Senate Bill 0016er

    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                          SB 16, 1st Engrossed



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  2         An act relating to the Dade County School

  3         Board; providing for the relief of Lazaro

  4         Gutierrez; providing for an appropriation to

  5         compensate him for injuries and damages

  6         sustained as a result of the negligence of the

  7         Dade County School Board; providing for payment

  8         of Medicaid liens prior to disbursement of the

  9         warrant; providing an effective date.

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11         WHEREAS, on October 21, 1988, Lazaro Gutierrez went

12  upon the property of Miami Southridge High School to pick up

13  his girlfriend, Laurie Brush, who was returning from her

14  duties as a cheerleader for the Miami Southridge High School

15  football team, and

16         WHEREAS, while Lazaro Gutierrez waited in the school's

17  student parking lot for his girlfriend's return, he was

18  approached by two men who engaged him in conversation, and

19         WHEREAS, following this conversation, a Miami

20  Southridge High School student witnessed the men who

21  approached Lazaro Gutierrez inside the Miami Southridge High

22  School student parking lot carrying a gun and displaying the

23  gun to others in the parking lot, and also noticed that there

24  was no security guard or police officer on the premises at

25  that time, and

26         WHEREAS, upon the return of Laurie Brush, Lazaro

27  Gutierrez and Laurie Brush attempted to leave the school

28  premises in Lazaro Gutierrez's car, and

29         WHEREAS, as Lazaro Gutierrez attempted to exit the high

30  school's student parking lot, but while he was still on school

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    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                          SB 16, 1st Engrossed



  1  property, one of the men who had previously engaged him in

  2  conversation in the student parking lot called out to him, and

  3         WHEREAS, when Lazaro Gutierrez stopped his car, one of

  4  the men who had previously engaged Lazaro Gutierrez in

  5  conversation pointed a gun at Lazaro Gutierrez and demanded

  6  that he exit his car, and

  7         WHEREAS, Lazaro Gutierrez attempted to flee in order to

  8  protect himself and his girlfriend, and

  9         WHEREAS, as he was attempting to flee his assailant,

10  Lazaro Gutierrez was shot in the neck, and

11         WHEREAS, the bullet which wounded Lazaro Gutierrez

12  fractured Lazaro Gutierrez's C-4 vertebra and partially

13  severed his spinal cord, rendering him a C-4 quadriplegic, and

14         WHEREAS, at the time they called out to Lazaro

15  Gutierrez, the assailants were standing on the property of

16  Miami Southridge High School, just outside the gate to the

17  student parking lot, and

18         WHEREAS, following extensive litigation and pretrial

19  proceedings, a jury trial was commenced on January 8, 1996,

20  and

21         WHEREAS, though Miami Southridge High School is located

22  in a high-crime area and had experienced numerous incidents of

23  crime prior to the shooting of Lazaro Gutierrez, by the

24  admission of the Dade County School Board there was no

25  security guard in the parking lot at the time of the shooting,

26  despite the administration's request that a security guard or

27  police officer be present in the parking lot until all

28  students had left the premises, and

29         WHEREAS, it was the opinion of the plaintiff's security

30  expert that the incident which resulted in the shooting of

31  Lazaro Gutierrez was foreseeable by the Dade County School


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    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                          SB 16, 1st Engrossed



  1  Board, and that it was likely that the assault against Lazaro

  2  Gutierrez would have been deterred had a security guard or an

  3  off-duty policeman remained on the premises, as requested by

  4  the school's administration, and

  5         WHEREAS, a verdict was returned in favor of Lazaro

  6  Gutierrez in the amount of $12,000,000 and in favor of Lazaro

  7  Gutierrez's mother, Teresa Chirino, in the amount of $200,000,

  8  and

  9         WHEREAS, upon apportionment of negligence, the jury

10  found the Dade County School Board's percentage of fault to be

11  85 percent and the assailants' percentage of fault to be 15

12  percent, and

13         WHEREAS, based upon the jury's allocation of fault, the

14  court entered a judgment for Lazaro Gutierrez and his mother,

15  Teresa Chirino, and against the Dade County School Board in

16  the amount of $10,970,000, and

17         WHEREAS, the Dade County School Board appealed the

18  verdict, and

19         WHEREAS, while the appeal was pending, the parties

20  jointly agreed to settle the case for $3,173,246 and the Dade

21  County School Board dismissed its appeal, and

22         WHEREAS, the Dade County School Board has paid Lazaro

23  Gutierrez $200,000 pursuant to the statutory limits of

24  liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and

25         WHEREAS, the Dade County School Board supports the

26  passage of a claim bill for Lazaro Gutierrez in the amount of

27  $2,973,246, which represents the remainder of the settlement,

28  NOW, THEREFORE,

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30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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    ENROLLED

    1998 Legislature                          SB 16, 1st Engrossed



  1         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

  2  act are found and declared to be true.

  3         Section 2.  The Dade County School Board is authorized

  4  and directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not

  5  otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of

  6  $2,973,246 payable to Lazaro Gutierrez as compensation for

  7  injuries and damages sustained as a result of the negligence

  8  of the Dade County School Board.

  9         Section 3.  Future damages shall be paid out according

10  to terms of an annuity.

11         Section 4.  The governmental entity responsible for

12  payment of the warrant shall make payment to the Florida

13  Agency for Health Care Administration the amount due under

14  section 409.910, Florida Statutes, prior to the disbursement

15  of funds to the claimant, except that the amount due to the

16  agency shall be reduced by the agency's proportionate share of

17  legal costs and attorney's fees.  However, the amount due to

18  the Agency for Health Care Administration shall be reduced by

19  no more than 25 percent.  The amount due to the agency shall

20  be calculated based on medical payments paid up to the date

21  that this bill becomes law.

22         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

23  law.

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