HB 0831

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Indian River County School Board;
3	providing for the relief of Ryan Besancon, a minor, by and
4	through his parents and natural guardians, Mark and Laurie
5	Besancon, for injuries sustained due to the negligence of
6	the Indian River County School Board; providing for the
7	use of such funds; providing for restrictions on the
8	expenditure of funds; providing an effective date.
9
10	WHEREAS, on January 25, 1999, 5-year-old Ryan Besancon was
11	a passenger on a school bus owned by the Indian River County
12	School Board and operated by its employee, and
13	WHEREAS, the school bus driver failed to stop at a stop
14	sign located at the intersection of 45th Street and 66th Avenue
15	in Vero Beach, Florida, causing the bus to collide with an
16	eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer and resulting in serious and
17	life-threatening injuries to Ryan Besancon and numerous other
18	children on the school bus, as well as two deaths, and
19	WHEREAS, as the result of an extensive investigation by
20	state and federal officials, it was determined that the school
21	bus driver was solely responsible for the crash, and
22	WHEREAS, on January 26, 1999, Ryan's pediatrician noted
23	that Ryan's symptoms included two skull fractures, a complaint
24	of tilting of his head, apparent sixth-nerve palsy, and a
25	prominent right adrenal gland, and
26	WHEREAS, on November 3, 1999, Ryan Besancon presented to
27	Dr. Gary M. Weiss with symptoms that included almost daily
28	headaches, neck pain, significant pain in bilateral frontal
29	areas, nausea, dizziness, occasional blurred vision, loss of
30	memory, a 10-percent hearing loss, and some decreased
31	concentration, and
32	WHEREAS, between December 8 and December 12, 1999, a
33	psychologist tested Ryan's neuropsychological functioning and
34	found that, although Ryan functioned intellectually in the
35	average range, he was experiencing significantly impaired short-
36	term memory functioning, in both verbal and visual memory; he
37	exhibited deficits in the area of attention and concentration
38	skills; he had significantly impaired construction ability and
39	perceptual processing, as well as impaired short-term visual
40	memory; he was experiencing a significant level of
41	psychopathology, consistent with a diagnosis of Adjustment
42	Disorder with Mixed Emotional Features; and he had significant
43	amounts of both depression and anxiety, and
44	WHEREAS, the psychologist concluded that Ryan's
45	"impairments are directly related to his motor vehicle
46	accident," and
47	WHEREAS, a pediatric neurologist who examined him on
48	November 2, November 20, and November 27, 2001, found that a
49	motor exam revealed difficulty hopping on the right foot, that
50	rapid alternate movements were remarkable for mild synkinesia,
51	that there had been a base of skull fracture, and that Ryan was
52	sleep-deprived, and
53	WHEREAS, an EEG revealed a partial seizure disorder, and
54	Ryan has continued under the care of a neurologist, has shown
55	little change in his symptoms, and requires prescription
56	medication to control his brain seizure activity, and
57	WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries he sustained in the
58	accident, Ryan had to repeat 1 year of elementary school, has
59	had great difficulty learning to read, and remains emotionally
60	and intellectually disadvantaged, and
61	WHEREAS, as the result of extensive mediation conducted in
62	the fall of 2002, Mark and Laurie Besancon entered into a
63	settlement agreement with the Indian River County School
64	District, and
65	WHEREAS, the terms of the settlement provided for payment
66	of the sum of $70,000 as compensation for Ryan's injuries, upon
67	the passage of a claim bill authorizing such a payment, which is
68	a necessary prerequisite to the school board's compensating Ryan
69	because the maximum payments allowed under section 768.28,
70	Florida Statutes, have already been made to other parties
71	injured in the same accident, and
72	WHEREAS, the attorneys representing the Besancons have
73	waived all attorney's fees in order that a greater portion of
74	the settlement funds might benefit Ryan, NOW, THEREFORE,
75
76	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
77
78	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
79	are found and declared to be true.
80	Section 2.  The Indian River County School Board is
81	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
82	board not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
83	amount of $70,000, payable after July 1, 2004, to Mark and
84	Laurie Besancon, as parents and natural guardians of Ryan
85	Besancon, a minor, for injuries and damages sustained by Ryan
86	Besancon due to the negligence of the Indian River County School
87	Board. Such funds are to be deposited into a guardianship
88	account for the exclusive use and benefit of Ryan Besancon. It
89	is the intent of the Legislature that no funds exceeding $5,000
90	per calendar year appropriated herein subsequently be spent, or
91	any obligation thereof incurred by the guardian, without prior
92	order of the circuit court.
93	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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