Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 200
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì151056ÂÎ151056                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Cruz) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 68 - 72
    4  and insert:
    5  provide the sole compensation for all past, present, and future
    6  claims arising out of the factual situation alleged in this act
    7  which resulted in the death of Herminio Padilla, Jr. Of the
    8  amount awarded under this act, the total amount paid for
    9  attorney fees may not exceed $20,000, the total amount paid for
   10  lobbying fees may not exceed $5,000, and the total amount paid
   11  for costs or other similar expenses may not exceed $5,000.
   12  
   13  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   14  And the title is amended as follows:
   15         Delete lines 11 - 50
   16  and insert:
   17         providing a limitation on the payment of fees and
   18         costs; providing an effective date.
   19  
   20         WHEREAS, on January 17, 2015, Herminio Padilla, Jr., was an
   21  employee of the City of West Palm Beach as a wastewater plant
   22  operator, and
   23         WHEREAS, shortly after midnight on January 17, 2015, while
   24  working at the water reclamation facility, Mr. Padilla was
   25  walking on an elevated catwalk over a sewage basin when a grate
   26  allegedly and unexpectedly collapsed, causing him to fall into
   27  the basin, and
   28         WHEREAS, at the time of this event, no one was present in
   29  the area, other than Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Padilla sank in the
   30  basin and drowned, and
   31         WHEREAS, the Estate of Herminio Padilla, Jr., filed a
   32  lawsuit against his employer, the City of West Palm Beach, who
   33  owns and operates the water reclamation facility, as well as
   34  Palm Beach County, the City of Lake Worth, the City of Riviera
   35  Beach, and the Town of Palm Beach, who have a beneficial
   36  interest in the water reclamation facility where the accident
   37  occurred, and
   38         WHEREAS, it is alleged that, before the drowning occurred,
   39  the City of West Palm Beach as the owner and operator of the
   40  water reclamation facility hired an engineering firm to perform
   41  a visual inspection of the facility and the firm identified
   42  several safety issues that required immediate attention, and
   43         WHEREAS, subsequent to the drowning, the City of West Palm
   44  Beach as the owner and operator of the water reclamation
   45  facility hired a separate engineering company to perform an
   46  analysis of the drowning which revealed that the grate that
   47  collapsed was missing an attachment which caused it to slide off
   48  the supporting ledge, and
   49         WHEREAS, subsequent to the drowning, an e-mail written by
   50  another employee of the facility alleged that complaints about
   51  other catwalks at the facility were brought to the attention of
   52  the City of West Palm Beach before the drowning, and
   53         WHEREAS, on October 17, 2018, the parties participated in
   54  mediation and a settlement in the amount of $400,000 was
   55  reached, as a compromise with no defendant admitting liability,
   56  and of which the City of West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, the
   57  City of Lake Worth, the City of Riviera Beach, and the Town of
   58  Palm Beach have collectively paid the statutory limit of
   59  $300,000, and $100,000 remaining to be paid by the City of West
   60  Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, the City of Lake Worth, the City
   61  of Riviera Beach, and the Town of Palm Beach collectively upon
   62  approval of a claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE,