a dentist in South Bend,

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Indiana from 1976 to the present, opening his own practice in

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1995, and

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     WHEREAS, dentistry being a profession requiring the full use

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of both hands, Dr. Kulik is extremely limited in the types of

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procedures he can perform, with more costly and meticulous

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procedures such as crown placement being difficult to the point

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that Dr. Kulik can no longer perform them, and

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     WHEREAS, at trial, it was the intent of Timothy Kulik's

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legal representatives to prove that the motor home operator was

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negligent, minimizing the role of Trooper Bond after the first 2

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days of testimony, and

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     WHEREAS, for the remainder of the trial Timothy Kulik's

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attorneys concentrated on the motor home operator's actions,

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including during the closing argument when it was suggested that

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the jury find the Florida Highway Patrol minimally negligent, and

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     WHEREAS, despite this, the jury returned with a verdict

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attributing 0-percent negligence to the motor home operator,  

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approximately 46-percent negligence to Trooper Bond, and 54-

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percent negligence to Timothy Kulik, and

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     WHEREAS, the gross verdict in the trial was in the amount of

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$3,125,000 for Timothy Kulik and $50,000 for Theresa Ann Kulik

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for loss of consortium, and

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     WHEREAS, after reductions for comparative fault, judgment

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was entered against the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

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Vehicles in the sum of $1,437,500 for damages incurred by Timothy

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Kulik and $23,000 for damages incurred by Theresa Ann Kulik, NOW,

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THEREFORE,

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are

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found and declared to be true.

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     Section 2. The sum of $1,437,500 is appropriated from the

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General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and

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Motor Vehicles for the relief of Timothy Kulik as compensation

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for injuries and damages sustained.

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     Section 3. The sum of $23,000 is appropriated from the

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General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and

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Motor Vehicles for the relief of Theresa Ann Kulik as

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compensation for injuries and damages sustained.

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     Section 4. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw

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a warrant in favor of Timothy Kulik in the sum of $1,437,500 upon

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funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and

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to pay the same out of funds in the State Treasury.

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     Section 5. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw

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a warrant in favor of Theresa Ann Kulik in the sum of $23,000

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upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

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and to pay the same out of funds in the State Treasury.

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     Section 6. The amounts awarded in this act are intended to

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provide the sole compensation for all present and future claims

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arising out of the factual situation described in this act which

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resulted in injury to Dr. Timothy Kulik. The total amount paid

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for attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar

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expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the

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total amount awarded under this act.

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     Section 7.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.