Senate Bill sb0050

    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                        SB 50

    By Senator Campbell





    33-140A-02

  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.

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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 Mr. Bigney's motorcycle, and

16         WHEREAS, Lawrence Bigney was seriously injured as a

17  result of this action: he had severe compound comminuted

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

19  resulted in the amputation of his right lower extremity; and

20  he was repeatedly hospitalized and underwent surgery four

21  times between January 28, 1998, and April 21, 1999, and

22         WHEREAS, Mr. Bigney was totally disabled and unable to

23  work until approximately June 1999, and at that time, although

24  he was released by his doctor to return to light-duty work, he

25  was unable to return to his former employment as a

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

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

28  to this accident, and

29         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and Mr.

30  Bigney have entered into a settlement agreement under which

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    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                        SB 50
    33-140A-02




  1  the sheriff's office has paid Mr. Bigney $100,000, the

  2  statutory limit under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and

  3         WHEREAS, the parties to this action have entered into

  4  an agreement that Lawrence Bigney will submit a claim bill in

  5  the amount of $75,000, and that the sheriff's office will

  6  neither support nor object to the bill, NOW, THEREFORE,

  7

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

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

11  act are found and declared to be true.

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

13  is authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the

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

15  warrant payable to Lawrence Douglas Bigney in the amount of

16  $75,000 for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the

17  unlawful acts of an employee of the sheriff's office.

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

19  law.

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