Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 60
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì458446CÎ458446                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/18/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Simpson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5  
    6         ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================And the title is amended as follows:Delete everything before the enacting clauseand insert:A bill to be entitledAn act for the relief of Roy Wright and Ashley Wright by the North Brevard County Hospital District; providing for an appropriation to compensate Roy Wright and Ashley Wright, individually and as guardians of Tucker Wright, for injuries and damages sustained by Tucker Wright as a result of the negligence of Parrish Medical Center; providing a limitation on the payment of fees and costs; providing that certain payments and the appropriation satisfy all present and future claims related to the negligent act; providing an effective date.WHEREAS, on July 15, 2009, Ashley Wright, suffering from gestational diabetes, was admitted as a high-risk obstetrical patient at Parrish Medical Center, operated by the North Brevard County Hospital District, in Titusville, Florida, andWHEREAS, mothers with gestational diabetes are classified as high-risk obstetrical patients because their fetuses tend to be larger than normal and large fetuses are at risk for complications during the birth process, andWHEREAS, Ashley Wright’s care at Parrish Medical Center was provided by Vidya Hate, M.D., an obstetrician, and Cara Starkey, R.N., a midwife, both employees of Parrish Medical Center, andWHEREAS, on July 16, 2009, Ashley Wright was in labor with her unborn child, Tucker Wright, and Nurse Starkey failed to notify Dr. Hate of the impending delivery as previously instructed and delivered Tucker Wright herself without the presence, supervision, or assistance of Dr. Hate, andWHEREAS, complications arose during the delivery, and Tucker Wright developed shoulder dystocia, a condition in which the shoulder of a fetus becomes wedged on the mother’s pelvic bone as the fetus transits the birth canal, which condition is a known and recognized risk for mothers with gestational diabetes, andWHEREAS, Nurse Starkey attempted to resolve the shoulder dystocia by performing a McRoberts maneuver and a procedure in which the shoulders of a fetus are gently rotated by hand underneath the shoulders, allowing the shoulders to pass underneath the pelvic bone and out through the birth canal, andWHEREAS, Nurse Starkey negligently rotated the head of the fetus on the perineum, causing a brachial plexus injury to Tucker Wright which injured his right arm and will limit his activities and future career options, andWHEREAS, all parties to this claim agree that rotation of the head of a fetus on the perineum is an improper maneuver because rotation of the head with pressure can stretch and damage the nerves in a fetus’s neck which control the use of muscles in the arm, andWHEREAS, Tucker Wright has undergone two surgeries on his right shoulder and regained some use of his right arm but continues to be challenged with functional deficits that may be permanent, andWHEREAS, Roy Wright and Ashley Wright have incurred medical expenses on behalf of Tucker Wright in the amount of $320,016.91 due to the injury caused by the negligence of Parrish Medical Center, and may incur additional expenses for surgeries needed as Tucker Wright grows older, andWHEREAS, on January 11, 2012, Roy Wright and Ashley Wright, individually and as guardians of Tucker Wright, filed suit against the North Brevard County Hospital District in the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Case No. 05-2012-CA-024060, to recover damages for the injuries sustained by Tucker Wright as a result of the negligence of Parrish Medical Center, andWHEREAS, the North Brevard County Hospital District, Roy Wright, and Ashley Wright agreed to settle the lawsuit for $595,000, andWHEREAS, the North Brevard County Hospital District paid $200,000 of the settlement pursuant to the statutory limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and there remains $395,000 of the settlement unsatisfied, andWHEREAS, the North Brevard County Hospital District does not oppose passage of this claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE,