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A bill to be entitled

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An act for the relief of Rhonda A. Hughes by Escambia

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County; providing for a county appropriation to compensate

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Rhonda A. Hughes for injuries sustained as a result of the

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negligence of a county employee; providing a limitation on

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the payment of attorney's and lobbying fees and costs;

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providing an effective date.

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     WHEREAS, at the time of the incident which resulted in her

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injury, Rhonda A. Hughes was suffering from an undiagnosed

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disease of dysautonomia, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous

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system that can result in such symptoms as vague but disturbing

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aches and pains; faintness or even fainting spells; fatigue;

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tachycaridia; hypotension; sweating; dizziness; blurred vision;

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numbness and tingling; and anxiety and depression, and

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     WHEREAS, on September 25, 2002, Ms. Hughes was in a retail

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store and started to suffer from confusion, dizziness, blurred

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vision, and faintness to such an extent that she sat down on the

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floor, and

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     WHEREAS, the store manager called for emergency medical

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services and an Escambia County emergency medical services

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vehicle was dispatched to Ms. Hughes' location, and

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     WHEREAS, the lead emergency medical technician (EMT) on the

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scene concluded that Ms. Hughes was suffering a possible drug

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overdose and decided that the proper emergency treatment would be

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an injection of naloxone hydrochloride, and

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     WHEREAS, instead of naloxone hydrochloride, the EMT injected

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mivacurium chloride, a paralytic agent that caused Ms. Hughes to

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struggle for her breath almost to the point of collapsing into

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full respiratory arrest, and

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     WHEREAS, approximately 10 minutes elapsed before the EMT

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realized that Ms. Hughes was not breathing sufficiently on her

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own and started artificial ventilation, causing Ms. Hughes to

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suffer from an anoxic brain injury, and

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     WHEREAS, Ms. Hughes filed a lawsuit against Escambia County

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alleging that the EMT was negligent and that the county was

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responsible for the EMT's actions, and the county in its answer

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to the complaint admitted liability for the EMT's negligent

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actions, and

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     WHEREAS, the encephalopathy resulting from the anoxic brain

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injury caused Ms. Hughes to have a loss of cognitive function

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including problems with confusion, memory, concentration, and

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slowed cognitive processing, and

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     WHEREAS, two neurophysiologists who tested Ms. Hughes agree

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that the dysautomony, which is stable and controlled, would not

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cause the type of ongoing cognitive problems that she is

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experiencing and support the opinions of Ms. Hughes' psychiatrist

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and physician, who specializes in treating dysautonomia, that her

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significant cognitive decline is due to encephalopathy resulting

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from the EMT's negligence, and

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     WHEREAS, Ms. Hughes' psychiatrist has opined that her loss

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of cognitive function will require daily ongoing care and

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treatment for the remainder of her life and that the amount of

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care and treatment could increase as she ages, and

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     WHEREAS, Escambia County has agreed to submit to a consent

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judgment for $200,000, of which the county will pay $100,000

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pursuant to the limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28,

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Florida Statutes, and for which the payment of the remainder is

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conditioned upon the passage of a claim bill by the Legislature

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in the amount of $100,000 in favor of Ms. Hughes, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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     Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are

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found and declared to be true.

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     Section 2. Escambia County is authorized and directed to

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appropriate from county funds not otherwise encumbered and draw a

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warrant in the sum of $100,000 payable to Rhonda A. Hughes as

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compensation for injuries and damages sustained due to the

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negligence of an employee of the county, as agreed to by the

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parties in a consent judgment.

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     Section 3. Any amount paid by the county pursuant to the

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waiver of sovereign immunity permitted under s. 768.28, Florida

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Statutes, and this award are intended to provide the sole

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compensation for all present and future claims arising out of the

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factual situation described in the preamble to this act which

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resulted in the injury to Rhonda A Hughes. The total amount paid

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for attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar

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expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the

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amount awarded under section 2 of this act.

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     Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.