House Bill 1107

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1107

        By the Committee on Claims and Representative Ritter






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the West Volusia Hospital

  3         Authority; providing for the relief of Jose

  4         Alberto Cruz, Jr., a minor, and his parents and

  5         natural guardians, Nelida Cruz and Jose Alberto

  6         Cruz, Sr.; providing for an appropriation to

  7         compensate them for injuries and damages caused

  8         by the negligence of West Volusia Memorial

  9         Hospital; specifying use of the funds;

10         providing an effective date.

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12         WHEREAS, Nelida Cruz presented to West Volusia Memorial

13  Hospital in early labor on September 16, 1992, and

14         WHEREAS, approximately 4 hours later, she was placed on

15  an internal fetal monitor, and Pitocin was administered to her

16  to augment her labor, and

17         WHEREAS, 6 hours after the Pitocin was initiated, the

18  internal fetal monitor began evidencing prolonged variable

19  decelerations, and the fetus's baseline heart rate changed

20  from 150 to 110 beats per minute, and

21         WHEREAS, the fetal monitor demonstrated 1-1/2 hours of

22  ongoing fetal distress, but the nurse never reported the

23  information to the obstetrician, and

24         WHEREAS, at birth, baby Jose Alberto Cruz, Jr., had

25  Apgar scores of 2 and 4 and had suffered irreparable and

26  permanent brain damage due to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

27  from the ongoing fetal distress, and

28         WHEREAS, a jury trial ensued, and, on the second day of

29  the trial, the West Volusia Hospital Authority agreed to

30  settle for $2 million, and

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1107

    176-135-99






  1         WHEREAS, the settlement agreement requires the hospital

  2  authority to pay $200,000 immediately and to pay the balance

  3  over a 5-year period in equal annual payments of $360,000, and

  4         WHEREAS, the payment structure will not involve any tax

  5  increase in the West Volusia Hospital Authority Special Taxing

  6  District, NOW, THEREFORE,

  7

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

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

11  act are found and declared to be true.

12         Section 2.  The West Volusia Hospital Authority is

13  authorized and directed to draw a warrant in the sum of

14  $1,800,000 payable to Nelida Cruz and Jose Alberto Cruz, Sr.,

15  as parents and natural guardians of Jose Alberto Cruz, Jr., a

16  minor, as compensation for injuries and damages caused by the

17  negligence of West Volusia Memorial Hospital, such payment to

18  be made in five equal annual installments of $360,000 each,

19  out of funds of the West Volusia Hospital Authority Special

20  Taxing District reserve account budgeted for such a purpose.

21  After payment of statutory attorney fees, and costs, the

22  balance shall be paid into the existing Special Needs Trust

23  Fund established for Jose A. Cruz, Jr.

24         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

25  law.

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