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

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