Senate Bill 0052e1

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    SB 52                                          First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the City of Tampa; providing

  3         for the relief of Jemal Kurein, by and through

  4         his wife and natural guardian, Semira Kurein,

  5         and for Semira Kurein, individually, and for

  6         Remzu Kurein and Nima Kurein, minor children of

  7         Jemal Kurein and Semira Kurein, by and through

  8         their mother, Semira Kurein; providing for an

  9         appropriation to compensate them for injuries

10         and damages sustained by Jemal Kurein as a

11         result of the negligence of the City of Tampa;

12         providing for payment of Medicaid liens prior

13         to disbursement of the warrant; providing an

14         effective date.

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16         WHEREAS, on March 17, 1993, Jemal Kurein, working as a

17  taxicab driver, was driving his cab northbound on Howard

18  Avenue in Tampa, and

19         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein was traveling at approximately 15

20  miles per hour through a green light at the intersection of

21  Howard Avenue and Main Street when a City of Tampa fire truck,

22  driven by Brant Cochran, was traveling eastbound on Main

23  Street on its way to a call at approximately 35 miles per

24  hour, and

25         WHEREAS, the intersection through which Jemal Kurein

26  was traveling at the time the accident occurred is a blind

27  intersection due to the close proximity of buildings to the

28  intersection, and

29         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein, while traveling with the

30  right-of-way through the green light at the intersection, was

31  unable to see the City of Tampa fire truck, which was


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    SB 52                                          First Engrossed



  1  traveling at too high a rate of speed and was approaching a

  2  red light at the intersection, and

  3         WHEREAS, the City of Tampa fire truck raced through the

  4  red light and slammed Jemal Kurein's cab from the right side,

  5  pushing him into the storefront wall at the northeast corner

  6  of the intersection, and

  7         WHEREAS, the impact from the crash was so severe that

  8  the right side of Jemal Kurein's head was struck by the fire

  9  truck, and

10         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein's head then rebounded, causing

11  the left side of his head to strike the window or pillar of

12  the left side of his cab, and

13         WHEREAS, the City of Tampa Police Department conducted

14  an investigation of the accident and determined that the

15  operator of the City of Tampa fire truck ran a red light, and

16         WHEREAS, the City of Tampa also conducted an

17  administrative investigation independent of the police

18  accident reconstruction and concluded that Mr. Cochran was

19  negligent, failed to use due care, and violated the city's

20  safety policies and procedures, and determined that a

21  "level-three violation" had been committed according to the

22  city administrative code, and

23         WHEREAS, Mark Barroso, an eyewitness, testified that he

24  saw that the traffic light at the intersection was red for the

25  fire truck for approximately five seconds before the accident

26  and that the traffic light was red both before and after the

27  accident, and

28         WHEREAS, Geoffrey Shelley, another witness, saw that

29  the traffic light was red for the fire truck for two to three

30  seconds before impact and that the fire truck never slowed,

31  and


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    SB 52                                          First Engrossed



  1         WHEREAS, although Mr. Cochran claimed to have proceeded

  2  through the intersection under the indication of a green or

  3  yellow light, he testified that he could not recall when he

  4  last looked at the light, and

  5         WHEREAS, Mr. Cochran also testified that when he was at

  6  the previous intersection heading east on Main Street, the

  7  light ahead at the intersection of Howard and Main was green

  8  for him, and

  9         WHEREAS, police determined that it would have taken Mr.

10  Cochran nearly 18 seconds to reach the intersection at Howard

11  and Main, and that the light remains green for only 14

12  seconds, which leads to the conclusion that Mr. Cochran had a

13  red light for at least 3 to 5 seconds prior to entering the

14  intersection, and

15         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein sustained a massive head injury

16  in the accident of March 17, 1993, with an internal brain

17  hemorrhage, and

18         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein was in a coma for several days

19  following the accident and underwent five separate surgical

20  procedures, and

21         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein suffers from a closed head and

22  brain injury and dementia, and

23         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein needs 24-hour-a-day care and

24  supervision and is currently in a nursing home, and

25         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein has an I.Q. of 56 and is like a

26  3-year-old child, and

27         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein also sustained a fractured

28  dislocation of his left elbow and his left wrist, and also

29  suffered several fractured ribs, and

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    SB 52                                          First Engrossed



  1         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein, now age 37, will never recover

  2  from his cognitive deficits and is permanently and totally

  3  disabled, and

  4         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein will never work again and will

  5  never be able to take care of himself again, and

  6         WHEREAS, Jemal Kurein's lost wages, medical bills, and

  7  life care needs, past and future, exceed $2,100,000, and

  8         WHEREAS, the injuries sustained by Jemal Kurein in the

  9  accident of March 17, 1993, formed the basis of legal action

10  brought against the City of Tampa, and

11         WHEREAS, following a jury trial in which Jemal Kurein

12  was awarded $4,698,523, the jury assessed the City of Tampa's

13  liability in the accident to be 10 percent, and

14         WHEREAS, a total final judgment was entered for

15  $490,930.30, and

16         WHEREAS, the City of Tampa has paid $200,000 of the

17  judgment pursuant to the limits of liability set forth in s.

18  768.28, Florida Statutes, and

19         WHEREAS, the amount of the claim for the excess

20  judgment is for $290,930.30, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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

25  act are found and declared to be true.

26         Section 2.  The City of Tampa is authorized and

27  directed to appropriate from funds of the city not otherwise

28  appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $290,930.30

29  payable to Semira Kurein, as wife and natural guardian of

30  Jemal Kurein, for the benefit of Jemal Kurein, and to Semira

31  Kurein, individually and as mother and natural guardian of


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    SB 52                                          First Engrossed



  1  Remzu Kurein and Nima Kurein, minor children of Jemal Kurein

  2  and Semira Kurein, as compensation for injuries and damages

  3  sustained by Jemal Kurein due to the negligence of the City of

  4  Tampa.

  5         Section 3.  The governmental entity responsible for

  6  payment of the warrant shall make payment to the Florida

  7  Agency for Health Care Administration the amount due under

  8  section 409.910, Florida Statutes, prior to the disbursement

  9  of funds to the claimant, except that the amount due shall be

10  reduced by the agency's proportionate share of legal costs and

11  attorney's fees.  However, the amount due to the Agency for

12  Health Care Administration shall be reduced by no more than 25

13  percent.  The amount due to the agency shall be calculated

14  based on medical payments paid up to the date that this bill

15  becomes law.

16         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

17  law.

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