Senate Bill sb0244

    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 244

    By Senator Lawson





    3-349-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act for the relief of Patsy Baucco and

  3         Valentino Baucco; providing an appropriation to

  4         compensate them for injuries and damages they

  5         sustained as a result of the negligence of a

  6         Department of Transportation employee;

  7         providing an effective date.

  8

  9         WHEREAS, on or about April 27, 1998, at approximately

10  12:54 p.m., Valentino Baucco, with his wife Patsy as his

11  passenger, was driving south on State Road 93 (also known as

12  I-75) in Ocala, Florida, when a Department of Transportation

13  vehicle struck their vehicle, and

14         WHEREAS, the DOT vehicle, driven by a departmental

15  employee, had been stopped on the far right shoulder of the

16  road, known as the emergency lane, and

17         WHEREAS, the DOT vehicle traveled from the far right

18  shoulder across three southbound lanes, perpendicular to

19  oncoming traffic, in an effort to reach a cut-through to make

20  a U-turn and proceed in the opposite, or northbound, direction

21  on State Road 93, and

22         WHEREAS, as the DOT driver pulled into the third

23  southbound lane, he hit the right front door and right front

24  fender of the Bauccos' vehicle as it continued traveling in

25  the left lane, and

26         WHEREAS, the driver of the DOT vehicle admits that he

27  never saw the Baucco vehicle until he hit it, and he also

28  admits that he was performing an improper traffic maneuver

29  when he hit the plaintiffs, and

30         WHEREAS, the crash caused both vehicles to go out of

31  control and spin on the highway, and Mrs. Baucco sustained

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 244
    3-349-01




  1  serious, permanent injuries, while Mr. Baucco sustained injury

  2  and loss of consortium, and

  3         WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol charged the DOT

  4  employee with improper lane change, and

  5         WHEREAS, Mrs. Baucco received serious and significant

  6  bodily injury as a result of the accident: she lost

  7  four-fifths of her blood; she wore a Foley catheter for 3

  8  months and now is incontinent; she had four fractures of her

  9  pelvis, several breaks of her right wrist, a highly comminuted

10  fracture of her right femur, a highly comminuted fracture of

11  her left tibia, a highly comminuted fracture of her left

12  fibula, a highly comminuted fracture of her right fibula, a

13  highly comminuted fracture of her right tibia, a highly

14  comminuted fracture of her big toe, and a significant fracture

15  of her left ring finger; and she has endured seven surgeries

16  and is expected to need one or two more surgeries for a

17  left-knee replacement and a right-hip replacement, and

18         WHEREAS, Mr. Baucco is now caring for his wife and

19  doing most of the household work that Mrs. Baucco did before

20  the accident, and

21         WHEREAS, Mrs. Baucco has $145,428.74 in past medical

22  bills, and a life-care plan drawn for her projects, in present

23  value, a lifetime cost of between $270,986 and $485,197 for

24  her medical care, and

25         WHEREAS, litigation relating to these injuries was

26  pursued, and, upon the filing of a motion for summary

27  judgment, the Department of Transportation stipulated as to

28  its liability, and

29         WHEREAS, on December 7, 2000, a mutually agreed-upon

30  mediation was held to determine the amount of damages, and a

31  settlement in the amount of $750,000 was reached, and

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 244
    3-349-01




  1         WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation agreed to

  2  pay, on or about December 27, 2000, the sum of $200,000, the

  3  limit payable under the statutory waiver of sovereign

  4  immunity, and

  5         WHEREAS, the department has agreed to affirmatively

  6  support a claim bill for the remaining sum of $550,000, NOW,

  7  THEREFORE,

  8

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

10

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

12  act are found and declared to be true.

13         Section 2.  The sum of $550,000 is appropriated out of

14  funds in the State Treasury to the credit of the Department of

15  Transportation which are not otherwise appropriated, to be

16  paid to Patsy Baucco and Valentino Baucco as relief for their

17  losses resulting from the actions of a departmental employee.

18         Section 3.  The Comptroller is directed to draw his

19  warrant in favor of Patsy Baucco and Valentino Baucco in the

20  sum of $550,000 upon funds in the State Treasury to the credit

21  of the Department of Transportation, and the State Treasurer

22  is directed to pay the same out of such funds.

23         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

24  law.

25

26            *****************************************

27                          SENATE SUMMARY

28    Provides an appropriation from Department of
      Transportation funds to compensate Patsy and Valentino
29    Baucco for injuries and damages they sustained as a
      result of the negligence of an employee of the
30    department.

31

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