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