1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act for the relief of Adam Susser by the North Broward |
3 | Hospital District; providing for the relief of Adam |
4 | Susser, a minor, by and through his parents and natural |
5 | guardians, Judith Susser and Gary Susser; providing for an |
6 | appropriation to compensate him for injuries and damages |
7 | sustained as a result of the negligence of the North |
8 | Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs Medical |
9 | Center; providing for purchase of an annuity to benefit |
10 | the special needs trust; providing for payment of |
11 | attorney's fees, lobbyist's fees, and costs; providing an |
12 | effective date. |
13 |
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14 | WHEREAS, in July 2000, Gary Susser, a lawyer, and his wife, |
15 | Judith Susser, a paralegal, were residing in Boca Raton, |
16 | Florida, and |
17 | WHEREAS, prior to her marriage to Gary Susser, Judith |
18 | Susser was unable to have children, and |
19 | WHEREAS, after their marriage, Judith and Gary Susser badly |
20 | wanted to have children, despite the fact that Judith Susser was |
21 | 47 years of age, and |
22 | WHEREAS, Judith Susser went to a fertility expert and was |
23 | finally able to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization, |
24 | and |
25 | WHEREAS, prenatal tests revealed that Judith Susser was |
26 | pregnant with twins, and consequently Judith and Gary Susser |
27 | were looking forward to the birth of their twin boys, and |
28 | WHEREAS, Judith and Gary Susser sought out high-risk |
29 | pregnancy experts who could guide them through Judith Susser's |
30 | pregnancy in order to ensure that her pregnancy progressed |
31 | safely and without complications, and |
32 | WHEREAS, Judith Susser kept all of her appointments and |
33 | complied with all orders by her physicians, and |
34 | WHEREAS, at approximately 34 weeks gestation, Judith |
35 | Susser's membrane on the sac holding Adam Susser ruptured, and |
36 | WHEREAS, Gary Susser immediately took his wife to the Coral |
37 | Springs Medical Center where, on July 6, 2000, she was admitted |
38 | by her obstetrician's office and where she remained until her |
39 | discharge on July 12, 2000, and |
40 | WHEREAS, during the admission, a high-risk perinatal |
41 | expert, Dr. Christine Edwards, as well as Dr. Kerry Kuhn and Dr. |
42 | Carrie Greenspan, Dr. Kuhn's partner, also saw Judith Susser, |
43 | and |
44 | WHEREAS, despite a nonreassuring fetal heart pattern and |
45 | despite the fact that the nurses kept having difficulties |
46 | getting the fetal monitoring to perform properly, the pregnancy |
47 | was allowed to continue for 4 and 1/2 days, with the nurses |
48 | never reporting the abnormal test results or the difficulties |
49 | they were having with the fetal monitoring equipment to the |
50 | physicians, and |
51 | WHEREAS, two days into Judith Susser's labor, a biophysical |
52 | profile was ordered to be performed by Dr. Edwards, and |
53 | WHEREAS, that biophysical profile yielded abnormal |
54 | indications and, although they were not reported by the nurses, |
55 | the obstetricians were aware of the abnormal results, and |
56 | WHEREAS, despite this, the obstetricians allowed Judith |
57 | Susser's labor to continue, and |
58 | WHEREAS, finally, on the early morning of the fifth day of |
59 | labor, Judith Susser was taken to the operating room for |
60 | delivery, and |
61 | WHEREAS, the physician in charge was insistent on |
62 | performing a vaginal delivery despite all the obvious needs for |
63 | an emergency cesarean section, and |
64 | WHEREAS, when Dr. Kuhn reached the delivery room, he asked |
65 | for fetal monitoring to be commenced and the nurses indicated |
66 | that they could not bring the fetal monitoring machine into the |
67 | delivery room because they did not have a fetal monitor for |
68 | twins available, and |
69 | WHEREAS, Gary Susser then asked the nurses to get the fetal |
70 | monitoring machine from the room that Judith Susser had |
71 | previously been in for 4 days, which demand was also made by Dr. |
72 | Kuhn, and the nurses said they could not remove the monitoring |
73 | machine from the wall, and |
74 | WHEREAS, for the next hour there was only manual monitoring |
75 | of Adam Susser, and Dr. Kuhn continued to wait, and |
76 | WHEREAS, on July 10, 2000, Adam Susser was born by vaginal |
77 | delivery, and |
78 | WHEREAS, tragically, as a result of the extraordinary and |
79 | egregious malpractice by the physicians and nurses at the Coral |
80 | Springs Medical Center, Adam Susser was born severely depressed |
81 | and oxygen-deprived, which led to severe brain damage, and |
82 | WHEREAS, Adam Susser cannot walk and will never be able to |
83 | walk, cannot sit up on his own, cannot use his hands or arms, is |
84 | cortically blind, needs to be fed through a feeding tube, and is |
85 | severely mentally and physically impaired, and |
86 | WHEREAS, though by all accounts Adam Susser will have a |
87 | normal life expectancy, which means that he should live into his |
88 | 70's, Adam Susser will require medical care and treatment for |
89 | the remainder of his life, and |
90 | WHEREAS, the negligent care administered by the Coral |
91 | Springs Medical Center formed the basis of legal action against |
92 | the North Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs |
93 | Medical Center, and |
94 | WHEREAS, the matter was settled prior to trial with the |
95 | overall settlement amount being $9.8 million, and |
96 | WHEREAS, the hospital's private insurer, the Zurich |
97 | Insurance Company, paid the claimants the amount of |
98 | $3,831,218.04 on behalf of the North Broward Hospital District, |
99 | and |
100 | WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District paid $200,000 |
101 | for the benefit of Adam Susser pursuant to the limits of |
102 | liability set forth in section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and |
103 | WHEREAS, in addition, the North Broward Hospital District |
104 | fully supports the passage of a claim bill for the amount of |
105 | $668,781.96, NOW, THEREFORE, |
106 |
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107 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
108 |
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109 | Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
110 | are found and declared to be true. |
111 | Section 2. The North Broward Hospital District is |
112 | authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the |
113 | hospital district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a |
114 | warrant in the sum of $668,781.96, plus the interest that has |
115 | accrued on those funds in the account maintained by the |
116 | district, to purchase an annuity benefiting the special needs |
117 | trust established for the care and benefit of Adam Susser, minor |
118 | child of Judith Susser and Gary Susser, as compensation for |
119 | injuries and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of |
120 | the North Broward Hospital District. |
121 | Section 3. Payment for attorney's fees and costs incurred |
122 | by the claimant's attorneys shall not exceed $108,764. Payment |
123 | for the professional services and costs of lobbyists advocating |
124 | for passage of this claim shall not exceed $6,688. |
125 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |