HB 1249 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Indian River County; providing for the
3	relief of Clay Haywood, a minor, and Tatiana Haywood, a
4	minor, by and through their mother and natural guardian,
5	Michelle O'Halloran; providing for an appropriation to
6	compensate them for injuries and damages caused by the
7	negligence of the Indian River County School Board;
8	providing for the use of such funds; providing an
9	effective date.
10
11	WHEREAS, on January 25, 1999, Clay Haywood and Tatiana
12	Haywood were passengers in a school bus owned by the Indian
13	River County School Board and operated by an employee of the
14	school board when the school bus failed to stop for a stop sign
15	at the intersection of 45th Street and 66th Avenue in Vero Beach
16	and collided with a tractor-trailer truck, and
17	WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, 11-year-old Clay
18	Haywood sustained numerous severe traumatic injuries requiring
19	multiple surgeries and was unable to attend school or engage in
20	any normal daily activities for many months, and
21	WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries he suffered in the
22	collision, Clay Haywood has incurred medical expenses totaling
23	$88,867.47 and will incur medical expenses in the future,
24	including $3,300 in dental expenses, and
25	WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, 9-year-old Tatiana
26	Haywood sustained multiple facial lacerations, multiple
27	extremity lacerations, and multiple contusions about the body
28	which will require revision surgery when she has completed the
29	majority of her growth, and
30	WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries she suffered in the
31	collision, Tatiana Haywood has been left with permanent
32	scarring, has incurred medical expenses totaling $3,225.75, and
33	will incur medical expenses in the future, and
34	WHEREAS, the Indian River County School Board admitted
35	liability for the collision and has agreed to a court-ordered
36	mediation settlement of all claims of Clay Haywood and Tatiana
37	Haywood in the amount of $225,000, payable by the school board
38	in three annual installments of $75,000, NOW, THEREFORE,
39
40	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42	Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
43	are found and declared to be true.
44	Section 2. The Indian River County School Board is
45	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
46	board not otherwise appropriated and to draw three annual
47	warrants in the amount of $75,000 each, for a total settlement
48	of $225,000, payable after July 1, 2003, to Michelle O'Halloran,
49	as plenary guardian of Clay Haywood, a minor, and Tatiana
50	Haywood, a minor, as compensation for injuries and damages
51	sustained due to the negligence of Indian River County. The
52	three annual installments shall be paid as follows:
53	(1) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the first installment
54	for the benefit of Tatiana Haywood, minor child of Michelle
55	O'Halloran, plenary guardian of Tatiana Haywood, to be placed in
56	a restricted guardianship account for the exclusive use and
57	benefit of Tatiana Haywood; and
58	(2) The remaining balance of the first installment and the
59	last two installments for the benefit of Clay Haywood, minor
60	child of Michelle O'Halloran, plenary guardian of Clay Haywood,
61	to be placed in a restricted guardianship account for the
62	exclusive use and benefit of Clay Haywood.
63
64	The amount appropriated pursuant to this section is inclusive of
65	costs and attorney's fees as limited by s. 768.28(8), Florida
66	Statutes.
67	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.