Florida Senate - 2017                       CS for CS for SB 304
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Judiciary; and
       Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       578-03984-17                                           2017304c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the payment of claims by the Palm
    3         Beach County School Board; providing for an
    4         appropriation to compensate Altavious Carter for
    5         injuries sustained as a result of the negligence of a
    6         bus driver of the Palm Beach County School District;
    7         providing that the amount awarded under the act to
    8         Altavious Carter satisfies all present and future
    9         claims related to the negligent act; providing a
   10         limitation on the payment of fees; providing for an
   11         appropriation and annuity to compensate Dustin
   12         Reinhardt for injuries sustained as a result of the
   13         negligence of employees of the Palm Beach County
   14         School District; providing that certain payments and
   15         the amount awarded under the act to Dustin Reinhardt
   16         satisfy all present and future claims related to the
   17         negligent act; providing a limitation on the payment
   18         of compensation, fees, and costs; providing an
   19         effective date.
   20  
   21         WHEREAS, in regards to Altavious Carter, he was a 14-year
   22  old freshman at Summit Christian School in Palm Beach County on
   23  December 15, 2005, while riding as a passenger in a vehicle
   24  driven by Vincent H. Merriweather, and
   25         WHEREAS, while Vincent H. Merriweather was stopped at a red
   26  light at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and Olympia
   27  Boulevard in Palm Beach County, his vehicle, a van, was struck
   28  by a school bus driven by an employee of the Palm Beach County
   29  School District, and
   30         WHEREAS, the bus driver, Dennis Gratham, was cited for
   31  careless driving and the speed of the bus at the time of impact
   32  was 48.5 miles per hour, and
   33         WHEREAS, the seat in which Altavious Carter was sitting was
   34  broken as a result of the crash, and Altavious Carter, who was
   35  wearing a seatbelt, was thrown into the back of the van, his
   36  neck was broken at the C6 level, and he suffered a C6-7 interior
   37  subluxation and reversal of normal cervical lordosis, with
   38  spinal cord flattening, and
   39         WHEREAS, Altavious Carter was taken by ambulance to
   40  Wellington Regional Medical Center and subsequently to St.
   41  Mary’s Medical Center, where he was diagnosed and treated for
   42  the injuries he sustained, and
   43         WHEREAS, Altavious Carter received a discectomy and fusion
   44  at C6-7, along with placement of a bone graft and cage, plates,
   45  and screws to fuse the spine at C6-7, and
   46         WHEREAS, following rehabilitation, an MRI taken in June
   47  2009 indicated a small herniation at the C7-T1 level,
   48  representing the start of degenerative disc disease, and
   49         WHEREAS, on February 25, 2010, Altavious Carter received a
   50  jury verdict against the Palm Beach County School Board, and the
   51  court entered a judgment in the amount of $1,094,034.30, and
   52         WHEREAS, on August 4, 2010, an additional final cost
   53  judgment in the amount of $46,830.11 was entered in favor of
   54  Altavious Carter against the Palm Beach County School Board in
   55  the same matter, and
   56         WHEREAS, Altavious Carter and the Palm Beach County School
   57  Board have agreed to a settlement of the claim in the amount of
   58  $790,000, and
   59         WHEREAS, in regards to Dustin Reinhardt, he was a student
   60  at Seminole Ridge Community High School in Loxahatchee in Palm
   61  Beach County in September 2013, and was involved in the Army
   62  Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps for which he received
   63  honors for his participation, and
   64         WHEREAS, on September 4, 2013, while in auto shop class at
   65  Seminole Ridge Community High School, Dustin Reinhardt was
   66  inflating a large truck tire, which proceeded to explode,
   67  striking him in his head, and
   68         WHEREAS, immediately following the explosion, Dustin
   69  Reinhardt was airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West
   70  Palm Beach where he underwent multiple surgeries, including
   71  skull and facial reconstruction procedures, was placed in a
   72  chemically induced coma, and spent more than 4 weeks in the
   73  intensive care unit, and
   74         WHEREAS, Dustin Reinhardt has continued to be impacted by
   75  the injuries he incurred from the explosion, including the loss
   76  of vision in his right eye, short-term memory loss, and a recent
   77  diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury, and
   78         WHEREAS, the traumatic brain injury will impair Dustin
   79  Reinhardt’s executive function and has resulted in symptoms such
   80  as the exhibition of socially inappropriate behavior, difficulty
   81  in planning and taking initiative, difficulty with verbal
   82  fluency, an inability to multitask, and difficulty in
   83  processing, storing, and retrieving information, and
   84         WHEREAS, because of the explosion, Dustin Reinhardt
   85  continues to live in supervised care at the Neuro International
   86  and is unlikely to ever live an independent life, and
   87         WHEREAS, the injuries that Dustin Reinhardt sustained were
   88  foreseeable and preventable and the school had a duty to prevent
   89  his injuries, and
   90         WHEREAS, Dustin Reinhardt and the Palm Beach County School
   91  Board have agreed to a settlement in the sum of $5 million, and
   92  the Palm Beach County School Board has paid $300,000 of the
   93  settlement pursuant to the statutory limits of liability set
   94  forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, leaving a remaining
   95  balance of $4.7 million, NOW, THEREFORE,
   96  
   97  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   98  
   99         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
  100  found and declared to be true.
  101         Section 2. (1) The Palm Beach County School Board is
  102  authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
  103  board not otherwise appropriated and, no later than 20 days
  104  after the effective date of this act, draw a warrant in the sum
  105  of $790,000, payable to Altavious Carter as compensation for
  106  injuries and damages sustained.
  107         (2) The amount paid by the Palm Beach County School Board
  108  under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under
  109  section 2 of this act are intended to provide the sole
  110  compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
  111  the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
  112  injuries to Altavious Carter. The total amount paid for attorney
  113  fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the
  114  total amount awarded under section 2 of this act.
  115         Section 3. (1) The Palm Beach County School Board is
  116  authorized and directed to:
  117         (a) Appropriate from funds of the school board not
  118  otherwise encumbered and, no later than 30 days after the
  119  effective date of this act, draw a warrant in the sum of $1.7
  120  million payable to Dustin Reinhardt, to be placed in the Special
  121  Needs Trust created for the exclusive use and benefit of Dustin
  122  Reinhardt, as compensation for injuries and damages sustained.
  123         (b) Purchase, for Dustin Reinhardt’s benefit, three
  124  separate $1 million annuities, over a successive 3-year period
  125  of time. The first annuity shall be purchased in the year this
  126  claim bill is enacted with the other two annuities purchased in
  127  successive years thereafter. The first annuity shall make annual
  128  disbursements to Dustin Reinhardt, to be placed in the Special
  129  Needs Trust created for the exclusive use and benefit of Dustin
  130  Reinhardt, beginning on or about September 2023. The second and
  131  third annuities shall make annual disbursements to Dustin
  132  Reinhardt, to be placed in the Special Needs Trust created for
  133  the exclusive use and benefit of Dustin Reinhardt, pursuant to
  134  their terms.
  135         (2) The amount paid by the Palm Beach County School Board
  136  pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded
  137  under section 3 of this act are intended to provide the sole
  138  compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
  139  the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
  140  injuries and damages to Dustin Reinhardt. Of the amount awarded
  141  under section 3 of this act, the total amount paid for attorney
  142  fees may not exceed $940,000, the total amount paid for lobbying
  143  fees may not exceed $235,000, and no amount may be paid for
  144  costs and other similar expenses relating to this claim.
  145  Attorney or lobbying fees may not be assessed against the value
  146  of the annuity.
  147         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.