Florida Senate - 2015 (NP) SB 72
By Senator Flores
37-00063-15 201572__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Altavious Carter by the Palm
3 Beach County School Board; providing for an
4 appropriation to compensate Mr. Carter for injuries
5 sustained as a result of the negligence of a bus
6 driver of the Palm Beach County School District;
7 providing a limitation on the payment of fees and
8 costs; providing an effective date.
9
10 WHEREAS, on December 15, 2005, 14-year-old Altavious
11 Carter, a freshman at Summit Christian School in Palm Beach
12 County, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Vincent H.
13 Merriweather, and
14 WHEREAS, while Mr. Merriweather was stopped at a red light
15 at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and Olympia
16 Boulevard in Palm Beach County, his vehicle was struck by a
17 school bus driven by an employee of the Palm Beach County School
18 District, and
19 WHEREAS, the bus driver, Dennis Gratham, was cited for
20 careless driving and the speed of the bus at the time of impact
21 was 48.5 miles per hour, and
22 WHEREAS, the seat in which Mr. Carter was sitting was
23 broken as a result of the crash, and Mr. Carter, who was wearing
24 a seatbelt, was thrown into the back of the van, his neck was
25 broken at the C6 level, and he suffered a C6-7 interior
26 subluxation and reversal of normal cervical lordosis, with
27 spinal cord flattening, and
28 WHEREAS, Mr. Carter was taken by ambulance to Wellington
29 Regional Medical Center and subsequently to St. Mary’s Medical
30 Center, where he was diagnosed and treated for these injuries,
31 and
32 WHEREAS, Mr. Carter received a discectomy and fusion at C6
33 7, along with placement of a bone graft and cage, plates, and
34 screws to fuse the spine at C6-7, and
35 WHEREAS, following rehabilitation, an MRI taken in June
36 2009 indicated a small herniation at the C7-T1 level,
37 representing the start of degenerative disc disease, and
38 WHEREAS, on February 25, 2010, Mr. Carter received a jury
39 verdict against the Palm Beach County School Board, and the
40 court entered a judgment in the amount of $1,094,034.30, and
41 WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board is obligated to
42 pay the statutory limit of $100,000 under s. 768.28, Florida
43 Statutes, and
44 WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board is responsible
45 for paying the remainder of the judgment, which is $994,034.30,
46 NOW, THEREFORE,
47
48 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
49
50 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
51 found and declared to be true.
52 Section 2. The Palm Beach County School Board is authorized
53 and directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not
54 otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of
55 $994,034.30, payable to Altavious Carter as compensation for
56 injuries and damages sustained.
57 Section 3. The amount paid by the Palm Beach County School
58 Board pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount
59 awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
60 compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
61 the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
62 injuries to Mr. Carter. The total amount paid for attorney fees,
63 lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating to
64 this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount awarded
65 under this act.
66 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.