Florida Senate - 2022 (NP) SB 66
By Senator Pizzo
38-00166-22 202266__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Rafael Rodriguez by the
3 Hendry County Hospital Authority; providing for an
4 appropriation to compensate Rafael Rodriguez for
5 injuries sustained as a result of the negligence of
6 employees of the Hendry County Hospital Authority;
7 providing a limitation on compensation and the payment
8 of attorney fees; providing an effective date.
9
10 WHEREAS, on September 30, 2007, Rafael Rodriguez was
11 admitted to the emergency room at Hendry Regional Medical Center
12 (HRMC), a hospital owned and operated by the Hendry County
13 Hospital Authority, and was diagnosed with perforated
14 diverticulitis, and
15 WHEREAS, general surgeon Dr. Ramon Leonard Carroll, Jr., an
16 HRMC employee, ordered treatment with intravenous (IV)
17 antibiotics in lieu of a colostomy, and hospitalist Dr. Hans
18 Louis Charles, an HRMC employee, acceded to Dr. Carroll’s
19 nonsurgical care plan, and
20 WHEREAS, a computerized tomography (CT) scan of Mr.
21 Rodriguez’s pelvis and abdomen showed evidence of a perforated
22 sigmoid diverticulum, and Dr. Carroll concluded that Mr.
23 Rodriguez’s symptoms and radiological findings showed free
24 intraperitoneal air around the colon, evidencing a perforated
25 diverticulum, and
26 WHEREAS, after 2 days of antibiotic treatment, Dr. Charles
27 sought a surgical consult with Dr. Carroll, advising him that
28 the IV antibiotics were not working to treat the perforated
29 diverticulum, and the doctors made the joint negligent decision
30 to treat Mr. Rodriguez expectantly with nonsurgical care, and
31 WHEREAS, a second CT scan of Mr. Rodriguez’s abdomen and
32 pelvis revealed a 100 percent perforation with fistula formation
33 and no resolution of the infection, and Dr. Charles and Dr.
34 Carroll agreed to continue to treat Mr. Rodriguez nonsurgically,
35 even though Dr. Charles recommended immediate surgical
36 intervention in his progress notes, and
37 WHEREAS, Dr. Charles transferred Mr. Rodriguez’s care to
38 hospitalist Dr. Prashant Barakoti, an HRMC employee, while
39 noting in his progress reports that a CT scan was done on
40 October 7, 2007, which showed a pelvic abscess 4.6 by 5.8
41 centimeters with a prominent air fluid level in the pelvis, and
42 WHEREAS, despite Mr. Rodriguez having a continuing
43 infection that required ongoing medical treatment, Dr. Carroll
44 discharged Mr. Rodriguez from HRMC to his home without operating
45 on or draining the pelvic abscess, and after only 3 days, Mr.
46 Rodriguez was readmitted to the emergency room at HRMC with
47 complaints of severe middle back pain, abdominal pain, and a
48 fever, and
49 WHEREAS, Dr. Barakoti transferred care back to Dr. Charles,
50 who continued medical management and still did not recommend
51 surgical intervention, and
52 WHEREAS, Dr. Carroll performed a surgical consult, noting
53 Mr. Rodriguez’s complaints of lower back pain and fever, and
54 determined that Mr. Rodriguez had a ruptured diverticulum with
55 small abscess formation in the pelvis, and
56 WHEREAS, Dr. Carroll decided to go along with Dr.
57 Barakoti’s plan of care to merely monitor Mr. Rodriguez, failing
58 to recommend draining the abscess and surgically repairing the
59 ruptured diverticulum, and
60 WHEREAS, Mr. Rodriguez’s blood cultures obtained while in
61 the emergency room were found to be positive for Klebsiella
62 pneumoniae, but Dr. Charles failed to recommend draining the
63 abscess and surgically repairing the ruptured diverticulum or to
64 transfer Mr. Rodriguez to another hospital for drainage and
65 surgical intervention, even with the overwhelming evidence that
66 surgical intervention was necessary, and
67 WHEREAS, Dr. Charles ordered Mr. Rodriguez to be started on
68 IV Rocephin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and Dilaudid every 4
69 to 6 hours for severe back pain and ordered additional blood
70 cultures, which came back positive for K. pneumoniae, and, at
71 the time, Mr. Rodriguez’s white blood cell count was elevated at
72 16,400 with increased polys, and
73 WHEREAS, on October 20, 2007, Mr. Rodriguez started to
74 complain of bilateral inner thigh pain, difficulty walking, and
75 incontinence, and showed signs of a worsening neurological
76 condition, and
77 WHEREAS, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, which
78 would have revealed the presence of the early stages of an
79 epidural abscess, was unavailable, but Dr. Charles continued to
80 treat Mr. Rodriguez medically rather than transfer him to
81 another hospital with an available MRI and surgical staff who
82 could have surgically intervened, and
83 WHEREAS, Dr. Charles failed to perform any motor or sensory
84 testing and, despite suspecting spinal stenosis, failed to
85 recommend an immediate surgical intervention or transfer Mr.
