Senate Bill sb0018c1

    Florida Senate - 2004                             CS for SB 18

    By the Committee on Finance and Taxation; and Senator Posey





    314-2006-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Indian River County

  3         School Board; providing for the relief of

  4         Amanda Johnson, a minor, by and through her

  5         parents and natural guardians, Virginia and

  6         Charles Johnson, for injuries sustained due to

  7         the negligence of the Indian River County

  8         School Board; providing for the use of such

  9         funds; providing for attorney's fees and costs;

10         providing an effective date.

11  

12         WHEREAS, on January 25, 1999, 7-year-old Amanda Johnson

13  was a passenger on a school bus owned by the Indian River

14  County School Board and operated by its employee, Deborah

15  Colletti, and

16         WHEREAS, Deborah Colletti failed to stop at a stop sign

17  located at the intersection of 45th Street and 66th Avenue in

18  Indian River County, which failure caused the bus to collide

19  with a tractor-trailer traveling on 66th Avenue, resulting in

20  injuries to Amanda Johnson and 15 other children and the

21  deaths of two other persons, and

22         WHEREAS, Deborah Colletti was cited with failure to

23  obey a traffic-control device and failure to yield the

24  right-of-way, and

25         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson sustained a comminuted fracture

26  of the left femoral shaft with significant displacement and

27  underwent closed reduction and external fixation of the left

28  femoral shaft to correct the injury, and

29         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson was hospitalized for 11 days,

30  was transferred to a rehabilitation center, where she remained

31  

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






    Florida Senate - 2004                             CS for SB 18
    314-2006-04




 1  as an in-patient for an additional 7 days, and was discharged

 2  and received home-health services for 240 days, and

 3         WHEREAS, on May 25, 1999, Amanda Johnson was again

 4  hospitalized and after a pre-operative diagnosis of

 5  hypertrophic nonunion of the left femoral shaft, she

 6  subsequently underwent a second surgery, receiving

 7  open-compression plating of the left femoral hypertrophic

 8  nonunion, with bone biopsy and culture, and

 9         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson, as a result of the injury, has

10  a left femoral overgrowth, resulting in a limb-length

11  discrepancy that had increased to 2.2 centimeters by February

12  5, 2002, and

13         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson currently must use a 1/2-inch

14  shoe lift and may require future epiphysiodesis of the

15  elongated left femur, and

16         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson is receiving continuing medical

17  care following the injury, and

18         WHEREAS, Amanda Johnson has incurred medical expenses

19  totaling $85,762.53, will require future orthopedic visits,

20  and may require future surgery, hospitalization, and physical

21  therapy, and

22         WHEREAS, as a result of a suit filed following the

23  collision, the Indian River County School Board admitted

24  liability for the collision, and, following mediation on

25  February 27, 2002, the parties agreed to a final settlement of

26  all claims in exchange for the payment of $287,500 to be paid

27  in four annual installments, and

28         WHEREAS, as part of the settlement, the Indian River

29  County School Board agreed that following the submission and

30  approval of the settlement at a noticed school-board meeting,

31  

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






    Florida Senate - 2004                             CS for SB 18
    314-2006-04




 1  the board will not oppose Amanda Johnson in the submission of

 2  a claim bill to the Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE,

 3  

 4  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

 5  

 6         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

 7  act are found and declared to be true.

 8         Section 2.  The Indian River County School Board is

 9  authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the

10  school board not otherwise appropriated and to draw four

11  annual warrants in the amount of $71,875 each, for a total

12  settlement of $287,500, payable after July 1, 2004, to

13  Virginia and Charles Johnson as parents and natural guardians

14  of Amanda Johnson, as compensation for injuries and damages

15  sustained by Amanda Johnson due to the negligence of the

16  Indian River County School Board. Such funds shall be

17  deposited in a restricted guardianship account established for

18  the exclusive use and benefit of Amanda Johnson, and are

19  inclusive of costs and attorney's fees as limited by section

20  768.28(8), Florida Statutes.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

22  law.

23  

24          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
25                              SB 18

26                                 

27  The CS made the following changes:

28  Corrects language to assure that the claim is paid out of
    funds of the Indian River County School Board instead of
29  county funds and corrects the date of disbursement.

30  

31  

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