Florida Senate - 2025 (NP) SB 20
By Senator Burgess
23-00079-25 202520__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of J.N., a minor, by
3 Hillsborough County; providing an appropriation to
4 Stephany Grullon, as parent and guardian of J.N., to
5 compensate J.N. for injuries and damages she sustained
6 as a result of the negligence of Hillsborough County
7 in maintaining sidewalks and culvert systems;
8 providing a limitation on compensation and the payment
9 of certain fees and costs; providing an effective
10 date.
11
12 WHEREAS, on the afternoon of June 7, 2019, J.N., then 11
13 years of age, was riding her bicycle, accompanied by her
14 mother’s fiancé, Gabriel Soto, on a sidewalk located along the
15 east side of East Bay Road and adjacent to the East Bay Lakes
16 subdivision in Gibsonton, and
17 WHEREAS, the sidewalk is owned and maintained by
18 Hillsborough County, and
19 WHEREAS, J.N. was wearing her helmet while riding her
20 bicycle when her bicycle wheel hit an uneven area of the
21 concrete slab sidewalk, causing her to lose control of her
22 bicycle and tumble down a steep slope next to the sidewalk, and
23 WHEREAS, J.N. careened face forward over the bicycle’s
24 handlebars into a concrete and corrugated metal drainage culvert
25 pipe and lacerated portions of her gums, fractured her jaw, and
26 avulsed multiple adult teeth, and
27 WHEREAS, J.N. was rushed to the emergency room at St.
28 Joseph’s Hospital, where she underwent a CT scan that revealed
29 fractures of the nasal bone, the maxilla, and the superior
30 alveolus, and
31 WHEREAS, the severity of her injuries required plastic
32 surgery intervention, and on June 8, 2019, J.N. underwent a
33 surgical procedure consisting of exploration and removal of the
34 gingiva impacted into her nasal structures and into the upper
35 maxilla, repair of the midline laceration of her upper lip, and
36 repair of her gingiva and lower lip vermilion, and
37 WHEREAS, on June 14, 2019, J.N. underwent a second surgery
38 consisting of a closed reduction of her nasal fracture, and
39 WHEREAS, on February 20, 2021, J.N. was seen by Pediatric
40 Epilepsy and Neurology Specialists due to headaches that she
41 experienced as frequently as once or twice a week and which had
42 first started shortly after the accident, and
43 WHEREAS, on March 16, 2022, J.N. was seen by an oral
44 surgeon at the Moffett Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Center,
45 during which time she was informed that she would need a bone
46 graft and eventually an implant, and
47 WHEREAS, J.N. has to wait for her bones to finish growing
48 before Dr. Moffett can proceed with the bone graft, which he
49 expects will be when J.N. is 16 or 17 years old, and
50 WHEREAS, after J.N. heals from her bone graft, Moffett Oral
51 Surgery and Dental Implant Center will then begin the process
52 for implants and, eventually, crowns, and
53 WHEREAS, along with the medical treatment and bills
54 associated with this injury, J.N. has suffered intangible and
55 emotional losses, has experienced an extreme loss of self
56 esteem, and struggles socially with her peers, and
57 WHEREAS, Hillsborough County was on notice that the same
58 section of sidewalk where J.N. had her accident was in need of
59 repair and replacement as early as October 7, 2015, as evidenced
60 by the filing of a work request order, and
61 WHEREAS, in 2016, Juan Olivero Lopez, a Hillsborough County
62 maintenance supervisor responsible for sidewalk maintenance,
63 stated that he was directed by the county to inspect the
64 sidewalk, and
65 WHEREAS, Juan Olivero Lopez further stated that, in
66 response to the work request order, the South Service Unit
67 performed a physical inspection of the sidewalk before the date
68 of the accident, but that repairs to make the sidewalk safe were
69 never performed, and
70 WHEREAS, the drainage ditch and culvert system located next
71 to the sidewalk were also in need of maintenance and repair, as
72 evidenced by the extensive deterioration of the concrete and
73 corrugated metal drainage culvert pipe, which had become jagged
74 and rusted, and
75 WHEREAS, Hillsborough County employee William Cox, a civil
76 engineer responsible for drainage culvert replacement and
77 planning, stated that he was not responsible for the maintenance
78 of the culvert, and
79 WHEREAS, Juan Olivero Lopez stated that, in his capacity as
80 a maintenance supervisor of the South Service Unit, he was not
81 responsible for the maintenance of the culvert, and
82 WHEREAS, clearly there was a gap in assigning or accepting
83 responsibility for maintenance of the culvert, and the resulting
84 failure to repair the drainage ditch and culvert system, coupled
85 with the failure to repair or replace the sidewalk, contributed
86 to the severity of J.N.’s injuries, and
87 WHEREAS, J.N.’s parent and guardian, Stephany Grullon, and
88 Hillsborough County entered into a settlement and release
89 agreement on September 20, 2022, in which the county agreed to
90 pay Stephany Grullon $600,000 to settle all claims, and
91 WHEREAS, Hillsborough County paid $200,000, the sovereign
92 immunity limit under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, to Stephany
93 Grullon within 20 days after entering into the settlement and
94 release agreement, and
95 WHEREAS, Hillsborough County acknowledged and agreed not to
96 oppose a legislative claims bill that would be filed during the
97 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature or in a subsequent
98 legislative session for the additional $400,000, and
99 WHEREAS, the $200,000 statutory limit under s. 768.28,
100 Florida Statutes, has been paid to Stephany Grullon, but the
101 balance of $400,000 remains unpaid, NOW, THEREFORE,
102
103 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
104
105 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
106 found and declared to be true.
107 Section 2. Hillsborough County is authorized and directed
108 to appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise encumbered
109 and draw a warrant in the sum of $400,000 payable to Stephany
110 Grullon, as parent and guardian of J.N., to be placed in a trust
111 created for the exclusive use and benefit of J.N. for injuries
112 and damages sustained.
113 Section 3. The amount paid by Hillsborough County pursuant
114 to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under
115 this act are intended to provide the sole compensation for all
116 present and future claims arising out of the factual situation
117 described in this act which resulted in injuries and damages to
118 J.N. The total amount paid for attorney fees and costs, lobbying
119 fees, and other similar expenses relating to this claim may not
120 exceed 25 percent of the total amount awarded under this act.
121 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.