Florida Senate - 2010 (NP) SB 56 By Senator Baker 20-00139-10 201056__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act for the relief of Timothy Kulik and Theresa Ann 3 Kulik; providing an appropriation to compensate them 4 for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the 5 negligence of an employee of the Department of Highway 6 Safety and Motor Vehicles; providing a limitation on 7 the payment of fees and costs; providing an effective 8 date. 9 10 WHEREAS, on March 30, 1996, Dr. Timothy Kulik, a dentist 11 from South Bend, Indiana, and his family, including his wife 12 Theresa Ann Kulik and their two teenage children, were en route 13 from Indiana to South Florida on Interstate 75, and 14 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik’s son, Michael Kulik, was driving 15 the family vehicle as the Kuliks traveled Interstate 75 in 16 Columbia County, heading southbound within an extended 17 construction zone, and 18 WHEREAS, Michael Kulik had been following a grey van in the 19 right-hand lane for some time, keeping up with traffic, when 20 Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James Bond pulled behind the 21 Kulik vehicle and turned on his blue lights, indicating that the 22 Kulik vehicle must pull over, and 23 WHEREAS, Michael Kulik, an inexperienced driver who had 24 less than 1 year of total driving experience, pulled the vehicle 25 off the road onto the shoulder still within the construction 26 zone at a point where there was no emergency lane, and 27 WHEREAS, the left rear tire of the vehicle came to rest on 28 asphalt less than 6 inches off the right white line delineating 29 the shoulder of the road, with the left front tire approximately 30 18 inches onto the shoulder, and 31 WHEREAS, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James Bond parked 32 his vehicle about 15 feet off of the roadway in a large grassy 33 area that separated the roadway from a rest area, and 34 WHEREAS, the pictures of the accident scene do not depict 35 where Trooper Bond was parked at the time of the accident 36 because he moved his vehicle after the fact, and 37 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond stated at deposition that he noticed 38 the proximity of the Kulik vehicle to the lanes of traffic and 39 recognized the danger, but he did not feel it necessary to 40 instruct Michael Kulik to move the vehicle further off the 41 roadway because he felt that the family posed a flight risk, and 42 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond did have available a bullhorn to hail 43 motorists from inside his vehicle but testified that his 44 supervisors had discouraged its use, and 45 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond further failed to position his marked 46 cruiser in a manner so as to alert oncoming motorists of the 47 hazard he created and over which he had control, and 48 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond approached the Kulik vehicle from the 49 passenger side and engaged the driver through the passenger 50 window, and 51 WHEREAS, at trial, Trooper Bond testified that approaching 52 the Kulik vehicle from the driver’s side would have placed him 53 in danger of being struck by passing motorists, and 54 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik was in the front passenger seat and 55 was notably agitated, voicing his displeasure to Trooper Bond 56 during the stop, and 57 WHEREAS, after the ticket had been issued, Timothy Kulik 58 offered to replace Michael Kulik as the driver of the vehicle 59 because the son was noticeably shaken by the incident, and 60 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik exited his seat and walked around 61 the rear of the vehicle, moving up the driver’s side of the 62 Chevrolet Suburban, and 63 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik passed his son Michael near the rear 64 wheel and walked to the front door which had been left ajar by 65 his son, and 66 WHEREAS, unfortunately, Timothy Kulik has no memory of 67 events from this point on, and 68 WHEREAS, expert testimony revealed that Timothy Kulik 69 opened the driver’s door using his left hand, and 70 WHEREAS, as he did so, a large motor home passed and 71 impacted the open door pinning Timothy Kulik’s entire left arm 72 between the door and motor home, and 73 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik’s left arm was practically severed 74 in the impact, and 75 WHEREAS, as the motor home passed, it dragged Timothy Kulik 76 and the door forward at high speed, throwing him around the door 77 and forward onto the pavement in front of the Suburban, and 78 WHEREAS, the highway patrol policies and procedures clearly 79 stated that a trooper is not to hesitate to direct a stopped 80 motorist to an area of safety before instituting enforcement 81 