HB 0831 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Indian River County School Board;
3	providing for the relief of Ryan Besancon, a minor, by and
4	through his parents and natural guardians, Mark and Laurie
5	Besancon, for injuries sustained due to the negligence of
6	the Indian River County School Board; providing for the
7	use of such funds; providing an effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, on January 25, 1999, 5-year-old Ryan Besancon was
10	a passenger on a school bus owned by the Indian River County
11	School Board and operated by its employee, and
12	WHEREAS, the school bus driver failed to stop at a stop
13	sign located at the intersection of 45th Street and 66th Avenue
14	in Vero Beach, Florida, causing the bus to collide with an
15	eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer and resulting in serious and
16	life-threatening injuries to Ryan Besancon and numerous other
17	children on the school bus, as well as two deaths, and
18	WHEREAS, as the result of an extensive investigation by
19	state and federal officials, it was determined that the school
20	bus driver was solely responsible for the crash, and
21	WHEREAS, on January 26, 1999, Ryan's pediatrician noted
22	that Ryan's symptoms included two skull fractures, a complaint
23	of tilting of his head, apparent sixth-nerve palsy, and a
24	prominent right adrenal gland, and
25	WHEREAS, on November 3, 1999, Ryan Besancon presented to
26	Dr. Gary M. Weiss with symptoms that included almost daily
27	headaches, neck pain, significant pain in bilateral frontal
28	areas, nausea, dizziness, occasional blurred vision, loss of
29	memory, a 10-percent hearing loss, and some decreased
30	concentration, and
31	WHEREAS, between December 8 and December 12, 1999, a
32	psychologist tested Ryan's neuropsychological functioning and
33	found that, although Ryan functioned intellectually in the
34	average range, he was experiencing significantly impaired short-
35	term memory functioning, in both verbal and visual memory; he
36	exhibited deficits in the area of attention and concentration
37	skills; he had significantly impaired construction ability and
38	perceptual processing, as well as impaired short-term visual
39	memory; he was experiencing a significant level of
40	psychopathology, consistent with a diagnosis of Adjustment
41	Disorder with Mixed Emotional Features; and he had significant
42	amounts of both depression and anxiety, and
43	WHEREAS, the psychologist concluded that Ryan's
44	"impairments are directly related to his motor vehicle
45	accident," and
46	WHEREAS, a pediatric neurologist who examined him on
47	November 2, November 20, and November 27, 2001, found that a
48	motor exam revealed difficulty hopping on the right foot, that
49	rapid alternate movements were remarkable for mild synkinesia,
50	that there had been a base of skull fracture, and that Ryan was
51	sleep-deprived, and
52	WHEREAS, an EEG revealed a partial seizure disorder, and
53	Ryan has continued under the care of a neurologist, has shown
54	little change in his symptoms, and requires prescription
55	medication to control his brain seizure activity, and
56	WHEREAS, as a result of the injuries he sustained in the
57	accident, Ryan had to repeat 1 year of elementary school, has
58	had great difficulty learning to read, and remains emotionally
59	and intellectually disadvantaged, and
60	WHEREAS, as the result of extensive mediation conducted in
61	the fall of 2002, Mark and Laurie Besancon entered into a
62	settlement agreement with the Indian River County School
63	District, and
64	WHEREAS, the terms of the settlement provided for payment
65	of the sum of $70,000 as compensation for Ryan's injuries, upon
66	the passage of a claim bill authorizing such a payment, which is
67	a necessary prerequisite to the school board's compensating Ryan
68	because the maximum payments allowed under section 768.28,
69	Florida Statutes, have already been made to other parties
70	injured in the same accident, and
71	WHEREAS, the attorneys representing the Besancons have
72	waived all attorney's fees in order that a greater portion of
73	the settlement funds might benefit Ryan, NOW, THEREFORE,
74
75	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
76
77	Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
78	are found and declared to be true.
79	Section 2. The Indian River County School Board is
80	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
81	board not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
82	amount of $70,000, payable after July 1, 2004, to Mark and
83	Laurie Besancon, as parents and natural guardians of Ryan
84	Besancon, a minor, for injuries and damages sustained by Ryan
85	Besancon due to the negligence of the Indian River County School
86	Board. Such funds are to be deposited into a guardianship
87	account for the exclusive use and benefit of Ryan Besancon.
88	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
89