CS/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 the nursing staff, ordered an arterial Doppler test
21	to be performed immediately, and advised the nurse to continue
22	to daily monitor Ms. Lacava's production of red blood cells and
23	the effectiveness of a blood-thinning drug that Ms. Lacava was
24	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 a nurse to conduct the test, and
36	WHEREAS, the Doppler technician, upon hearing the clinical
37	features and history of the patient, had been reluctant to
38	perform an arterial Doppler test because the technician thought
39	there was a venous problem in Ms. Lacava's leg, and
40	WHEREAS, a computer loading error required a venous Doppler
41	test to be performed before an arterial Doppler test and, for
42	unexplained reasons, the arterial Doppler test was never
43	performed, and
44	WHEREAS, even though the venous Doppler test did not reveal
45	any deep venous thrombosis, the lack of the arterial Doppler
46	test prevented a femoral artery occlusion from being timely
47	diagnosed, and
48	WHEREAS, Dr. Mehra ordered an evaluation for vascular
49	surgery by Dr. Swaminathan and another arterial Doppler test to
50	be performed immediately, and
51	WHEREAS, Dr. Swaminathan evaluated Ms. Lacava and ordered
52	an angiogram, which revealed a blockage of the right femoral
53	artery and dislocation of the right hip prosthesis, and Ms.
54	Lacava was taken to the emergency operating room where Dr. Brill
55	performed a right total hip arthroplasty revision and Dr.
56	Swaminathan performed an excision of a blood clot of the right
57	femoral vein, with repair to the right femoral artery, and
58	WHEREAS, Dr. Swaminathan also removed a blockage in the
59	right tibial artery and cut the soft tissue component of the
60	connective tissue in order to relieve tension or pressure within
61	the right leg; however, Ms. Lacava ultimately experienced
62	irreversible necrosis of her right lower leg, which required
63	that her leg be amputated above the knee, and
64	WHEREAS, after her surgeries Ms. Lacava developed
65	tachycardia secondary to toxemia from the gangrene of her right
66	foot and lower leg, suffered a fracture of her superior pubic
67	ramus and femoral prosthesis, acquired a staphylococcus
68	infection, and developed diarrhea, and
69	WHEREAS, it was determined that Ms. Lacava was not a
70	suitable candidate for a prosthesis due to her medical
71	conditions that included an above-the-knee amputation of her
72	right leg and a dislocated prosthetic hip, and
73	WHEREAS, a consent final judgment was entered in favor of
74	Ms. Lacava against the Munroe Regional Health System, Inc., by
75	the Circuit Court of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for
76	Marion County for $450,000, wherein $200,000 was paid to Ms.
77	Lacava within 30 days after entry of the consent final judgment,
78	and the remaining balance of $250,000, pursuant to the agreement
79	by the parties, would be reported to the Florida Legislature for
80	its consideration as a claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE,
81
82	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
83
84	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
85	are found and declared to be true.
86	Section 2.  Munroe Regional Health System, Inc., is
87	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise
88	appropriated and to pay the sum of $125,000 to Lois H. Lacava
89	within 30 days after the effective date of this act and to make
90	a second payment of $125,000 to Lois H. Lacava within 365 days
91	after the initial payment, as compensation for injuries and
92	damages sustained as a result of the negligence of Munroe
93	Regional Medical Center.
94	Section 3.  The amount paid by Munroe Regional Health
95	System, Inc., pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the
96	amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
97	compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
98	the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
99	injury to Lois H. Lacava. The total amount paid for attorney's
100	fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating
101	to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount
102	awarded under this act.
103	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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