Senate Bill sb0068

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                    SB 68

    By Senator Bennett





    21-148-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the North Broward Hospital

  3         District; providing for the relief of Charles

  4         Pandrea, husband of Janet Pandrea, deceased;

  5         providing for an appropriation to compensate

  6         him for the death of Janet Pandrea as a result

  7         of the negligence of the North Broward Hospital

  8         District; providing an effective date.

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10         WHEREAS, Janet Pandrea died on April 2, 2002, in

11  Broward County as a result of the treatment that she received

12  for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a disease which she did not have,

13  and

14         WHEREAS, the Coral Springs Medical Center, part of the

15  North Broward Hospital District, by and through its

16  pathologist, Peter Tsivis, M.D., breached the applicable

17  standard of care by and through his diagnosis and

18  interpretation of certain slides as being consistent with

19  non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, when the tissue at issue was a benign

20  thymoma, and

21         WHEREAS, based upon the misdiagnosis of the benign

22  thymoma as cancer, Janet Pandrea was subsequently treated with

23  multiple rounds of chemotherapy for which she had adverse

24  reactions, which led to multiple complications and her

25  eventual demise, and

26         WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea was married to Janet Pandrea

27  on May 19, 1956, and they had four children together during

28  the course of their 46-year marriage, and

29         WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea is suffering from the tragic

30  memories of the suffering of his wife from complications from

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                    SB 68
    21-148-06




 1  chemotherapy and her prolonged hospital stay and eventual

 2  demise, which were related to the initial misdiagnosis, and

 3         WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea will continue to suffer mental

 4  pain and anguish for the remainder of his life, which has

 5  caused and will continue to cause serious psychological

 6  problems for him, and

 7         WHEREAS, as a matter of law, a jury in Broward County

 8  returned a verdict against North Broward Hospital District on

 9  June 8, 2005, and the verdict was reduced to a final judgment

10  in the amount of $808,554.78 on June 15, 2005, and

11         WHEREAS, as a matter of law, it was determined that

12  neither Charles Pandrea nor Janet Pandrea did anything to

13  cause or contribute to the cause of the losses and injuries

14  complained of, and

15         WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District, pursuant

16  to section 768.28, Florida Statutes, has offered to pay

17  $200,000, the statutory limit for the waiver of sovereign

18  immunity, and

19         WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District is

20  responsible for paying the remainder of the judgment, which is

21  $608,554.78, NOW, THEREFORE,

22  

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

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

26  act are found and declared to be true.

27         Section 2.  The North Broward Hospital District is

28  authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the

29  district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in

30  the sum of $608,554.78, payable to Charles Pandrea, husband of

31  Janet Pandrea, deceased, as compensation for the death of

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                    SB 68
    21-148-06




 1  Janet Pandrea as a result of the negligence of the North

 2  Broward Hospital District.

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

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