Florida Senate - 2015                              (NP)    SB 72
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       37-00063-15                                             201572__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Altavious Carter by the Palm
    3         Beach County School Board; providing for an
    4         appropriation to compensate Mr. Carter for injuries
    5         sustained as a result of the negligence of a bus
    6         driver of the Palm Beach County School District;
    7         providing a limitation on the payment of fees and
    8         costs; providing an effective date.
    9  
   10         WHEREAS, on December 15, 2005, 14-year-old Altavious
   11  Carter, a freshman at Summit Christian School in Palm Beach
   12  County, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Vincent H.
   13  Merriweather, and
   14         WHEREAS, while Mr. Merriweather was stopped at a red light
   15  at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and Olympia
   16  Boulevard in Palm Beach County, his vehicle was struck by a
   17  school bus driven by an employee of the Palm Beach County School
   18  District, and
   19         WHEREAS, the bus driver, Dennis Gratham, was cited for
   20  careless driving and the speed of the bus at the time of impact
   21  was 48.5 miles per hour, and
   22         WHEREAS, the seat in which Mr. Carter was sitting was
   23  broken as a result of the crash, and Mr. Carter, who was wearing
   24  a seatbelt, was thrown into the back of the van, his neck was
   25  broken at the C6 level, and he suffered a C6-7 interior
   26  subluxation and reversal of normal cervical lordosis, with
   27  spinal cord flattening, and
   28         WHEREAS, Mr. Carter was taken by ambulance to Wellington
   29  Regional Medical Center and subsequently to St. Mary’s Medical
   30  Center, where he was diagnosed and treated for these injuries,
   31  and
   32         WHEREAS, Mr. Carter received a discectomy and fusion at C6
   33  7, along with placement of a bone graft and cage, plates, and
   34  screws to fuse the spine at C6-7, and
   35         WHEREAS, following rehabilitation, an MRI taken in June
   36  2009 indicated a small herniation at the C7-T1 level,
   37  representing the start of degenerative disc disease, and
   38         WHEREAS, on February 25, 2010, Mr. Carter received a jury
   39  verdict against the Palm Beach County School Board, and the
   40  court entered a judgment in the amount of $1,094,034.30, and
   41         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board is obligated to
   42  pay the statutory limit of $100,000 under s. 768.28, Florida
   43  Statutes, and
   44         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board is responsible
   45  for paying the remainder of the judgment, which is $994,034.30,
   46  NOW, THEREFORE,
   47  
   48  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   49  
   50         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
   51  found and declared to be true.
   52         Section 2. The Palm Beach County School Board is authorized
   53  and directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not
   54  otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of
   55  $994,034.30, payable to Altavious Carter as compensation for
   56  injuries and damages sustained.
   57         Section 3. The amount paid by the Palm Beach County School
   58  Board pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount
   59  awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
   60  compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
   61  the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
   62  injuries to Mr. Carter. The total amount paid for attorney fees,
   63  lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating to
   64  this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount awarded
   65  under this act.
   66         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.