HB 1257 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the South Broward Hospital District;
3	providing for the relief of Jeffrey Haider; providing for
4	an appropriation to compensate him for injuries and
5	damages sustained as a result of the negligence of the
6	South Broward Hospital District; providing an effective
7	date.
8
9	WHEREAS, in May 2000, Jeffrey Haider, a 45-year old man,
10	began experiencing headaches, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, and
11	behavioral changes such as difficulty concentrating and
12	confusion, and
13	WHEREAS, as a result of these symptoms, Jeffrey Haider saw
14	several healthcare providers over a period of several weeks, and
15	WHEREAS, an MRI of Jeffrey Haider was taken on May 31,
16	2000, and
17	WHEREAS, a radiologist and a neurologist determined that
18	Jeffrey Haider had a large 7 x 5 centimeter mass within the
19	right temporal lobe, and
20	WHEREAS, the mass was diagnosed as a brain tumor, and
21	Jeffrey Haider was referred to a neurosurgeon, and
22	WHEREAS, the neurosurgeon who examined Jeffrey Haider
23	agreed that the patient had a right temporal lobe tumor and
24	recommended a craniotomy for resection of the tumor, and
25	WHEREAS, the procedure was performed on June 5, 2000, and
26	once the incisions in the area of the middle cerebral artery
27	were made, massive bleeding occurred, with blood gushing out of
28	Jeffrey Haider's incisions under pulsating pressure, and
29	WHEREAS, at this point the neurosurgeon realized that the
30	diagnosis of a tumor was incorrect and that Jeffrey Haider had
31	an aneurysm, and
32	WHEREAS, in fact, the neurosurgeon notes in his operative
33	report that "at this point, we felt that this probably was an
34	aneurysm. I brought in the radiologist who felt that, in
35	retrospect, this was a possibility," and
36	WHEREAS, an aneurysm is a permanent, abnormally blood-
37	filled dilation of a blood vessel, usually resulting from the
38	disease of a vessel wall, and it is common medical knowledge
39	that puncturing an aneurysm is the incorrect treatment for a
40	cerebral aneurysm, and
41	WHEREAS, the surgeon and the radiologist then summoned an
42	interventional radiologist who performed an angiogram, a
43	procedure which should have been ordered prior to the operation,
44	and
45	WHEREAS, the intraoperative angiogram revealed a giant
46	aneurysm filling from the right middle cerebral artery, and
47	WHEREAS, in an instance of further negligence on the part
48	of the South Broward Hospital District, the neurosurgeon did not
49	repair Jeffrey Haider's middle cerebral artery, but instead
50	controlled the bleeding from the aneurysm for about 45 minutes
51	and then closed the dura and the skull, and then sent Jeffrey
52	Haider to the intensive care unit "with the idea of reoperating
53	at a later time," and
54	WHEREAS, however, within hours, Jeffrey Haider was
55	exhibiting dangerous neurological symptoms and was in need of
56	immediate repair of the aneurysm, and
57	WHEREAS, on June 6, 2000, the repair surgery was commenced,
58	and
59	WHEREAS, when Jeffrey Haider's brain was opened it was
60	noted to be "extremely swollen" and the "aneurysm was causing
61	tremendous pressure on the brain and herniating through the
62	craniotomy," and
63	WHEREAS, at that point the neurosurgeon compounded Jeffrey
64	Haider's condition by tearing off the M1 artery from the
65	junction of the aneurysm and the M2 artery so that he was unable
66	to perform an anastomosis to repair and join the arteries, and
67	WHEREAS, Dr. Rodriquez, the neurosurgeon, states in his
68	operative report that "the larger M2 (artery), and even the
69	other one, were essentially on the aneurysm bulbous dilation and
70	I could not bring them together to do an anostemosis," and
71	WHEREAS, Jeffrey Haider has suffered astronomical economic
72	and noneconomic damages as a result of the treatment he received
73	from the South Broward Hospital District, and
74	WHEREAS, Jeffrey Haider is in a chronic vegetative state
75	and requires 7-day-a-week, around-the-clock care, NOW,
76	THEREFORE,
77
78	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
79
80	Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
81	are found and declared to be true.
82	Section 2. The South Broward Hospital District is
83	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
84	hospital district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a
85	warrant in the sum of $4,000,000, payable to Jeffrey Haider as
86	compensation for injuries and damages sustained. After payment
87	of attorney's fees and costs, the balance shall be paid into the
88	guardianship account established for Jeffrey Haider.
89	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.