action, and 82 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond testified that he saw the proximity 83 of the stopped Kulik car to the traffic lanes of Interstate 75 84 but chose to leave the Kuliks in a position of danger, and 85 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also testified that, in his more than 86 20-year career, he often saw motorists change drivers following 87 a traffic stop, and 88 WHEREAS, Trooper Bond also acknowledged that the Florida 89 Highway Patrol policy manual allowed for a trooper to instruct a 90 motorist to stay in the vehicle, and 91 WHEREAS, an emergency room physician and his wife, an 92 emergency room nurse, were the first persons on the scene of the 93 accident, and 94 WHEREAS, the couple rendered trauma care and assisted in 95 stemming Timothy Kulik’s profuse bleeding until local emergency 96 teams arrived, and 97 WHEREAS, Dr. Timothy Kulik’s left arm was shattered by the 98 impact of the accident, and 99 WHEREAS, Dr. Kulik’s arm, from the shoulder down to the 100 wrist, was mangled, and no use of his hand or arm was possible 101 for many months, and 102 WHEREAS, Timothy Kulik underwent seven or eight significant 103 surgical procedures, and 104 WHEREAS, muscle transpositions have helped Dr. Kulik regain 105 simple grasp functions, but overall there is no dexterity to the 106 left hand and minimal range of motion to the arm, and 107 WHEREAS, as a result of the accident of March 30, 1996, Dr. 108 Timothy Kulik’s arm is virtually useless, and 109 WHEREAS, Dr. Timothy Kulik was a dentist in South Bend, 110 Indiana, from 1976 to the present, opening his own practice in 111 1995, and 112 WHEREAS, dentistry is a profession requiring the full use 113 of both hands, which means that Dr. Kulik is extremely limited 114 in the types of procedures he can perform and is unable to 115 perform more costly and meticulous procedures such as crown 116 placement, and 117 WHEREAS, at trial, it was the intent of Timothy Kulik’s 118 legal representatives to prove that the motor home operator was 119 negligent, minimizing the role of Trooper Bond after the first 2 120 days of testimony, and 121 WHEREAS, for the remainder of the trial Timothy Kulik’s 122 attorneys concentrated on the motor home operator’s actions, 123 suggesting during the closing argument that the jury find the 124 Florida Highway Patrol minimally negligent, and 125 WHEREAS, despite this, the jury returned with a verdict 126 attributing 0 percent negligence to the motor home operator, 127 approximately 46 percent negligence to Trooper Bond, and 54 128 percent negligence to Timothy Kulik, and 129 WHEREAS, the gross verdict in the trial was in the amount 130 of $3,125,000 for Timothy Kulik and $50,000 for Theresa Ann 131 Kulik for loss of consortium, and 132 WHEREAS, after reductions for comparative fault, judgment 133 was entered against the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 134 Vehicles in the sum of $1,437,500 for damages incurred by 135 Timothy Kulik and $23,000 for damages incurred by Theresa Ann 136 Kulik, NOW, THEREFORE, 137 138 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 139 140 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are 141 found and declared to be true. 142 Section 2. The sum of $1,437,500 is appropriated from the 143 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and 144 Motor Vehicles for the relief of Timothy Kulik as compensation 145 for injuries and damages sustained. 146 Section 3. The sum of $23,000 is appropriated from the 147 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and 148 Motor Vehicles for the relief of Theresa Ann Kulik as 149 compensation for injuries and damages sustained. 150 Section 4. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw 151 a warrant in favor of Timothy Kulik in the sum of $1,437,500 152 upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 153 Vehicles in the State Treasury, and the Chief Financial Officer 154 is directed to pay the same out of such funds in the State 155 Treasury. 156 Section 5. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw 157 a warrant in favor of Theresa Ann Kulik in the sum of $23,000 158 upon funds of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 159 Vehicles and to pay the same out of funds in the State Treasury. 160 Section 6. The amounts awarded under this act are intended 161 to provide the sole compensation for all present and future 162 claims arising out of the factual situation described in this 163 act which resulted in injury to Dr. Timothy Kulik. The total 164 amount paid for attorney’s fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other 165 similar expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25 166 percent of the total amount awarded under this act. 167 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.