1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act for the relief of Eric Brody by the Broward |
3 | County Sheriff's Office; providing for an |
4 | appropriation to compensate Eric Brody for injuries |
5 | sustained as a result of the negligence of the Broward |
6 | County Sheriff's Office; authorizing the Sheriff of |
7 | Broward County, in lieu of payment, to execute to Eric |
8 | Brody and his legal guardians an assignment of all |
9 | claims that the Broward County Sheriff's Office has |
10 | against its insurer arising out of the insurer's |
11 | handling of the claim against the sheriff's office; |
12 | clarifying that such assignment does not impair the |
13 | ability or right of the assignees to pursue the final |
14 | judgment and cost judgment against the insurer; |
15 | providing a limitation on the payment of fees and |
16 | costs related to the claim against the Broward County |
17 | Sheriff's Office and an exception to that limitation |
18 | as to any assigned claims brought against the insurer; |
19 | providing an effective date. |
20 |
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21 | WHEREAS, on the evening of March 3, 1998, 18-year-old Eric |
22 | Brody, a college-bound high school senior, was returning home |
23 | from his part-time job at the Sawgrass Mills Sports Authority. |
24 | Eric was driving his 1982 AMC Concord eastbound on Oakland Park |
25 | Boulevard in Sunrise, Florida, and |
26 | WHEREAS, that same evening, Broward County Sheriff's Deputy |
27 | Christopher Thieman, who had been visiting his girlfriend and |
28 | was running late for duty, was driving his Broward County |
29 | Sheriff's Office cruiser westbound on Oakland Park Boulevard. At |
30 | the time he left his girlfriend's house, Deputy Thieman had less |
31 | than 15 minutes to travel 11 miles to make roll call on time, |
32 | which was mandatory pursuant to sheriff's office policy and |
33 | procedure, and |
34 | WHEREAS, at approximately 10:36 p.m., Eric Brody began to |
35 | make a left-hand turn into his neighborhood at the intersection |
36 | of N.W. 117th Avenue and Oakland Park Boulevard. Deputy Thieman, |
37 | who was driving in excess of the 45-mile-per-hour posted speed |
38 | limit and traveling in the opposite direction, was not within |
39 | the intersection and was more than 430 feet away from Eric |
40 | Brody's car when Eric Brody began the turn. Eric Brody's car |
41 | cleared two of the three westbound lanes on Oakland Park |
42 | Boulevard, and |
43 | WHEREAS, Deputy Thieman, who was traveling in the inside |
44 | westbound lane closest to the median, suddenly and inexplicably |
45 | steered his vehicle to the right, across the center lane and |
46 | into the outside lane, where the front end of his car struck the |
47 | passenger side of Eric's car with great force, just behind the |
48 | right front wheel and near the passenger door, and |
49 | WHEREAS, Deputy Thieman testified at trial that although he |
50 | knew that the posted speed limit was 45 miles per hour, he |
51 | refused to provide an estimate as to how fast he was traveling |
52 | before the crash, and |
53 | WHEREAS, despite the appearance of a conflict of interest, |
54 | the Broward County Sheriff's Office chose to conduct the |
55 | official crash investigation instead of deferring to the City of |
56 | Sunrise Police Department, which also had jurisdiction, or the |
57 | Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), which often investigates motor |
58 | vehicle collisions involving non-FHP law enforcement officers so |
59 | as to avoid any possible conflict of interest, and |
60 | WHEREAS, in the course of the investigation, the Broward |
61 | County Sheriff's Office lost key evidence from the crashed |
62 | vehicles and did not report any witnesses even though the first |
63 | responders to the crash scene were police officers from the City |
64 | of Sunrise, and |
65 | WHEREAS, the Broward County detective who led the crash |
66 | investigation entered inaccurate data into a computerized |
67 | accident reconstruction program which skewed the speed that |
68 | Deputy Thieman was driving, but, nevertheless, determined that |
69 | he was still traveling well over the speed limit, and |
70 | WHEREAS, accident reconstruction experts called by both |
71 | parties testified that Deputy Thieman was driving at least 60 to |
72 | more than 70 miles per hour when his vehicle slammed into the |
73 | passenger side of Eric Brody's car, and |
74 | WHEREAS, Eric Brody was found unconscious 6 minutes later |
75 | by paramedics, his head and upper torso leaning upright and |
76 | toward the passenger-side door. Although he was out of his |
77 | shoulder harness and seat belt by the time paramedics arrived, |
78 | the Brody's attorney proved that Eric was wearing his seat belt |
79 | and that the 16-year-old seat belt buckle failed during the |
80 | crash. Photographs taken at the scene by the sheriff's office |
81 | investigators showed the belt to be fully spooled out because |
82 | the retractor was jammed, with the belt dangling outside the |
83 | vehicle from the driver-side door, providing proof that Eric |
84 | Brody was wearing his seat belt and shoulder harness during the |
85 | crash, and |
86 | WHEREAS, accident reconstruction and human factor experts |
87 | called by both the plaintiff and the defendant agreed that if |
88 | Deputy Thieman had been driving at the speed limit, Eric Brody |
89 | would have easily completed his turn, and |
90 | WHEREAS, the experts also agreed that if Deputy Thieman had |
91 | simply remained within his lane of travel, regardless of his |
92 | speed, there would not have been a collision, and |
93 | WHEREAS, in order to investigate the seat-belt defense, |
94 | experts for Eric Brody recreated the accident using an exact |
95 | car-to-car crash test that was conducted by a nationally |
96 | recognized crash test facility. The crash test involved vehicles |
97 | identical to the Brody and Thieman vehicles, a fully |
98 | instrumented hybrid III dummy, and high-speed action cameras, |
99 | and |
100 | WHEREAS, the crash test proved that Eric Brody was wearing |
101 | his restraint system during the crash because the seat-belted |
