HB 797

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act for the relief of Sheila Forehand and John Forehand
3	by the City of Jacksonville; providing for an
4	appropriation to compensate them for injuries and damages
5	sustained as a result of the negligence of an employee of
6	the City of Jacksonville; providing a limitation on the
7	payment of fees and costs; providing an effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, Sheila and John Forehand have been married since
10	1985 to the present and together have three children, and
11	WHEREAS, on June 24, 2005, Sheila Forehand, accompanied by
12	her daughter Kelsie, was traveling on Interstate 10 in
13	Jacksonville, Florida, when her car became disabled, and
14	WHEREAS, Mrs. Forehand lawfully stopped in the emergency
15	lane to wait for assistance, and
16	WHEREAS, shortly thereafter, Officer Dawn Blind, while in
17	the course of her employment with the Jacksonville Sheriff's
18	Office, was traveling this same roadway and following another
19	police cruiser, and
20	WHEREAS, notwithstanding the wet road, Officer Dawn Blind
21	was following the first police cruiser too closely and was
22	exceeding the posted speed limit, and
23	WHEREAS, the first officer saw Mrs. Forehand's disabled
24	vehicle and slowed to render assistance, and
25	WHEREAS, as he was pulling into the emergency lane, Mrs.
26	Forehand was standing by the left rear of her disabled vehicle,
27	and
28	WHEREAS, Officer Blind, reacting to the cruiser ahead of
29	her, careened out of control veering to the right, slid to the
30	left, smashed into the back of Mrs. Forehand's vehicle, and
31	collided into Mrs. Forehand with her daughter Kelsie inside the
32	vehicle, and
33	WHEREAS, the impact launched Mrs. Forehand's vehicle a good
34	distance from its original position and propelled Mrs. Forehand
35	approximately 10 yards before she violently hit the ground and
36	suffered serious injuries, and
37	WHEREAS, Mrs. Forehand was transported by ambulance to
38	Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, was immediately taken into
39	surgery for correction of multiple cerebral hematomas, remained
40	in a coma for 2 weeks and in the surgical intensive care unit
41	for 27 days, and was finally able to breathe on her own 1 month
42	later, and
43	WHEREAS, Mrs. Forehand's injuries are permanent and she is
44	not employable due to her injuries, and
45	WHEREAS, as a result of these events, the Forehands filed a
46	lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville for negligence in
47	causing the injuries, losses, and damages to the Forehands, and
48	WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville acknowledged its police
49	officer was completely responsible for the events without any
50	comparative negligence or third-party liability, and
51	WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville acknowledged that the
52	harms and damages far exceeded the statutory limit of $200,000
53	and would have likely garnered a multi-million-dollar verdict,
54	and
55	WHEREAS, after going through its exhaustive approval
56	process, the City of Jacksonville has stipulated to judgment in
57	the amount of $700,000 solely against the City of Jacksonville,
58	without any issues of comparative negligence or third-party
59	liability, and
60	WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville has paid $200,000 to the
61	Forehands under the statutory limits of liability set forth in
62	s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
63	WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville has agreed to remain
64	neutral and not take any action whatsoever, direct or indirect,
65	which is adverse to the Forehands' ability to collect or enforce
66	the remainder of the stipulated judgment through the claim bill
67	process, NOW, THEREFORE,
68
69	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
70
71	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
72	are found and declared to be true.
73	Section 2.  The City of Jacksonville is authorized and
74	directed to appropriate from funds of the city not otherwise
75	appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $500,000,
76	payable to Sheila Forehand and John Forehand, as compensation
77	for injuries and damages sustained.
78	Section 3.  This award is intended to provide the sole
79	compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
80	the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
81	the injuries and damages to Sheila Forehand. The total amount
82	paid for attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other
83	similar expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25
84	percent of the amount awarded under this act.
85	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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