| 1 | Representative(s) Hasner offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert: |
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| 6 |
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| 7 | Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
| 8 | are found and declared to be true. |
| 9 | Section 2. The North Broward Hospital District is |
| 10 | authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the |
| 11 | hospital district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a |
| 12 | warrant in the sum of $668,781.96, plus the interest that has |
| 13 | accrued on those funds in the account maintained by the |
| 14 | district, to purchase an annuity benefiting the special needs |
| 15 | trust established for the care and benefit of Adam Susser, minor |
| 16 | child of Judith Susser and Gary Susser, as compensation for |
| 17 | injuries and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of |
| 18 | the North Broward Hospital District. |
| 19 | Section 3. Payment for attorney's fees and costs incurred |
| 20 | by the claimant's attorneys shall not exceed $108,764. Payment |
| 21 | for the professional services and costs of lobbyists advocating |
| 22 | for passage of this claim shall not exceed $6,688. |
| 23 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |
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| 26 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ========== |
| 27 | On page 1, line 1, through page 4, line 16, remove all of |
| 28 | said lines, and insert: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | A bill to be entitled |
| 31 | An act for the relief of Adam Susser by the North Broward |
| 32 | Hospital District; providing for the relief of Adam |
| 33 | Susser, a minor, by and through his parents and natural |
| 34 | guardians, Judith Susser and Gary Susser; providing for an |
| 35 | appropriation to compensate him for injuries and damages |
| 36 | sustained as a result of the negligence of the North |
| 37 | Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs Medical |
| 38 | Center; providing for purchase of an annuity to benefit |
| 39 | the special needs trust; providing for payment of |
| 40 | attorney's fees, lobbyist's fees, and costs; providing an |
| 41 | effective date. |
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| 43 | WHEREAS, in July 2000, Gary Susser, a lawyer, and his wife, |
| 44 | Judith Susser, a paralegal, were residing in Boca Raton, |
| 45 | Florida, and |
| 46 | WHEREAS, prior to her marriage to Gary Susser, Judith |
| 47 | Susser was unable to have children, and |
| 48 | WHEREAS, after their marriage, Judith and Gary Susser badly |
| 49 | wanted to have children, despite the fact that Judith Susser was |
| 50 | 47 years of age, and |
| 51 | WHEREAS, Judith Susser went to a fertility expert and was |
| 52 | finally able to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization, |
| 53 | and |
| 54 | WHEREAS, prenatal tests revealed that Judith Susser was |
| 55 | pregnant with twins, and consequently Judith and Gary Susser |
| 56 | were looking forward to the birth of their twin boys, and |
| 57 | WHEREAS, Judith and Gary Susser sought out high-risk |
| 58 | pregnancy experts who could guide them through Judith Susser's |
| 59 | pregnancy in order to ensure that her pregnancy progressed |
| 60 | safely and without complications, and |
| 61 | WHEREAS, Judith Susser kept all of her appointments and |
| 62 | complied with all orders by her physicians, and |
| 63 | WHEREAS, at approximately 34 weeks gestation, Judith |
| 64 | Susser's membrane on the sac holding Adam Susser ruptured, and |
| 65 | WHEREAS, Gary Susser immediately took his wife to the Coral |
| 66 | Springs Medical Center where, on July 6, 2000, she was admitted |
| 67 | by her obstetrician's office and where she remained until her |
| 68 | discharge on July 12, 2000, and |
| 69 | WHEREAS, during the admission, a high-risk perinatal |
| 70 | expert, Dr. Christine Edwards, as well as Dr. Kerry Kuhn and Dr. |
| 71 | Carrie Greenspan, Dr. Kuhn's partner, also saw Judith Susser, |
| 72 | and |
| 73 | WHEREAS, despite a nonreassuring fetal heart pattern and |
| 74 | despite the fact that the nurses kept having difficulties |
| 75 | getting the fetal monitoring to perform properly, the pregnancy |
| 76 | was allowed to continue for 4 and 1/2 days, with the nurses |
| 77 | never reporting the abnormal test results or the difficulties |
| 78 | they were having with the fetal monitoring equipment to the |
| 79 | physicians, and |
| 80 | WHEREAS, two days into Judith Susser's labor, a biophysical |
| 81 | profile was ordered to be performed by Dr. Edwards, and |
| 82 | WHEREAS, that biophysical profile yielded abnormal |
| 83 | indications and, although they were not reported by the nurses, |
| 84 | the obstetricians were aware of the abnormal results, and |
| 85 | WHEREAS, despite this, the obstetricians allowed Judith |
| 86 | Susser's labor to continue, and |
| 87 | WHEREAS, finally, on the early morning of the fifth day of |
| 88 | labor, Judith Susser was taken to the operating room for |
| 89 | delivery, and |
| 90 | WHEREAS, the physician in charge was insistent on |
| 91 | performing a vaginal delivery despite all the obvious needs for |
| 92 | an emergency cesarean section, and |
| 93 | WHEREAS, when Dr. Kuhn reached the delivery room, he asked |
| 94 | for fetal monitoring to be commenced and the nurses indicated |
| 95 | that they could not bring the fetal monitoring machine into the |
| 96 | delivery room because they did not have a fetal monitor for |
| 97 | twins available, and |
| 98 | WHEREAS, Gary Susser then asked the nurses to get the fetal |
| 99 | monitoring machine from the room that Judith Susser had |
| 100 | previously been in for 4 days, which demand was also made by Dr. |
| 101 | Kuhn, and the nurses said they could not remove the monitoring |
| 102 | machine from the wall, and |
| 103 | WHEREAS, for the next hour there was only manual monitoring |
| 104 | of Adam Susser, and Dr. Kuhn continued to wait, and |
| 105 | WHEREAS, on July 10, 2000, Adam Susser was born by vaginal |
| 106 | delivery, and |
| 107 | WHEREAS, tragically, as a result of the extraordinary and |
| 108 | egregious malpractice by the physicians and nurses at the Coral |
| 109 | Springs Medical Center, Adam Susser was born severely depressed |
| 110 | and oxygen-deprived, which led to severe brain damage, and |
| 111 | WHEREAS, Adam Susser cannot walk and will never be able to |
| 112 | walk, cannot sit up on his own, cannot use his hands or arms, is |
| 113 | cortically blind, needs to be fed through a feeding tube, and is |
| 114 | severely mentally and physically impaired, and |
| 115 | WHEREAS, though by all accounts Adam Susser will have a |
| 116 | normal life expectancy, which means that he should live into his |
| 117 | 70's, Adam Susser will require medical care and treatment for |
| 118 | the remainder of his life, and |
| 119 | WHEREAS, the negligent care administered by the Coral |
| 120 | Springs Medical Center formed the basis of legal action against |
| 121 | the North Broward Hospital District, d.b.a. Coral Springs |
| 122 | Medical Center, and |
| 123 | WHEREAS, the matter was settled prior to trial with the |
| 124 | overall settlement amount being $9.8 million, and |
| 125 | WHEREAS, the hospital's private insurer, the Zurich |
| 126 | Insurance Company, paid the claimants the amount of |
| 127 | $3,831,218.04 on behalf of the North Broward Hospital District, |
| 128 | and |
| 129 | WHEREAS, the North Broward Hospital District paid $200,000 |
| 130 | for the benefit of Adam Susser pursuant to the limits of |
| 131 | liability set forth in section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and |
| 132 | WHEREAS, in addition, the North Broward Hospital District |
| 133 | fully supports the passage of a claim bill for the amount of |
| 134 | $668,781.96, NOW, THEREFORE, |