102 | test dummy struck its head on the passenger door within inches |
103 | of where Eric Brody's head actually struck the passenger door, |
104 | and |
105 | WHEREAS, when Eric Brody's head struck the passenger door |
106 | of his vehicle, the door crushed inward from the force of the |
107 | impact with the police cruiser while at the same time his upper |
108 | torso was moving toward the point of impact and the passenger |
109 | door. The impact resulted in skull fractures and massive brain |
110 | sheering, bleeding, bruising, and swelling, and |
111 | WHEREAS, Eric Brody was airlifted by helicopter to Broward |
112 | General Hospital where he was placed on a ventilator and |
113 | underwent an emergency craniotomy and neurosurgery. He began to |
114 | recover from a deep coma more than 7 months after his injury and |
115 | underwent extensive rehabilitation, having to relearn how to |
116 | walk, talk, feed himself, and perform other basic functions, and |
117 | WHEREAS, Eric Brody, who is now 32 years old, has been left |
118 | profoundly brain-injured, lives with his parents, and is mostly |
119 | isolated from his former friends and other young people his age. |
120 | His speech is barely intelligible and he has significant |
121 | cognitive dysfunction, judgment impairment, memory loss, and |
122 | neuro-visual disabilities. Eric Brody also has impaired fine and |
123 | gross motor skills and very poor balance. Although Eric is able |
124 | to use a walker for short distances, he mostly uses a wheelchair |
125 | to get around. The entire left side of his body is partially |
126 | paralyzed and spastic, and he needs help with many of his daily |
127 | functions. Eric Brody is permanently and totally disabled; |
128 | however, he has a normal life expectancy, and |
129 | WHEREAS, the cost of Eric Brody's life care plan is nearly |
130 | $10 million, and he has been left totally dependent on public |
131 | health programs and taxpayer assistance since 1998, and |
132 | WHEREAS, the Broward County Sheriff's Office was insured |
133 | for this claim through Ranger Insurance Company and paid a |
134 | premium of more than $400,000 for liability coverage, and |
135 | WHEREAS, on December 1, 2005, after a 2-month trial, a |
136 | Broward County jury consisting of three men and three women |
137 | found that that Deputy Thieman and the Broward County Sheriff's |
138 | Office were 100 percent negligent, and Eric Brody was not |
139 | comparatively negligent, and |
140 | WHEREAS, the jury found Eric Brody's damages to be |
141 | $30,609,298, including a determination that his past and future |
142 | care and other economic damages were $11,326,216, and |
143 | WHEREAS, final judgment was entered for $30,609,298, and |
144 | the court entered a cost judgment for $270,372.30, for a total |
145 | of $30,879,670.30, and |
146 | WHEREAS, the court denied the Broward County Sheriff's |
147 | Office posttrial motions for judgment notwithstanding the |
148 | verdict, new trial, or remittitur, and |
149 | WHEREAS, the insurer of the Broward County Sheriff's Office |
150 | retained appellate counsel and elected to appeal the final |
151 | judgment but not the cost judgment, and |
152 | WHEREAS, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the |
153 | verdict in the fall of 2007, and |
154 | WHEREAS, the insurer of the Broward County Sheriff's Office |
155 | subsequently petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to seek |
156 | another appeal, but the petition was denied in April of 2008, |
157 | and |
158 | WHEREAS, all legal remedies for all parties involved have |
159 | been exhausted and this case is ripe for a claim bill, and |
160 | WHEREAS, the Broward County Sheriff's Office has paid |
161 | $200,000 pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the final |
162 | judgment and cost judgment remainder in the amount of |
163 | $30,679,670.30 is sought through the submission of a claim bill |
164 | to the Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE, |
165 |
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166 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
167 |
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168 | Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
169 | are found and declared to be true. |
170 | Section 2. The Sheriff of Broward County is authorized and |
171 | directed to appropriate from funds of the Broward County |
172 | Sheriff's Office not otherwise appropriated and to draw a |
173 | warrant payable to Eric Brody in the sum of $30,679,670.30 in |
174 | accordance with the final judgment and cost judgment as provided |
175 | for in the preamble of this act as compensation for injuries and |
176 | damages sustained as a result of the negligence of the Broward |
177 | County Sheriff's Office. |
178 | Section 3. The amount paid by the Broward County Sheriff's |
179 | Office pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount |
180 | awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole |
181 | compensation for all claims against the Broward County Sheriff's |
182 | Office arising out of the facts described in this act which |
183 | resulted in the injuries to Eric Brody. The total amount of |
184 | attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar |
185 | expenses relating to the claim against the Broward County |
186 | Sheriff's Office may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount |
187 | awarded under section 2 of this act. |
188 | Section 4. It is the intent of the Legislature that the |
189 | lien interests held by the state resulting from the treatment |
190 | and care of Eric Brody for the injuries caused by the events |
191 | described in the preamble of this act are not waived or |
192 | extinguished, and the claimant's guardianship shall reimburse |
193 | the state the amount that is in exact proportion to the |
194 | percentage of Eric Brody's claims bill recovery based on the |
195 | full amount of his damages, which is the sum of $30,679,670.30 |
196 | and all amounts that remain unpaid in accordance with the final |
197 | judgment and cost judgment, as provided for in the preamble and |
198 | section 2 of this act. |
199 | Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |