HB 1303

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act for the relief of Lois H. Lacava by the Munroe
3	Regional Health System, Inc.; providing for an
4	appropriation to compensate her for injuries sustained as
5	a result of the negligence of the Munroe Regional Medical
6	Center; providing a limitation on the payment of fees and
7	costs; providing an effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, on November 8, 2005, Lois H. Lacava was admitted
10	to the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida, with an
11	admitted diagnosis of a malunion of the right hip which was
12	related to a prior fracture of the neck of the femur bone in her
13	leg, and
14	WHEREAS, on November 11, 2005, Ms. Lacava had a total right
15	hip arthroplasty along with hardware removal, and the following
16	day Dr. Mehra examined Ms. Lacava and noticed that her right leg
17	below the knee to her toes was cold to the touch and that her
18	toes were discolored, and
19	WHEREAS, Dr. Mehra brought these observations to the
20	attention of registered nurse Stacey Graham, ordered an arterial
21	Doppler test to be performed immediately, and advised the nurse
22	to continue to daily monitor Ms. Lacava's production of red
23	blood cells and the effectiveness of a blood-thinning drug that
24	Ms. Lacava was prescribed, and
25	WHEREAS, an arterial Doppler test is a blood pressure test
26	that measures the lack of blood flow which may be caused by a
27	blockage in the arteries in the legs, and
28	WHEREAS, Dr. Mehra was not on call on the evening of
29	November 12, but the next morning he was paged by the nurse
30	taking care of Ms. Lacava and told that her venous Doppler test,
31	a test used to check the circulation in the large veins in the
32	legs, was negative for deep venous thrombosis, and
33	WHEREAS, upon further questioning, Dr. Mehra realized that
34	the arterial Doppler test had not been performed even though he
35	had ordered nurse Graham to conduct the test, and
36	WHEREAS, nurse Graham explained that she had spoken to the
37	Doppler technician who, upon hearing the clinical features and
38	history of the patient, had been reluctant to perform an
39	arterial Doppler test because the technician thought there was a
40	venous problem in Ms. Lacava's leg, and
41	WHEREAS, a computer loading error required a venous Doppler
42	test to be performed before an arterial Doppler test and, for
43	unexplained reasons, the arterial Doppler test was never
44	performed, and
45	WHEREAS, even though the venous Doppler test did not reveal
46	any deep venous thrombosis, the lack of the arterial Doppler
47	test prevented a femoral artery occlusion from being timely
48	diagnosed, and
49	WHEREAS, Dr. Mehra ordered an evaluation for vascular
50	surgery by Dr. Swaminathan and another arterial Doppler test to
51	be performed immediately, and
52	WHEREAS, Dr. Swaminathan evaluated Ms. Lacava and ordered
53	an angiogram, which revealed a blockage of the right femoral
54	artery and dislocation of the right hip prosthesis, and Ms.
55	Lacava was taken to the emergency operating room where Dr. Brill
56	performed a right total hip arthroplasty revision and Dr.
57	Swaminathan performed an excision of a blood clot of the right
58	femoral vein, with repair to the right femoral artery, and
59	WHEREAS, Dr. Swaminathan also removed a blockage in the
60	right tibial artery and cut the soft tissue component of the
61	connective tissue in order to relieve tension or pressure within
62	the right leg; however, Ms. Lacava ultimately experienced
63	irreversible necrosis of her right lower leg, which required
64	that her leg be amputated above the knee, and
65	WHEREAS, after her surgeries Ms. Lacava developed
66	tachycardia secondary to toxemia from the gangrene of her right
67	foot and lower leg, suffered a fracture of her superior pubic
68	ramus and femoral prosthesis, acquired a staphylococcus
69	infection, and developed diarrhea, and
70	WHEREAS, it was determined that Ms. Lacava was not a
71	suitable candidate for a prosthesis due to her medical
72	conditions that included an above-the-knee amputation of her
73	right leg and a dislocated prosthetic hip, and
74	WHEREAS, a consent final judgment was entered in favor of
75	Ms. Lacava against the Munroe Regional Health System, Inc., by
76	the Circuit Court of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for
77	Marion County for $450,000, wherein $200,000 was paid to Ms.
78	Lacava within 30 days after entry of the consent final judgment,
79	and the remaining balance of $250,000, pursuant to the agreement
80	by the parties, would be reported to the Florida Legislature for
81	its consideration as a claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE,
82
83	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
84
85	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
86	are found and declared to be true.
87	Section 2.  Munroe Regional Health System, Inc., is
88	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise
89	appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $250,000,
90	payable to Lois H. Lacava, as compensation for injuries and
91	damages sustained as a result of the negligence of Munroe
92	Regional Medical Center.
93	Section 3.  The amount paid by Munroe Regional Health
94	System, Inc., pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the
95	amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
96	compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
97	the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
98	injury to Lois H. Lacava. The total amount paid for attorney's
99	fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating
100	to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount
101	awarded under this act.
102	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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