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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to the South Florida Water Management

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District; providing for the relief of Brian Daiagi;

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authorizing and directing the South Florida Water

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Management District to compensate Mr. Daiagi for personal

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injuries that he suffered due to the negligence of the

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South Florida Water Management District; providing a

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limitation on the payment of fees and costs; providing an

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effective date.

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     WHEREAS, on the morning of August 10, 1992, Brian Daiagi, a

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20-year-old single resident of Broward County, was traveling on a

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dirt bike westbound on the shoulder of Griffin Road with Richard

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Truntz, an off-duty police officer with the Hollywood Police

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Department, who was also on a dirt bike, and

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     WHEREAS, across the shoulder of the road, hidden in tall

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grass and unbeknownst to both of them, was a drainage culvert

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that ran perpendicular to and across the shoulder of the road on

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which they were traveling, and

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     WHEREAS, this drainage culvert that was placed on land owned

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by the South Florida Water Management District had been there for

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many years and, at one point, Bell South was to have erected a

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security fence around the drainage culvert, having obtained

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permission to lay telephone cables on the road shoulder, but Bell

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South ultimately failed to erect the security fence, and

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     WHEREAS, despite having notice that the security fence had

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not been erected, the South Florida Water Management District did

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not act to protect or warn of the hidden drainage culvert, and

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     WHEREAS, on August 10, 1992, at approximately 3:00 p.m.,

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when the two riders were returning to Brian Daiagi's home,

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Richard Truntz was unable to get his dirt bike out of first gear

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and could ride only very slowly and suggested that Brian ride

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ahead and meet later at Mr. Daiagi's house, and

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     WHEREAS, while wearing a helmet and full protective gear and

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traveling at approximately 25 m.p.h., Brian Daiagi drove his dirt

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bike into the hidden drainage culvert, and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Daiagi had never ridden his dirt bike in the

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area where the accident occurred, and had moved to this western

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area of Broward County approximately 3 weeks prior to the

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accident, and

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     WHEREAS, the drainage culvert cannot be seen with the naked

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eye and was completely obscured by long grass along the road, and

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     WHEREAS, the South Florida Water Management District is

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responsible for cutting the grass in this area, and

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     WHEREAS, testimony at the trial of the case indicated that

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the grass was at least "knee high" and obscured the culvert from

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ordinary view, and Richard Truntz testified that he would also

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have driven into the culvert except for the fact that he was

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traveling in first gear and was able to stop 2 feet short of the

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culvert only by breaking hard, and

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     WHEREAS, the South Florida Water Management District

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acknowledged during the trial that it had knowledge that

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"passers-by" used the road shoulder and took the position that

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Brian Daiagi was "an invitee" on the premises, and

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     WHEREAS, Brian Daiagi sustained a crush fracture to his

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spine, was rendered a paraplegic as a result of the incident, was

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paralyzed from the waist down, and, according to Dr. Barth Green

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who treated Mr. Daiagi for his injuries, will always be confined

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to a wheelchair within a reasonable degree of medical

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probability, and

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     WHEREAS, the specific injuries include a T10-T11 fracture

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with complete paraplegia below the navel; comminuted fracture of

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the vertebrae at T11; multiple fractures of the spine at L1, L2,

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L3, and L4; posttraumatic stress disorder; depression; pain

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secondary to the spinal cord injury; bowel dysfunction;

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nonfunctioning bladder that requires 24-hour catheterization; and

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complete sexual impotence, and

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     WHEREAS, there was no testimony that Brian Daiagi was

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speeding at the time of the accident and the South Florida Water

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Management District claimed that Mr. Daiagi was not looking where

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he was going, and

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     WHEREAS, the trial court allowed the jury to visit the scene

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of the accident and the jury agreed by their verdict that the

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drainage culvert was completely obscured and could not be seen

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and, at the time the jury visited the site, the grass was above

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knee level, and

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     WHEREAS, an engineer and accident reconstructionist who was

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called by Mr. Daiagi as an expert witness testified that Mr.

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Daiagi's speed, based upon where he was found on the other side

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of the culvert, was approximately 25.6 m.p.h., requiring 90 feet

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in which to stop, at which distance Mr. Daiagi could not have

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seen the culvert, and

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     WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, Mr. Daiagi was working

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in a jewelry store and is now 36 years of age and lives in

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western Broward County, and

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     WHEREAS, a verdict was rendered in the case on September 29,

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2000, finding that the South Florida Water Management District

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was 80-percent negligent in causing the injuries sustained by

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Brian Daiagi, and awarding damages totaling $4,344,000, which

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took into account a finding of 20-percent comparative negligence

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by Mr. Daiagi, and

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     WHEREAS, the verdict was later reduced by the trial court

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due to collateral source payments pursuant to health insurance,

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resulting in an amended final judgment entered by the trial court

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on May 10, 2001, in the amount of $4,008,616.63, and

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     WHEREAS, the South Florida Water Management District

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appealed the verdict to the Fourth District Court of Appeals and

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the verdict was upheld in a unanimous opinion by the appellate

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court on July 17, 2002, Case Number 4D01-1918, 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. The South Florida Water Management District is

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authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the district

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not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the amount of

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$4,008,616.63, payable to Brian Daiagi, to compensate him for

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personal injuries and damages suffered as a result of the

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negligence of the South Florida Water Management District.

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     Section 3. This award is 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 this act which resulted in injury

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to Brian Daiagi. The total amount paid for attorney's fees,

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lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating to this

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claim may not exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded under this

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act.

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