HB 955

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act for the relief of Timothy Kulik and Theresa Ann
3	Kulik by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
4	Vehicles; providing an appropriation to compensate them
5	for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the
6	negligence of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
7	Vehicles; providing an effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, on March 30, 1996, Dr. Timothy Kulik, a dentist
10	from South Bend, Indiana, and his family, including his wife
11	Theresa Ann Kulik and their two teenage children, were en route
12	from Indiana to South Florida on Interstate 75, and
13	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's son, Michael Kulik, was driving
14	the family vehicle as the Kuliks traveled Interstate 75 in
15	Columbia County, Florida, heading southbound within an extended
16	construction zone, and
17	WHEREAS, Michael Kulik had been following a grey van for
18	some time, keeping up with traffic, traveling in the right lane,
19	when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James Bond pulled behind the
20	Kulik vehicle and turned on his blue lights, indicating that the
21	Kulik vehicle must pull over, and
22	WHEREAS, Michael Kulik, an inexperienced driver with less
23	than 1 year of total driving experience, pulled the vehicle off
24	the road onto a shoulder still within the construction zone at a
25	point where there was no emergency lane, and
26	WHEREAS, the left rear tire of the vehicle came to rest on
27	asphalt less than 6 inches off the right white line delineating
28	the shoulder of the road, with the left front tire approximately
29	18 inches onto the shoulder, and
30	WHEREAS, the two right wheels came to rest on grass due to
31	the narrow shoulder created by ongoing construction in that
32	area, and
33	WHEREAS, a large grassy area separated the roadway from a
34	large rest area, and
35	WHEREAS, testimony indicated that the swale was gentle and
36	dry, allowing for vehicles to pull well off the road without
37	risk of getting struck, and
38	WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, James Bond, in
39	pulling the vehicle over, parked his vehicle approximately 15
40	feet off of the roadway, and
41	WHEREAS, the pictures of the accident scene do not depict
42	where Trooper Bond was parked at the time of the accident
43	because he moved his vehicle after the fact, and
44	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond stated in deposition testimony that
45	he noticed the proximity of the Kulik vehicle to the lanes of
46	traffic and recognized the danger, but he did not feel it
47	necessary to instruct Michael Kulik to move the vehicle further
48	from the roadway because he felt that the family posed a flight
49	risk, and
50	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond did have available a bullhorn to hail
51	motorists from inside his vehicle but testified that his
52	supervisors had discouraged its use, and
53	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond further failed to position his marked
54	cruiser in a manner so as to alert oncoming motorists of the
55	hazard he created and over which he had control, instead
56	choosing to pull his automobile far off the roadway to an area
57	of safety, and
58	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond approached the Kulik vehicle from the
59	passenger side and engaged the driver through the passenger
60	window, and
61	WHEREAS, when asked at trial, Trooper Bond testified that
62	approaching the Kulik vehicle from the driver's side would have
63	placed him in danger of passing motorists, and
64	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik was in the front passenger seat and
65	was notably agitated by the fact that his son received a ticket
66	when he was merely following his father's instructions in
67	keeping up with traffic through this construction zone, and
68	voiced his displeasure to Trooper Bond during the stop, and
69	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik testified that he used some
70	profanity when told to shut up by Trooper Bond, and
71	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond denied memory of any profanity, and
72	WHEREAS, when the ticket had been issued, Timothy Kulik
73	offered to replace Michael Kulik as the driver because the son
74	was noticeably shaken by the incident, and
75	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik exited his seat and walked around
76	the rear of the vehicle, heading up the driver's side of the
77	Chevrolet Suburban, and
78	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik passed his son Michael near the rear
79	wheel and walked to the front door which had been left ajar by
80	his son, and
81	WHEREAS, unfortunately, Timothy Kulik has no memory of
82	events from this point on, and
83	WHEREAS, expert testimony revealed that Timothy Kulik
84	opened the driver's door using his left hand, and
85	WHEREAS, as he did so, a large motor home passed and
86	impacted the open door pinning Timothy Kulik's entire left arm
87	between the door and motor home, and
88	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik's left arm was practically severed
89	in the impact, and
90	WHEREAS, as the motor home passed, it dragged Timothy Kulik
91	and the door forward at high speed, throwing him around the door
