HB 0673 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Escambia County; providing for the
3	relief of Patricia Stolfi; authorizing and directing the
4	Escambia County Utilities Authority to compensate Ms.
5	Stolfi for personal injuries that she suffered due to the
6	negligence of an employee of the utilities authority;
7	providing for attorney's fees and costs; providing an
8	effective date.
9
10	WHEREAS, at approximately 11:45 p.m. on October 9, 1997,
11	Patricia Stolfi, driving a 1996 Geo, was returning to her home
12	from work, traveling west on Bellview Road, a two-lane road, in
13	Escambia County, and
14	WHEREAS, an employee of the Escambia County Utilities
15	Authority was collecting garbage on an unnamed, two-lane, paved
16	road that intersected Bellview Road, and
17	WHEREAS, the driver of the garbage truck, in order to exit
18	the unnamed road, backed out into Bellview Road, and
19	WHEREAS, as a result of backing out, the garbage truck
20	blocked both lanes of Bellview Road, and
21	WHEREAS, all safety lights on the garbage truck were
22	positioned on the truck at an angle, preventing Ms. Stolfi from
23	seeing the safety lights, and
24	WHEREAS, Ms. Stolfi did not see the garbage truck in the
25	darkness until she was approximately 64 feet from the truck, and
26	WHEREAS, despite her efforts to stop, Ms. Stolfi was unable
27	to stop her vehicle and collided with the garbage truck as it
28	blocked Bellview Road, and
29	WHEREAS, as a result of the accident, Ms. Stolfi suffered
30	severe injuries, including a mid-shaft femur fracture, a right
31	radius ulna fracture, and a near amputation of her right hand,
32	and
33	WHEREAS, Ms. Stolfi required a long course of medical
34	treatment and surgery, including insertion of a intra-medullary
35	rod into her right leg; skin graphs; various surgical procedures
36	to her right hand; and closed manipulation of the right
37	shoulder, elbow, and wrist, and
38	WHEREAS, those injuries necessitated extensive medical
39	treatment, rehabilitation, and restorative treatments, and Ms.
40	Stolfi expects further medical procedures in the future, and
41	WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries to her hand, Ms.
42	Stolfi can no longer perform her current occupation as a
43	seamstress nor that of a medical transcriptionist for which she
44	had almost completed her training, and
45	WHEREAS, after litigation relating to this accident was
46	commenced in Escambia County, a jury, on August 30, 2001,
47	rendered a verdict against the Escambia County Utilities
48	Authority and for Ms. Stolfi in the amount of $2,747,000, and
49	WHEREAS, the jury, after considering comparative
50	negligence, apportioned 95 percent of the fault to the Escambia
51	County Utilities Authority and 5 percent to Ms. Stolfi,
52	resulting in a final judgment of $2,480,889 entered against the
53	utility authority, and
54	WHEREAS, the Escambia County Utilities Authority appealed
55	the final judgment to the First District Court of Appeals, which
56	final judgment was affirmed, per curiam, by that court on April
57	11, 2003, and
58	WHEREAS, the Escambia County Utilities Authority has
59	tendered to Ms. Stolfi the sum of $100,000, which is the
60	statutory limit on waivers of sovereign immunity, and
61	WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, the Escambia County
62	Utilities Authority was insured for general liability by Coregis
63	Insurance Company for $1.1 million, but the company has not
64	offered Ms. Stolfi the policy limits, and
65	WHEREAS, Ms. Stolfi is, therefore, petitioning the
66	Legislature for further reimbursement in the amount of
67	$2,380,889, NOW, THEREFORE,
68
69	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
70
71	Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
72	are found and declared to be true.
73	Section 2. The Escambia County Utilities Authority is
74	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the county
75	not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the amount
76	of $2,380,889, which amount includes statutory attorney's fees
77	and costs, payable to Patricia Stolfi as compensation for
78	injuries and damages sustained by Ms. Stolfi as a result of the
79	negligence of an employee of the Escambia County Utilities
80	Authority.
81	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.