Bill Text: FL S0042 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relief of Javier Soria by Palm Beach County

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-27 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 3547 (Ch. 2015-216) [S0042 Detail]

Download: Florida-2015-S0042-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2015                       (NP)    CS for SB 42
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Braynon
       
       
       
       
       
       590-01683-15                                            201542c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Javier Soria by Palm Beach
    3         County; providing for an appropriation to compensate
    4         him for injuries sustained as a result of negligence
    5         by an employee of Palm Beach County; providing a
    6         limitation on the payment of fees and costs; providing
    7         an effective date.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, on April 17, 2007, 36-year-old Javier Soria was
   10  lawfully traveling on his motorcycle northbound in the center
   11  lane on SR 807 in Delray Beach in the 200 block of South
   12  Congress Avenue, and
   13         WHEREAS, at the same time, an employee of Palm Beach
   14  County, Juan Sepeda Casas, was driving a Palm Beach County dump
   15  truck with a utility trailer in tow, and
   16         WHEREAS, as Mr. Casas exited the Palm Beach County
   17  maintenance complex, he failed to stop at a stop sign, pulling
   18  out into the path of Mr. Soria and causing a violent collision
   19  between the two vehicles, and
   20         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County truck continued forward,
   21  dragging Mr. Soria and the motorcycle under the dump truck for
   22  approximately 12 feet, and
   23         WHEREAS, Mr. Casas was charged in the accident by the
   24  investigating law enforcement agency, the Delray Beach Police
   25  Department, and
   26         WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, Mr. Soria sustained
   27  severe head trauma, including a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a
   28  right-elbow fracture, deep lacerations requiring wound
   29  debridement, multiple abrasions to his face, hands, legs, and
   30  arms, upper-back pain, low-back disc herniation, left-hip pain,
   31  right-wrist pain, right-shoulder pain, and a right-knee linear
   32  tear that required bracing, physical therapy, and surgery, and
   33         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria has undergone numerous surgical
   34  procedures, including irrigation debridement with placement of a
   35  temporary external fixator across the elbow joint, subsequent
   36  removal of the external fixator, and open reduction internal
   37  fixation on ulnar fractures, and
   38         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria needs additional surgery to his right
   39  elbow, including elbow fusion or total elbow replacement;
   40  surgeries to his right wrist and shoulder; and arthroscopic
   41  surgery to his right knee; and is a candidate for total knee
   42  replacement in the future, and
   43         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria suffers from multiple neurological
   44  injuries that cause chronic headaches, low-back pain, vision
   45  problems, sleep disturbance, depression, memory loss, anxiety,
   46  dizziness, tiredness, buzzing in the ears, numbness, tingling,
   47  and knee pain, which limit his routine daily activities, and
   48         WHEREAS, according to American Medical Association
   49  guidelines, Mr. Soria’s treating neurologist, Dr. Waden Emery,
   50  has assigned him a 31 percent impairment rating with 5 percent
   51  for headaches, 14 percent for lumbar radiculopathy, 5 percent
   52  for insomnia, and 10 percent for anxiety, and
   53         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria’s treating orthopedist, Dr. Fernando
   54  Moya, has assigned him a 39 percent whole person orthopedic
   55  disability impairment rating, which includes 36 percent for
   56  injuries to the right elbow, 6 percent for injuries to the right
   57  knee, 6 percent for injuries to the lumbar spine, and 5 percent
   58  for injuries to the right wrist, and
   59         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria’s medical expenses have totaled
   60  approximately $200,254, and experts in life care planning and
   61  economics have determined that his future medical expenses are
   62  approximately $640,000, and past and future lost earnings total
   63  approximately $478,000, with total economic damages exceeding
   64  $1.3 million, and
   65         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria’s injuries resulted in permanent
   66  cognitive impairment, with the neuropsychological assessment of
   67  Dr. Robert Brick concluding that Mr. Soria suffers from post
   68  traumatic stress disorder, memory loss, poor management and
   69  organizational skills, mood swings, daily headaches, constant
   70  ringing in his ears, insomnia, panic attacks, and amnesia that
   71  require cognitive therapy, and
   72         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria continues to suffer from pain and
   73  instability in his head, neck, back, body, and limbs and, in
   74  addition, continues to suffer from severe depression brought
   75  about by his pain, suffering, disability, and limitations, all
   76  of which are a direct result of the accident, and
   77         WHEREAS, before the accident, Mr. Soria was in excellent
   78  physical condition and had dreams of one day opening his own
   79  martial arts studio and becoming a certified martial arts
   80  instructor, and
   81         WHEREAS, Mr. Soria’s three children have a corresponding
   82  right of action and claim given that Mr. Soria is now
   83  permanently disabled with physical limitations and injuries and
   84  cognitive restrictions and depression that limit his ability to
   85  provide the companionship and support that he was once capable
   86  of providing his family, and
   87         WHEREAS, a settlement was reached between Mr. Soria, his
   88  three children, and Palm Beach County in the amount of $300,000,
   89  which is in addition to an $1,800 property damage claim
   90  previously paid by Palm Beach County related to the accident,
   91  and
   92         WHEREAS, Palm Beach County paid the claimants a total of
   93  $200,000 under the statutory limits of liability per occurrence
   94  set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, which fully satisfied
   95  the loss of consortium claims of each of the three children, and
   96         WHEREAS, Palm Beach County has agreed to and pledged its
   97  support for a claim bill in the amount of $101,800, NOW,
   98  THEREFORE,
   99  
  100  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  101  
  102         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
  103  found and declared to be true.
  104  Section 2. Palm Beach County is authorized and directed to
  105  appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise appropriated
  106  and to draw a warrant in the sum of $101,800, payable to Javier
  107  Soria as compensation for injuries and damages sustained.
  108         Section 3. The amount paid by Palm Beach County pursuant to
  109  s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under this
  110  act are intended to provide the sole compensation for all
  111  present and future claims against Palm Beach County arising out
  112  of the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
  113  the injuries to Javier Soria. The total amount paid for attorney
  114  fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating
  115  to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount
  116  awarded under this act.
  117         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.