Senate Bill sb0010c1

    Florida Senate - 2002                             CS for SB 10

    By the Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care; and
    Senator Villalobos




    317-1321-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the North Broward Hospital

  3         District; providing for the relief of Mark

  4         Schwartz, a minor, for injuries sustained as a

  5         result of the negligence of employees of the

  6         Coral Springs Medical Center; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8

  9         WHEREAS, on April 29, 1997, Lori Schwartz, who was nine

10  months pregnant and in labor, presented herself at the Coral

11  Springs Medical Center, and

12         WHEREAS, Ms. Schwartz was admitted to the hospital,

13  where her difficult labor continued for many hours, and

14         WHEREAS, the nurses who cared for Ms. Schwartz during

15  her labor were aware of the difficulties of the labor and of

16  the indication of fetal distress, and

17         WHEREAS, the nurses caring for Ms. Schwartz during her

18  labor failed to assess the situation and communicate the

19  difficulties of the labor and the fetal distress to the

20  obstetrician in a timely manner, and

21         WHEREAS, as a result of the nurses' failure to timely

22  assess the situation and timely notify the physician of the

23  fetal distress, Ms. Schwartz's baby, Mark Schwartz, suffered

24  anoxic encephalopathy during deliver, and

25         WHEREAS, as a result of the lack of oxygen during his

26  birth, Mark Schwartz suffers from serious and irreversible

27  brain damage, which has left him profoundly disabled with

28  severe cognitive and motor dysfunction necessitating full-time

29  care for the rest of his life, and

30         WHEREAS, a lawsuit was filed against the North Broward

31  Hospital District and others for compensation, and

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






    Florida Senate - 2002                             CS for SB 10
    317-1321-02




  1         WHEREAS, during the litigation but before trial, the

  2  parties reached a settlement, and

  3         WHEREAS, pursuant to the settlement, the North Broward

  4  Hospital District has agreed to pay a total of $600,000 to

  5  compensate Mark Schwartz for his injuries, and

  6         WHEREAS, the hospital district has paid $200,000,

  7  pursuant to section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and agrees to

  8  affirmatively support a claim bill in the amount of $400,000,

  9  NOW, THEREFORE,

10

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

12

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

14  act are found and declared to be true.

15         Section 2.  The North Broward Hospital District is

16  directed to compensate Lori Schwartz and Larry Schwartz as

17  parents and legal guardians of Mark Schwartz, a minor, in the

18  amount of $400,000 for injuries and damages caused by the

19  negligence of the district, such payment to be made out of the

20  district's Self Insured Trust. After payment of statutory

21  attorney's fees and costs, the balance shall be paid into the

22  guardianship account established for Mark Schwartz. 

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

24  law.

25

26          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
27                          Senate Bill 10

28

29  Conforms bill to standard Senate language for claim bills.
    Adds that payment is to be made from district's Self Insured
30  Trust.

31

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