Senate Bill 0022er

    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                                         SB 22



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  2         An act providing for the relief of Triesa

  3         Wells; providing for an appropriation to

  4         compensate Triesa Wells for injuries sustained

  5         as a result of the negligence of an employee of

  6         the City of Pembroke Pines; providing an

  7         effective date.

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  9         WHEREAS, on December 10, 1993, Triesa Wells sustained

10  catastrophic injuries as a result of a motor-vehicle accident

11  at the intersection of S.W. 114th Avenue and Pines Boulevard

12  in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and

13         WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, Ms. Wells was

14  operating her motor vehicle in a northbound direction on S.W.

15  114th Avenue, and

16         WHEREAS, she had a green light and was proceeding

17  through the intersection when her vehicle was hit by a City of

18  Pembroke Pines police vehicle that was traveling eastbound on

19  Pines Boulevard and ran the red light at the intersection of

20  Pines Boulevard and S.W. 114th Avenue, and

21         WHEREAS, liability on the part of the City of Pembroke

22  Pines was clear, in that the officer violated several Florida

23  Statutes as well as several policies and procedures of the

24  Pembroke Pines Police Department, and

25         WHEREAS, Triesa Wells was airlifted from the scene of

26  the accident to the trauma unit at Memorial Hospital in

27  Hollywood, and

28         WHEREAS, upon Ms. Wells' arrival at the hospital, she

29  was ranked on the Glasgow Coma Scale at a value of 10, and

30         WHEREAS, according to Dr. Lawrence Lottenberg, the

31  Director of Trauma Services at Memorial Hospital, Triesa Wells


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    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                                         SB 22



  1  was near death upon her arrival; she had severe hemorrhaging

  2  and was breathing 44 times a minute, which, according to Dr.

  3  Lottenberg, is an indication that her breathing was about to

  4  stop, and

  5         WHEREAS, she sustained a comminuted left femur

  6  fracture, left sacral fracture, bilateral superior/inferior

  7  ramifractures, and mild closed-head injuries, as well as

  8  injuries to her body as a whole, and

  9         WHEREAS, during Ms. Wells' hospitalization, she

10  required approximately 25 pints of blood, underwent major

11  orthopedic surgery, developed pulmonary emboli, went into

12  respiratory arrest, and required the insertion of a vena cava

13  filter, and

14         WHEREAS, in addition to the orthopedic injuries

15  sustained by Triesa Wells, she sustained a brain contusion and

16  9 or 10 shattered teeth, and had significant permanent

17  scarring and disfigurement in both her buttocks and left leg,

18  and

19         WHEREAS, every physician who has treated Ms. Wells for

20  the injuries sustained in this accident has indicated that she

21  sustained permanent injuries and impairment as a result of the

22  accident, and

23         WHEREAS, Triesa Wells' medical bills in this case

24  exceed $180,000 in connection with the care and treatment she

25  has received for injuries resulting from the motor vehicle

26  accident of December 10, 1993, and

27         WHEREAS, Ms. Wells had been an employee of the Dade

28  County and Broward County School Boards since 1986, and

29         WHEREAS, from August 1991 through November 1993, she

30  was employed as a part-time clerk at $5.50 per hour, and

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    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                                         SB 22



  1         WHEREAS, she had stopped work approximately a month

  2  before this accident and anticipated returning to the school

  3  board in September 1994, when her daughter, Jennifer, started

  4  middle school, and

  5         WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries that she

  6  sustained, Ms. Wells has not returned to work since the

  7  accident, and

  8         WHEREAS, plaintiffs settled their case with the owner

  9  of the vehicle driven by Regina Walker for her bodily injury

10  policy limits of $10,000 and also recovered compensation in

11  the amount of $20,000 from Allstate, the carrier of their own

12  uninsured-motorist coverage, and

13         WHEREAS, a lawsuit was filed against the City of

14  Pembroke Pines after the appropriate 6-month period had

15  elapsed in accordance with section 768.28, Florida Statutes,

16  and

17         WHEREAS, the City of Pembroke Pines has paid the

18  statutory limits of $200,000 in connection with the companion

19  case of Randy Warren, which arose out of the same accident,

20  and

21         WHEREAS, the parties to this action, Triesa Wells and

22  her husband, John, and the City of Pembroke Pines, have agreed

23  to the submission of a claim bill in the amount of $499,000,

24  NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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28         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

29  act are found and declared to be true.

30         Section 2.  The City of Pembroke Pines is authorized

31  and directed to appropriate and to draw in favor of Triesa


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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.




    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                                         SB 22



  1  Wells a warrant in the amount of $499,000 to compensate her

  2  for injuries sustained as a result of the negligence of an

  3  employee of the city.

  4         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

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