CS/HB 1021

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act for the relief of Adam Susser by the North Broward
3	Hospital District; providing for the relief of Adam
4	Susser, a minor, by and through his parents and natural
5	guardians, Judith Susser and Gary Susser; providing for an
6	appropriation to compensate him for injuries and damages
7	sustained as a result of the negligence of the North
8	Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs Medical
9	Center; providing for payment of attorney's fees,
10	lobbyist's fees, and costs; providing an effective date.
11
12	WHEREAS, in July 2000, Gary Susser, a lawyer, and his wife,
13	Judith Susser, a paralegal, were residing in Boca Raton,
14	Florida, and
15	WHEREAS, prior to her marriage to Gary Susser, Judith
16	Susser was unable to have children, and
17	WHEREAS, after their marriage, Judith and Gary Susser badly
18	wanted to have children, despite the fact that Judith Susser was
19	47 years of age, and
20	WHEREAS, Judith Susser went to a fertility expert and was
21	finally able to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization,
22	and
23	WHEREAS, prenatal tests revealed that Judith Susser was
24	pregnant with twins, and consequently Judith and Gary Susser
25	were looking forward to the birth of their twin boys, and
26	WHEREAS, Judith and Gary Susser sought out high-risk
27	pregnancy experts who could guide them through Judith Susser's
28	pregnancy in order to ensure that her pregnancy progressed
29	safely and without complications, and
30	WHEREAS, Judith Susser kept all of her appointments and
31	complied with all orders by her physicians, and
32	WHEREAS, at approximately 34 weeks gestation, Judith
33	Susser's membrane on the sac holding Adam Susser ruptured, and
34	WHEREAS, Gary Susser immediately took his wife to the Coral
35	Springs Medical Center where, on July 6, 2000, she was admitted
36	by her obstetrician's office and where she remained until her
37	discharge on July 12, 2000, and
38	WHEREAS, during the admission, a high-risk perinatal
39	expert, Dr. Christine Edwards, as well as Dr. Kerry Kuhn and Dr.
40	Carrie Greenspan, Dr. Kuhn's partner, also saw Judith Susser,
41	and
42	WHEREAS, despite a nonreassuring fetal heart pattern and
43	despite the fact that the nurses kept having difficulties
44	getting the fetal monitoring to perform properly, the pregnancy
45	was allowed to continue for 4 and 1/2 days, with the nurses
46	never reporting the abnormal test results or the difficulties
47	they were having with the fetal monitoring equipment to the
48	physicians, and
49	WHEREAS, two days into Judith Susser's labor, a biophysical
50	profile was ordered to be performed by Dr. Edwards, and
51	WHEREAS, that biophysical profile yielded abnormal
52	indications and, although they were not reported by the nurses,
53	the obstetricians were aware of the abnormal results, and
54	WHEREAS, despite this, the obstetricians allowed Judith
55	Susser's labor to continue, and
56	WHEREAS, finally, on the early morning of the fifth day of
57	labor, Judith Susser was taken to the operating room for
58	delivery, and
59	WHEREAS, the physician in charge was insistent on
60	performing a vaginal delivery despite all the obvious needs for
61	an emergency cesarean section, and
62	WHEREAS, when Dr. Kuhn reached the delivery room, he asked
63	for fetal monitoring to be commenced and the nurses indicated
64	that they could not bring the fetal monitoring machine into the
65	delivery room because they did not have a fetal monitor for
66	twins available, and
67	WHEREAS, Gary Susser then asked the nurses to get the fetal
68	monitoring machine from the room that Judith Susser had
69	previously been in for 4 days, which demand was also made by Dr.
70	Kuhn, and the nurses said they could not remove the monitoring
71	machine from the wall, and
72	WHEREAS, for the next hour there was only manual monitoring
73	of Adam Susser, and Dr. Kuhn continued to wait, and
74	WHEREAS, on July 10, 2000, Adam Susser was born by vaginal
75	delivery, and
76	WHEREAS, tragically, as a result of the extraordinary and
77	egregious malpractice by the physicians and nurses at the Coral
78	Springs Medical Center, Adam Susser was born severely depressed
79	and oxygen-deprived, which led to severe brain damage, and
80	WHEREAS, Adam Susser cannot walk and will never be able to
81	walk, cannot sit up on his own, cannot use his hands or arms, is
82	cortically blind, needs to be fed through a feeding tube, and is
83	severely mentally and physically impaired, and
84	WHEREAS, though by all accounts Adam Susser will have a
85	normal life expectancy, which means that he should live into his
86	70's, Adam Susser will require medical care and treatment for
87	the remainder of his life, and
88	WHEREAS, the negligent care administered by the Coral
89	Springs Medical Center formed the basis of legal action against
90	the North Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs
91	Medical Center, and
92	WHEREAS, the matter was settled prior to trial with the
93	overall settlement amount being $9.8 million, and
94	WHEREAS, the hospital's private insurer, the Zurich
95	Insurance Company, paid the claimants the amount of
96	$3,831,218.04 on behalf of the North Broward Hospital District,
97	and
98	WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District paid $200,000
99	for the benefit of Adam Susser pursuant to the limits of
100	liability set forth in section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
101	WHEREAS, in addition, the North Broward Hospital District
102	fully supports the passage of a claim bill for the amount of
103	$668,781.96, NOW, THEREFORE,
104
105	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
106
107	Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
108	are found and declared to be true.
109	Section 2.  The North Broward Hospital District is
110	authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
111	hospital district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a
112	warrant in the sum of $668,781.96, plus the interest that has
113	accrued on those funds in the account maintained by the
114	district, payable to the special needs trust established for the
115	care and benefit of Adam Susser, minor child of Judith Susser
116	and Gary Susser, as compensation for injuries and damages
117	sustained as a result of the negligence of the North Broward
118	Hospital District.
119	Section 3.  Payment for attorney's fees and costs incurred
120	by the claimant's attorneys shall not exceed $108,764. Payment
121	for the professional services and costs of lobbyists advocating
122	for passage of this claim shall not exceed $6,688.
123	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.