HB 37

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act for the relief of Charles Pandrea by the North
3Broward Hospital District; providing for an appropriation
4to compensate Charles Pandrea, husband of Janet Pandrea,
5deceased, for the death of Janet Pandrea as a result of
6the negligence of the North Broward Hospital District;
7providing a limitation on the payment of fees and costs;
8providing an effective date.
9
10     WHEREAS, Janet Pandrea died on April 2, 2002, in Broward
11County as a result of the treatment that she received for non-
12Hodgkin's lymphoma, a disease that she did not have, and
13     WHEREAS, the Coral Springs Medical Center, part of the
14North Broward Hospital District, by and through its pathologist,
15Peter Tsivis, M.D., breached the applicable standard of care by
16and through his diagnosis and interpretation of certain slides
17as being consistent with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, when the tissue
18was a benign thymoma, and
19     WHEREAS, based upon the misdiagnosis of the benign thymoma
20as cancer, Janet Pandrea was subsequently treated with multiple
21rounds of chemotherapy to which she had adverse reactions, which
22led to multiple complications and her eventual demise, and
23     WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea was married to Janet Pandrea on
24May 19, 1956, and they had four children together during the
25course of their 46-year marriage, and
26     WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea is suffering from the tragic
27memories of the suffering of his wife from complications from
28chemotherapy and her prolonged hospital stay and eventual
29demise, which were related to the initial misdiagnosis, and
30     WHEREAS, Charles Pandrea will continue to suffer mental
31pain and anguish for the remainder of his life, which has caused
32and will continue to cause serious psychological problems for
33him, and
34     WHEREAS, as a matter of law, a jury in Broward County
35returned a verdict against North Broward Hospital District on
36June 8, 2005, and the verdict was reduced to a final judgment in
37the amount of $808,554.78 on June 15, 2005, and
38     WHEREAS, as a matter of law, it was determined that neither
39Charles Pandrea nor Janet Pandrea did anything to cause or
40contribute to the cause of the losses and injuries complained
41of, and
42     WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District has paid the
43statutory limit of $200,000 under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes,
44and
45     WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District is responsible
46for paying the remainder of the judgment, which is $608,554.78,
47NOW, THEREFORE,
48
49Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
50
51     Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
52are found and declared to be true.
53     Section 2.  The North Broward Hospital District is
54authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
55district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
56sum of $608,554.78, payable to Charles Pandrea, husband of Janet
57Pandrea, deceased, as compensation for the death of Janet
58Pandrea as a result of the negligence of the North Broward
59Hospital District.
60     Section 3.  This award is intended to provide the sole
61compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
62the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
63the death of Janet Pandrea. The total amount paid for attorney's
64fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating
65to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded
66under this act.
67     Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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