House Bill 0941

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                 HB 941

        By the Committee on Claims and Representatives Cantens and
    Ritter





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Miami-Dade County; providing

  3         for the relief of Martha Sosa; providing for an

  4         appropriation to compensate her for injuries

  5         and damages sustained as a result of the

  6         negligence of Miami-Dade County; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8

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

10  way home from work on a Route 11 Miami-Dade County bus, and

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

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

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

14  passenger side, and

15         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa was able to move most of her body

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

17  before the bus drove over it, and

18         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa suffered a degloving injury to her

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

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

21  shoulder and continuing down to her wrist, and

22         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa underwent six surgeries to repair

23  her arm, was in the hospital for approximately l month

24  following the injury, underwent 5 months of occupational

25  therapy, and has remaining disabilities with her arm, and

26         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa was out of work for approximately

27  9 months, and

28         WHEREAS, Martha Sosa filed suit against Miami-Dade

29  County on May 31, 1996, and

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

31  finding the defendant sixty-five percent liable for Martha

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                 HB 941

    176-136-99






  1  Sosa's injuries and finding Martha Sosa thirty-five percent

  2  comparatively negligent for her own injuries, and

  3         WHEREAS, a trial on damages immediately followed with

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

  5  on July 24, 1998, and

  6         WHEREAS, after a reduction for the comparative

  7  negligence assigned to Martha Sosa, the total recovery due her

  8  from Miami-Dade County was $1,674,000, and

  9         WHEREAS, after the jury verdict, the parties entered

10  into mediation and settled the case for the total amount of

11  $1,000,000 on September 14, 1998, and

12         WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has paid the limit of

13  $100,000 under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and

14         WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has agreed to support a

15  claim bill for the remaining amount of $900,000, under the

16  settlement agreement, NOW, THEREFORE,

17

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

19

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

21  act are found and declared to be true.

22         Section 2.  Miami-Dade County is authorized and

23  directed to appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise

24  appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $900,000

25  payable to Martha Sosa for injuries and damages sustained as a

26  result of the negligence of Miami-Dade County.

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

28  law.

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