HB 0969 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act for the relief of Timothy Kulik and Theresa Ann
3	Kulik; providing an appropriation to compensate them for
4	injuries and damages sustained as a result of the
5	negligence of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
6	Vehicles; providing an effective date.
7
8	WHEREAS, On March 30, 1996, Dr. Timothy Kulik, a dentist
9	from South Bend, Indiana, and his family, including his wife
10	Theresa Ann Kulik and their two teenage children, were en route
11	from Indiana to South Florida on Interstate 75, and
12	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's son, Michael Kulik, was driving
13	the family vehicle as the Kuliks traveled Interstate 75 in
14	Columbia County, Florida, heading southbound within an extended
15	construction zone, and
16	WHEREAS, Michael Kulik had been following a grey van for
17	some time, keeping up with traffic, traveling in the right lane,
18	when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James Bond pulled behind the
19	Kulik vehicle and turned on his blue lights, indicating that the
20	Kulik vehicle must pull over, and
21	WHEREAS, Michael Kulik, an inexperienced driver with less
22	than one year's total driving experience, pulled the vehicle off
23	the road onto a shoulder still within the construction zone at a
24	point where there was no emergency lane, and
25	WHEREAS, the left rear tire of the vehicle came to rest on
26	asphalt less than 6 inches off of the right white line
27	delineating the shoulder of the road, with the left front tire
28	approximately 18 inches onto the shoulder, and
29	WHEREAS, the two right wheels came to rest on grass due to
30	the narrow shoulder created by ongoing construction in that
31	area, and
32	WHEREAS, a large grassy area separated the roadway from a
33	large rest area, and
34	WHEREAS, testimony indicated that the swale was gentle and
35	dry, allowing for vehicles to pull well off the road without
36	risk of getting struck, and
37	WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, James Bond, in
38	pulling the vehicle over, parked his vehicle approximately 15
39	feet off of the roadway, and
40	WHEREAS, the pictures of the accident scene do not depict
41	where Trooper Bond was parked at the time of the accident, as he
42	moved his vehicle after the fact, and
43	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond stated in deposition testimony that
44	he noticed the proximity of the Kulik vehicle to the lanes of
45	traffic, and recognized the danger of same, but did not feel it
46	necessary to instruct Michael Kulik to move the vehicle further
47	from the roadway because he felt the family posed a flight risk,
48	and
49	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond did have available a bullhorn to hail
50	motorists from inside his vehicle but testified that his
51	supervisors had discouraged its use, and
52	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond further failed to position his marked
53	cruiser in a manner so as to alert oncoming motorists of the
54	hazard he created and over which he had control, instead
55	choosing to pull his automobile far off the roadway to an area
56	of safety, and
57	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond approached the Kulik vehicle from the
58	passenger side and engaged the driver through the passenger
59	window, and
60	WHEREAS, when asked at trial, Trooper Bond testified that
61	approaching the Kulik vehicle from the driver's side would have
62	placed him in danger of passing motorists, and
63	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik was in the front passenger seat and
64	was notably agitated by the fact that his son received a ticket
65	when he was merely following his father's instructions in
66	keeping up with traffic through this construction zone, and
67	voiced his displeasure to Trooper Bond during the stop, and
68	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik testified that he used some
69	profanity when told to shut up by Trooper Bond, and
70	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond denied memory of any profanity, and
71	WHEREAS, when the ticket had been issued, Timothy Kulik
72	offered to replace Michael Kulik as the driver because the son
73	was noticeably shaken by the incident, and
74	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik exited his seat and walked around
75	the rear of the vehicle, heading up the driver's side of the
76	Chevrolet Suburban, and
77	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik passed his son Michael near the rear
78	wheel and walked to the front door which had been left ajar by
79	his son, and
80	WHEREAS, unfortunately, Timothy Kulik has no memory of
81	events from this point on, and
82	WHEREAS, expert testimony revealed that Timothy Kulik
83	opened the driver's door using his left hand, and
84	WHEREAS, as he did so, a large motor home passed and
85	impacted the open door pinning Timothy Kulik's entire left arm
86	between the door and motor home, and
87	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's left arm was practically severed
88	in the impact, and
89	WHEREAS, as the motor home passed, it dragged Timothy Kulik
