Senate Bill 0046

    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                        SB 46

    By Senator Jones





    40-55A-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Metropolitan Dade County;

  3         providing for the relief of Martha Sosa;

  4         providing for an appropriation to compensate

  5         her for injuries and damages sustained as a

  6         result of the negligence of Metropolitan Dade

  7         County; providing an effective date.

  8

  9         WHEREAS, on October 27, 1995, Martha Sosa was on her

10  way home from work on a Route 11 Metropolitan Dade County bus,

11  and

12         WHEREAS, she disembarked from the bus, walked to the

13  bus bench to tie her shoe, and lost her balance and fell into

14  the street under the bus in front of the rear wheels on the

15  passenger side, and

16         WHEREAS, Ms. Sosa was able to move most of her body out

17  from under the bus, but was unable to remove her right arm

18  before the bus drove over it, and

19         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa suffered a degloving injury to her

20  right arm, which involved the skin, flesh, and muscle tissue

21  being stripped away from the bone beginning at the top of her

22  shoulder and continuing down to her wrist, and

23         WHEREAS, Ms. Sosa underwent six surgeries to repair her

24  arm, was in the hospital for approximately l month following

25  the injury, underwent 5 months of occupational therapy, and

26  has remaining disabilities with her arm, and

27         WHEREAS, Ms. Sosa was out of work for approximately 9

28  months, and

29         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa filed suit against Metropolitan

30  Dade County on May 31, 1996, and

31

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                        SB 46
    40-55A-99




  1         WHEREAS, on July 23, 1998, the jury returned a verdict

  2  finding the defendant sixty-five percent liable for Ms. Sosa's

  3  injuries and finding Ms. Sosa thirty-five percent

  4  comparatively negligent for her own injuries, and

  5         WHEREAS, a trial on damages immediately followed with

  6  the jury returning a verdict in the total amount of $2,576,000

  7  on July 24, 1998, and

  8         WHEREAS, after a reduction for the comparative

  9  negligence assigned to Ms. Sosa, the total recovery due her

10  from Metropolitan Dade County is $1,674,000, and

11         WHEREAS, after the county has paid the limit of

12  $100,000 under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, the remaining

13  excess judgment amount owed will be $1,574,000 plus

14  court-awarded costs, NOW, THEREFORE,

15

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

17

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

19  act are found and declared to be true.

20         Section 2.  Metropolitan Dade County is authorized and

21  directed to appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise

22  appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $1,574,000

23  plus court-awarded costs payable to Martha Sosa for injuries

24  and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of

25  Metropolitan Dade County.

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

27  law.

28

29

30

31

                                  2