Florida Senate - 2017 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 46
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/28/2017 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Montford) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 76 - 95
4 and insert:
5 Section 2. The City of Miami is authorized and directed to
6 appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered and to draw a
7 warrant in the sum of $2,300,000 payable to Marilyn Jelks, as
8 legal guardian of Mary Mifflin-Gee. This sum shall be placed in
9 the Special Needs Trust created for the exclusive use and
10 benefit of Mary Mifflin-Gee, to compensate her for injuries and
11 damages sustained as a result of the negligence of employees of
12 the City of Miami.
13 Section 3. The amount paid by the City of Miami pursuant to
14 s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under this
15 act are intended to provide the sole compensation for all
16 present and future claims arising out of the factual situation
17 described in this act which resulted in injuries and damages to
18 Mary Mifflin-Gee. The total amount paid for attorney fees
19 relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the amount
20 awarded under this act.
21 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
22 And the title is amended as follows:
23 Delete lines 68 - 70
24 and insert:
25 An act for the relief of Mary Mifflin-Gee by the City
26 of Miami; providing for an appropriation to compensate
27 her for injuries and damages sustained as a result of
28 the negligence of employees of the City of Miami
29 Department of Fire-Rescue; providing a limitation on
30 the payment of attorney fees; providing an effective
31 date.
32
33 WHEREAS, on October 25, 2012, Mary Mifflin-Gee was in her
34 vehicle located in a parking lot at 1498 NW 54th Street in Miami
35 when, according to eyewitness statements, she exhibited seizure
36 like symptoms and foamed from the mouth, and
37 WHEREAS, a call was placed to 911, and paramedics Eric
38 Hough, Marc Alexandre, and Steven Mason of the City of Miami
39 Department of Fire-Rescue responded to treat Mary Mifflin-Gee,
40 and
41 WHEREAS, the fire rescue personnel removed Mary Mifflin-Gee
42 from her vehicle, and, even though it is a basic Emergency
43 Medical Technician (EMT) requirement to secure an unconscious
44 patient to the gurney with the seatbelt, the fire rescue
45 personnel placed Mary Mifflin-Gee on a gurney without securing
46 her with the seatbelt and attempted to transfer her into the
47 ambulance, and
48 WHEREAS, because of the fire personnel’s failure to follow
49 the basic EMT requirement, Mary Mifflin-Gee fell off the gurney
50 and struck her head and, as a result, suffered a severe
51 traumatic brain injury, and
52 WHEREAS, Mary Mifflin-Gee was transported to Jackson
53 Memorial Hospital, where she underwent a left craniectomy and
54 cranioplasty as well as a posttraumatic hydrocephalus
55 ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement for her head injury, and
56 WHEREAS, Mary Mifflin-Gee became tracheostomy dependent and
57 suffered numerous complications, such as dysphagia,
58 hypertension, anemia of chronic disease, acute renal failure,
59 respiratory distress, urinary tract infections, rectal bleeding,
60 and deep vein thrombosis, and
61 WHEREAS, Mary Mifflin-Gee was transferred to Jackson
62 Memorial Long-Term Care Center, where she now depends on nursing
63 staff for all daily activities and all levels of care and
64 remains in a persistent vegetative state, and
65 WHEREAS, Mary Mifflin-Gee was treated by Dr. Craig
66 Lichtblau, a specialist certified by the American Board of
67 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, who determined that she is
68 93 percent impaired as a result of the accident in question and
69 that her future medical care will cost several million dollars,
70 and
71 WHEREAS, additionally, Mary Mifflin-Gee’s past medical
72 expenses amount to $1,168,857.93, and
73 WHEREAS, before the accident, Mary Mifflin-Gee lived alone,
74 had no significant health issues, and was completely
75 independent, and
76 WHEREAS, Marilyn Jelks, as legal guardian of the person and
77 property of Mary Mifflin-Gee, filed a claim and lawsuit against
78 the City of Miami in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial
79 Circuit of Florida, Case No. 13-026644 CA 01, for compensation
80 for the injuries, alleging negligence in the care and treatment
81 by the EMT workers who attended to Mary Mifflin-Gee, and
82 WHEREAS, mediation was conducted on February 6, 2015, and
83 the case was settled for $2.5 million, and
84 WHEREAS, the insurance company of the City of Miami,
85 Lloyd’s of London, which has a policy that provides for a
86 $500,000 self-insured retention before the company is
87 responsible for any excess amount, has agreed to pay $2 million,
88 and
89 WHEREAS, the City of Miami has agreed to pay $200,000 in
90 satisfaction of the sovereign immunity limits under s. 768.28,
91 Florida Statutes, NOW, THEREFORE,