90	and the door forward at high speed, throwing him around the door
91	and forward onto the pavement in front of the truck, and
92	WHEREAS, the highway patrol policies and procedures clearly
93	stated that a trooper is not to hesitate to direct a stopped
94	motorist to an area of safety before instituting enforcement
95	action, and
96	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond testified that he saw the proximity
97	of the stopped Kulik car to the traffic lanes of Interstate 75
98	but chose to leave the Kuliks in a position of danger, and
99	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also allowed that, in his more than
100	20-year career, he often saw motorists change drivers following
101	a traffic stop, and
102	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also acknowledged that the Florida
103	Highway Patrol policy manual allowed for a trooper to instruct a
104	motorist to stay in the vehicle, and
105	WHEREAS, because of a defense error, Trooper Bond's
106	employment file was discussed in court and, as a result, it was
107	revealed that Trooper Bond had been sanctioned more than once
108	for displaying a very poor attitude, a fact that was key to
109	substantiating Timothy Kulik's testimony that Trooper Bond was
110	very abrasive when he approached the vehicle and baited Timothy
111	Kulik into retaliating, and
112	WHEREAS, an emergency room physician and his wife, an
113	emergency room nurse, were the first persons on the scene of the
114	accident, and
115	WHEREAS, the couple rendered trauma care and assisted in
116	stemming the tide of Timothy Kulik's profuse bleeding until
117	local emergency teams arrived, and
118	WHEREAS, simply put, Dr. Timothy Kulik's left arm was
119	shattered by the impact of the accident, and
120	WHEREAS, Dr. Kulik's arm, from the shoulder down to the
121	wrist, was mangled, and no use of his hand or arm was possible
122	for many months, and
123	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik underwent seven or eight significant
124	surgical procedures, and
125	WHEREAS, muscle transpositions have helped Dr. Kulik with
126	simple grasp functions, but overall there is no dexterity to the
127	left hand and minimal range of motion to the arm, and
128	WHEREAS, as a result of the accident of March 30, 1996, Dr.
129	Timothy Kulik's arm is virtually useless, and
130	WHEREAS, Dr. Timothy Kulik was a dentist in South Bend,
131	Indiana from 1976 to the present, opening his own practice in
132	1995, and
133	WHEREAS, dentistry being a profession requiring the full
134	use of both hands, Dr. Kulik is extremely limited in the types
135	of procedures he can perform, with more costly and meticulous
136	procedures such as crown placement being difficult to the point
137	that Dr. Kulik can no longer perform them, and
138	WHEREAS, at trial, it was the intent of Timothy Kulik's
139	legal representatives to prove that the motor home operator was
140	negligent, minimizing the role of Trooper Bond after the first
141	two days of testimony, and
142	WHEREAS, for the remainder of the trial Timothy Kulik's
143	attorneys concentrated on the motor home operator's actions,
144	including during the closing argument when it was suggested that
145	the jury find the Florida Highway Patrol minimally negligent,
146	and
147	WHEREAS, despite this, the jury returned with a verdict
148	attributing 0 percent negligence to the motor home operator,
149	approximately 46 percent negligence to Trooper Bond, and 54
150	percent negligence to Timothy Kulik, and
151	WHEREAS, the gross verdict in the trial was in the amount
152	of $3,125,000 for Timothy Kulik and $50,000 for Theresa Ann
153	Kulik for loss of consortium, and
154	WHEREAS, after reductions for comparative fault, judgment
155	was entered against the State of Florida Department of Highway
156	Safety and Motor Vehicles in the sum of $1,437,500 for damages
157	incurred by Timothy Kulik and $23,000 for damages incurred by
158	Theresa Ann Kulik, NOW, THEREFORE,
159
160	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
161
162	Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
163	are found and declared to be true.
164	Section 2. The sum of $1,437,500 is appropriated from the
165	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and
166	Motor Vehicles for the relief of Timothy Kulik as compensation
167	for injuries and damages sustained.
168	Section 3. The sum of $23,000 is appropriated from the
169	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and
170	Motor Vehicles for the relief of Theresa Ann Kulik as
171	compensation for injuries and damages sustained.
172	Section 4. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
173	a warrant in favor of Timothy Kulik in the sum of $1,437,500
174	upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
175	Vehicles, and the State Treasurer is directed to pay the same
176	out of funds in the State Treasury.
177	Section 5. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
178	a warrant in favor of Theresa Ann Kulik in the sum of $23,000
179	upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
180	Vehicles, and the State Treasurer is directed to pay the same
181	out of funds in the State Treasury.
182	Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.