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