Florida Senate - 2015                              (NP)    SB 36
       
       
        
       By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
       
       
       
       
       
       40-00050B-15                                            201536__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of the Estate of Victor Guerrero
    3         by Pasco County; providing for an appropriation to
    4         compensate the Estate of Victor Guerrero for Officer
    5         Guerrero’s death, which was the result of negligence
    6         by an employee of Pasco County; providing that the
    7         appropriation settles all present and future claims
    8         relating to the death of Officer Guerrero; providing a
    9         limitation on fees and costs; providing an effective
   10         date.
   11  
   12         WHEREAS, on May 1, 2008, Victor Guerrero, a veteran of the
   13  United States Marine Corps and a decorated, 20-year veteran of
   14  the City of Tampa Police Department, was riding his motorcycle
   15  to visit his mother on his day off from work, and
   16         WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero was traveling southbound on U.S.
   17  41, about 1 mile north of S.R. 52, which is a straightaway with
   18  no obstructions, and
   19         WHEREAS, at the same time, Pasco County employee Daniel
   20  Whipple was driving a Pasco County vehicle northbound on U.S.
   21  41, and
   22         WHEREAS, as Officer Guerrero approached Mr. Whipple, Mr.
   23  Whipple made a left hand turn directly into the path of Officer
   24  Guerrero, and
   25         WHEREAS, an accident reconstruction expert estimated that
   26  Officer Guerrero was about 100 feet away when Mr. Whipple, who
   27  claimed that he never saw Officer Guerrero, made the turn, and
   28         WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero had no time to brake or swerve
   29  and struck the side of Mr. Whipple’s truck and was ejected from
   30  the motorcycle, and
   31         WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero was airlifted to St. Joseph’s
   32  Hospital in Tampa, where he was pronounced dead, and
   33         WHEREAS, the Pasco County Driver Safety Review Board
   34  investigated the accident and determined that Mr. Whipple was at
   35  fault, citing carelessness, and
   36         WHEREAS, after the accident, Officer Guerrero’s widow, Lara
   37  Guerrero, was unable to return to her job at Home Depot due to
   38  severe emotional distress, and was prescribed anti-depressant
   39  medication to assist her in dealing with her loss, and
   40         WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero left behind three sons, Michael,
   41  David, and Kevin, who were 21, 19, and 15, respectively, at the
   42  time of the accident, and
   43         WHEREAS, Lara Guerrero, as personal representative of the
   44  Estate of Victor Guerrero, filed a law suit against Pasco County
   45  in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pasco
   46  County, and
   47         WHEREAS, on February 10, 2012, the jury in the case
   48  returned a verdict for $7,845,127.30 in favor of the Estate of
   49  Victor Guerrero, which was reduced 10 percent for comparative
   50  negligence for Officer Guerrero’s failure to wear a helmet,
   51  leaving a total verdict of $7,060,614.57, plus interest at the
   52  statutory rate of 4.75 percent per annum, and
   53         WHEREAS, the amount awarded by the jury includes economic
   54  damages of $1,095,127.30, which were stipulated to by the
   55  parties and include damages for future loss of income and
   56  funeral expenses, damages representing loss of support for Lara
   57  Guerrero, and damages representing loss of support for Kevin
   58  Guerrero, and
   59         WHEREAS, the amount awarded by the jury also includes $1.5
   60  million for Lara Guerrero for loss of her husband’s
   61  companionship and protection and for her pain and suffering, and
   62  $1.75 million for each of Officer Guerrero’s sons for loss of
   63  parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for their
   64  pain and suffering, and
   65         WHEREAS, Pasco County has paid $186,776.38 of the final
   66  judgment and there is a balance owed of $6,873,838.19, NOW,
   67  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 are
   72  found and declared to be true.
   73         Section 2. Pasco County is authorized and directed to
   74  appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise appropriated
   75  and to draw a warrant in the sum of $6,873,838.19 plus interest
   76  at the statutory rate of 4.75 percent per annum owed from the
   77  date of the final judgment payable to Lara Guerrero, as personal
   78  representative of the Estate of Victor Guerrero, as compensation
   79  for injuries and damages sustained as the result of the death of
   80  Victor Guerrero.
   81         Section 3. The amount paid previously by Pasco County and
   82  the amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the
   83  sole compensation for all present and future claims arising out
   84  of the factual situation described in the preamble to this act
   85  which resulted in the death of Victor Guerrero. The total amount
   86  paid for attorney fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar
   87  expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the
   88  amount awarded under this act.
   89         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.