92	and forward onto the pavement in front of the truck, and
93	WHEREAS, the highway patrol policies and procedures clearly
94	stated that a trooper is not to hesitate to direct a stopped
95	motorist to an area of safety before instituting enforcement
96	action, and
97	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond testified that he saw the proximity
98	of the stopped Kulik car to the traffic lanes of Interstate 75
99	but chose to leave the Kuliks in a position of danger, and
100	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also allowed that, in his more than
101	20-year career, he often saw motorists change drivers following
102	a traffic stop, and
103	WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also acknowledged that the Florida
104	Highway Patrol policy manual allowed for a trooper to instruct a
105	motorist to stay in the vehicle, and
106	WHEREAS, because of a defense error, Trooper Bond's
107	employment file was discussed in court and, as a result, it was
108	revealed that Trooper Bond had been sanctioned more than once
109	for displaying a very poor attitude, a fact that was key to
110	substantiating Timothy Kulik's testimony that Trooper Bond was
111	very abrasive when he approached the vehicle and baited Timothy
112	Kulik into retaliating, and
113	WHEREAS, an emergency room physician and his wife, an
114	emergency room nurse, were the first persons on the scene of the
115	accident, and
116	WHEREAS, the couple rendered trauma care and assisted in
117	stemming the tide of Timothy Kulik's profuse bleeding until
118	local emergency teams arrived, and
119	WHEREAS, simply put, Dr. Timothy Kulik's left arm was
120	shattered by the impact of the accident, and
121	WHEREAS, Dr. Kulik's arm, from the shoulder down to the
122	wrist, was mangled, and no use of his hand or arm was possible
123	for many months, and
124	WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik underwent seven or eight significant
125	surgical procedures, and
126	WHEREAS, muscle transpositions have helped Dr. Kulik with
127	simple grasp functions, but overall there is no dexterity to the
128	left hand and minimal range of motion to the arm, and
129	WHEREAS, as a result of the accident of March 30, 1996, Dr.
130	Timothy Kulik's arm is virtually useless, and
131	WHEREAS, Dr. Timothy Kulik was a dentist in South Bend,
132	Indiana from 1976 to the present, opening his own practice in
133	1995, and
134	WHEREAS, dentistry being a profession requiring the full
135	use of both hands, Dr. Kulik is extremely limited in the types
136	of procedures he can perform, with more costly and meticulous
137	procedures such as crown placement being difficult to the point
138	that Dr. Kulik can no longer perform them, and
139	WHEREAS, at trial, it was the intent of Timothy Kulik's
140	legal representatives to prove that the motor home operator was
141	negligent, minimizing the role of Trooper Bond after the first 2
142	days of testimony, and
143	WHEREAS, for the remainder of the trial Timothy Kulik's
144	attorneys concentrated on the motor home operator's actions,
145	including during the closing argument when it was suggested that
146	the jury find the Florida Highway Patrol minimally negligent,
147	and
148	WHEREAS, despite this, the jury returned with a verdict
149	attributing 0-percent negligence to the motor home operator,
150	approximately 46-percent negligence to Trooper Bond, and 54-
151	percent negligence to Timothy Kulik, and
152	WHEREAS, the gross verdict in the trial was in the amount
153	of $3,125,000 for Timothy Kulik and $50,000 for Theresa Ann
154	Kulik for loss of consortium, and
155	WHEREAS, after reductions for comparative fault, judgment
156	was entered against the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
157	Vehicles in the sum of $1,437,500 for damages incurred by
158	Timothy Kulik and $23,000 for damages incurred by Theresa Ann
159	Kulik, NOW, THEREFORE,
160
161	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
162
163	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
164	are found and declared to be true.
165	Section 2.  The sum of $1,437,500 is appropriated from the
166	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and
167	Motor Vehicles for the relief of Timothy Kulik as compensation
168	for injuries and damages sustained.
169	Section 3.  The sum of $23,000 is appropriated from the
170	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and
171	Motor Vehicles for the relief of Theresa Ann Kulik as
172	compensation for injuries and damages sustained.
173	Section 4.  The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
174	a warrant in favor of Timothy Kulik in the sum of $1,437,500
175	upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
176	Vehicles in the State Treasury, and the Chief Financial Officer
177	is directed to pay the same out of such funds in the State
178	Treasury.
179	Section 5.  The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
180	a warrant in favor of Theresa Ann Kulik in the sum of $23,000
181	upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
182	Vehicles in the State Treasury, and the Chief Financial Officer
183	is directed to pay the same out of such funds in the State
184	Treasury.
185	Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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