House Bill hb1195

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1195

        By Representative Fields






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Palm Beach County; providing

  3         for the relief of Lawrence Douglas Bigney;

  4         authorizing and directing the Sheriff's Office

  5         of Palm Beach County to compensate him for

  6         personal injuries suffered due to the unlawful

  7         acts of an employee of the sheriff's office;

  8         providing an effective date.

  9

10         WHEREAS, on January 28, 1998, Lawrence Douglas Bigney

11  was operating his motorcycle westbound on Southern Boulevard

12  in West Palm Beach, when a sheriff's deputy, who was operating

13  a vehicle owned by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office,

14  unlawfully failed to yield the right-of-way and pulled into

15  the path of Lawrence Douglas Bigney's motorcycle, and

16         WHEREAS, Lawrence Douglas Bigney was seriously injured

17  as a result of this action, suffering severe compound

18  comminuted fractures of the right distal tibia-fibula, which

19  nearly resulted in the amputation of his right lower

20  extremity, and

21         WHEREAS, as a result of the accident of January 28,

22  1998, Lawrence Douglas Bigney was repeatedly hospitalized and

23  underwent surgery four times between January 28, 1998, and

24  April 21, 1999, and

25         WHEREAS, Lawrence Douglas Bigney was totally disabled

26  from working until approximately June 1999, and at that time,

27  although he was released by his doctor to return to light-duty

28  work, he was unable to return to his former employment as a

29  police/public-safety officer and fire inspector for the Town

30  of South Palm Beach, a job he had held for the 4 years prior

31  to this accident, and

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1195

    760-104-01






  1         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and

  2  Lawrence Douglas Bigney have entered into a settlement

  3  agreement, under which the sheriff's office has paid Lawrence

  4  Douglas Bigney $100,000, the statutory limit under section

  5  768.28, Florida Statutes, and

  6         WHEREAS, the parties to this action have entered into

  7  an agreement that Lawrence Douglas Bigney will submit a claim

  8  bill in the amount of $75,000, and that the Sheriff's Office

  9  of Palm Beach County will neither support nor object to the

10  bill, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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

15  act are found and declared to be true.

16         Section 2.  The Sheriff's Office of Palm Beach County

17  is authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the

18  sheriff's office not otherwise appropriated and to draw a

19  warrant in the sum of $75,000 payable to Lawrence Douglas

20  Bigney to compensate him for injuries and damages sustained.

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

22  law.

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