86 Rodriguez to a medical center with an orthopedic spine surgeon
87 or neurosurgeon, and
88 WHEREAS, Mr. Rodriguez developed neck and lower back pain
89 despite receiving narcotic pain medications and was suffering
90 from loose and bloody bowel movements, and Dr. Charles advised
91 Mr. Rodriguez that he would need to be transferred to another
92 facility but failed to arrange the transfer, and instead
93 dictated a discharge summary, planning to send Mr. Rodriguez
94 home with white blood cells at 19,000, a temperature of 100.6
95 degrees, and an inability to stand or walk, and
96 WHEREAS, hospitalist Dr. Lopez-Cespedes, another HRMC
97 employee, was present when Mr. Rodriguez felt no sensation from
98 the umbilical area down, was unable to move his lower
99 extremities, and had weak upper arm movements, and Dr. Lopez
100 Cespedes noted that Mr. Rodriguez had decreased muscle strength
101 and sensory perception and noted a positive blood culture and
102 yeast in the blood, but did not immediately arrange for Mr.
103 Rodriguez to be transferred to another facility, and
104 WHEREAS, on October 23, 2007, Mr. Rodriguez began
105 complaining of a tingling sensation in both hands, and Dr.
106 Lopez-Cespedes noted that Mr. Rodriguez was unable to move his
107 legs and continued to have significant decreased sensation to
108 the level T10-T11, and
109 WHEREAS, an MRI of Mr. Rodriguez’s lumbar spine was finally
110 performed, showing an epidural collection anteriorly to the
111 thecal sac in the thoracic spine and lumbar spine, and Mr.
112 Rodriguez was finally transferred and admitted to Jupiter
113 Medical Center under the care of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Katzman,
114 who diagnosed Mr. Rodriguez with an epidural abscess and an
115 unoperated perforated sigmoid colon, and
116 WHEREAS, Mr. Rodriguez underwent a decompressive
117 laminectomy at C1-C6 with the evacuation of an epidural abscess,
118 an exploratory laparoscopic drainage of multiple abscesses,
119 sigmoid resection and colostomy, and small bowel resection, and
120 WHEREAS, today, Mr. Rodriguez is a quadriplegic due to the
121 failure of and delay in emergent treatment by HRMC employees,
122 and he does not have an attendant care assistant for his daily
123 activities, instead relying on a friend with an intellectual
124 disability who lives in his trailer with him and who has no
125 medical training, and
126 WHEREAS, a tort claim was filed on behalf of Mr. Rodriguez
127 in the Circuit Court for the 20th Judicial Circuit in and for
128 Hendry County, and the Hendry County Hospital Authority agreed
129 to amicably settle this matter with the entry of a consent
130 judgment in the amount of $7.6 million, and
131 WHEREAS, the Hendry County Hospital Authority has paid the
132 statutory limit of $100,000 to Mr. Rodriguez, pursuant to s.
133 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the authority has agreed to fully
134 cooperate and promote the passage of this claim bill in the
135 amount of $7.5 million, NOW, THEREFORE,
136
137 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
138
139 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
140 found and declared to be true.
141 Section 2. The Hendry County Hospital Authority is
142 authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
143 authority not otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the
144 amount of $7.5 million payable to Rafael Rodriguez as
145 compensation for injuries and damages sustained as a result of
146 the negligence of employees of the Hendry County Hospital
147 Authority.
148 Section 3. The amount paid by the Hendry County Hospital
149 Authority pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the
150 amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
151 compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
152 the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
153 injuries and damages to Rafael Rodriguez. The total amount paid
154 for attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25
155 percent of the amount awarded under this act.
156 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.