HB 1359

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the South Broward Hospital District;
3	providing for the relief of Sharon Jurgrau, wife of Mark
4	Jurgrau, deceased, and Megan Jurgrau, minor child of Mark
5	and Sharon Jurgrau; providing for an appropriation to
6	compensate them for the death of Mark Jurgrau as a result
7	of the negligence of the South Broward Hospital District;
8	providing an effective date.
9
10	WHEREAS, in the summer of 1999, Mark Jurgrau, an architect,
11	38 years of age and a resident of Broward County, underwent
12	medical tests after exhibiting weakness and shortness of breath
13	while engaging in athletic activity, and
14	WHEREAS, the tests revealed that Mark Jurgrau had a problem
15	with the aortic valve of the heart, and as a result of the
16	diagnosis, he was advised to have surgery to replace the aortic
17	valve, and
18	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau's doctors recommended a surgical
19	procedure known as the "Ross procedure" in which the patient's
20	own pulmonic valve is used to replace the aortic valve, and
21	WHEREAS, the procedure, commonly used in younger patients,
22	was chosen due to the fact that it is effective for a very long
23	period of time and does not require the patient to take
24	medications subsequent to surgery, and
25	WHEREAS, the Ross procedure was performed on Mark Jurgrau
26	on September 2, 1999, at Memorial Hospital, part of the South
27	Broward Hospital District, and
28	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau tolerated the procedure well and
29	appeared to be doing fine, and
30	WHEREAS, the decision to replace Mark Jurgrau?s aortic
31	valve was a good decision, the choice of the Ross procedure was
32	a sound choice, and the operation was performed ably and
33	correctly, and
34	WHEREAS, however, one of the risks of this procedure is the
35	possible occurrence of internal bleeding at the location of the
36	operation, and
37	WHEREAS, internal bleeding following this procedure does
38	occur from time to time, is easily recognizable and readily
39	treatable, and is not an indication of negligence per se, and
40	WHEREAS, one of the primary reasons patients are kept in
41	the hospital following this type of surgery is so they can be
42	observed for complications, and
43	WHEREAS, the negligence in this case occurs in the blatant
44	failure of the employees of Memorial Hospital to provide Mark
45	Jurgrau with appropriate postoperative care, and
46	WHEREAS, following his operation, the management of Mark
47	Jurgrau's care was entrusted to a nurse, Kathy Kater, ARNP, and
48	WHEREAS, the surgeon who operated on Mark Jurgrau never saw
49	him again, and Kathy Kater and the other hospital nurses became
50	Mark Jurgrau?s health care team, and
51	WHEREAS, from the time of Mark Jurgrau?s operation on
52	September 2, 1999, to the time of his death on September 6,
53	1999, Mark Jurgrau exhibited every possible sign and symptom of
54	internal bleeding, and
55	WHEREAS, in order to monitor for internal bleeding, blood
56	is drawn from a patient daily, and
57	WHEREAS, when a person is losing blood, laboratory values
58	drop as blood contents are used up, and
59	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau?s hematocrit, hemoglobin, and
60	platelets were all plummeting, each day registering much lower
61	than the day before, and
62	WHEREAS, in the 5 days he was in Memorial Hospital, Mark
63	Jurgrau's blood values fell to less than 30 percent of normal
64	and nothing was ever done to help him, and
65	WHEREAS, also, in order to determine if blood is
66	accumulating in a patient's chest, X-rays are taken daily and
67	the patient?s breathing is monitored daily, and
68	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau?s X-rays showed his lungs filling
69	with blood, more each day than the day before, and
70	WHEREAS, his breathing decreased each day as the portions
71	of his lungs that were full of blood could no longer transfer
72	oxygen, and
73	WHEREAS, again, none of the staff at Memorial Hospital paid
74	attention to or acted upon these indications, and
75	WHEREAS, as Mark Jurgrau?s blood became depleted and his
76	lungs filled with blood, he became deprived of oxygen, which
77	made him weak, dizzy, and disoriented, as evidenced by the fact
78	that his oxygen saturation fell precipitously, and
79	WHEREAS, despite the fact that all appropriate tests were
80	administered and all the results of those tests indicated
81	problems, no one at Memorial Hospital bothered to read or act
82	upon Mark Jurgrau's test results, and
83	WHEREAS, by September 5, 1999, Mark Jurgrau was dying,
84	slowly bleeding to death and drowning in his own blood, and
85	WHEREAS, as he became disoriented from lack of oxygen, the
86	hospital nurses called Nurse Kater, and
87	WHEREAS, without even coming in to the hospital to observe
88	Mark Jurgrau, Nurse Kater misdiagnosed him as having a panic
89	attack and, over the telephone, ordered Xanax to be administered
90	to Mr. Jurgrau, and
91	WHEREAS, on September 6, 1999, Mark Jurgrau's condition
92	became critical, and
93	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau was gasping for air, turning pale and
94	cold, and writhing in pain, and
95	WHEREAS, Nurse Kater was again contacted, and again, via
96	telephone, Nurse Kater misdiagnosed Mark Jurgrau as having a
97	panic attack, and
98	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau arrested and a code blue was called,
99	but it was too late, and
100	WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau died at the age of 38, leaving his
101	wife of 8 years, Sharon Jurgrau, and a 4-year-old daughter,
102	Megan Jurgrau, and
103	WHEREAS, upon performing an autopsy, the medical examiner
104	confirmed what should have been apparent to the staff of
105	Memorial Hospital all along, that Mark Jurgrau died slowly and
106	painfully from undiagnosed internal bleeding, and
107	WHEREAS, the case was also reviewed by the world?s foremost
108	authority in cardiac surgery, Dr. Dudley Johnson, regarded as
109	the father of cardiac surgery and, along with Dr. Michael
110	DeBakey, the co-inventor of the modern coronary bypass
111	operation, and
112	WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson confirmed that Mark Jurgrau?s death
113	was unnecessary and unreasonable, and
114	WHEREAS, the negligence of Memorial Hospital in the death
115	of Mark Jurgrau was blatant and tragic, and
116	WHEREAS, at the time of his death, Mark Jurgrau was in the
117	beginning stages of a very successful career as an architect,
118	and
119	WHEREAS, based on his age and proven earning potential,
120	economic damages alone were over $10,000,000, and
121	WHEREAS, Mark and Sharon Jurgrau's daughter, Megan Jurgrau,
122	now 8 years of age, has experienced emotional distress as a
123	result of the death of her father, and
124	WHEREAS, recognizing this as a case of egregious
125	malpractice and catastrophic damages, the South Broward Hospital
126	District settled the matter, tendering $200,000 pursuant to the
127	limits of liability established pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida
128	Statutes, and agreeing to support a claims bill in the amount of
129	$500,000, NOW, THEREFORE,
130
131	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
132
133	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
134	are found and declared to be true.
135	Section 2.  The South Broward Hospital District is
136	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
137	district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
138	sum of $500,000 payable to Sharon Jurgrau, wife of Mark Jurgrau,
139	deceased, as compensation for the death of Mark Jurgrau as a
140	result of the negligence of the South Broward Hospital District.
141	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.