Florida Senate - 2017 (NP) CS for SB 24
By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Flores
590-02188A-17 201724c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Altavious Carter by the Palm
3 Beach County School Board; providing an appropriation
4 to compensate Mr. Carter for injuries sustained as a
5 result of the negligence of a bus driver of the Palm
6 Beach County School District; providing a limitation
7 on the payment of fees; providing an effective date.
8
9 WHEREAS, on December 15, 2005, 14-year-old Altavious
10 Carter, a freshman at Summit Christian School in Palm Beach
11 County, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Vincent H.
12 Merriweather, and
13 WHEREAS, while Mr. Merriweather was stopped at a red light
14 at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and Olympia
15 Boulevard in Palm Beach County, his vehicle, a van, was struck
16 by a school bus driven by an employee of the Palm Beach County
17 School District, and
18 WHEREAS, the bus driver, Dennis Gratham, was cited for
19 careless driving and the speed of the bus at the time of impact
20 was 48.5 miles per hour, and
21 WHEREAS, the seat in which Mr. Carter was sitting was
22 broken as a result of the crash, and Mr. Carter, who was wearing
23 a seatbelt, was thrown into the back of the van, his neck was
24 broken at the C6 level, and he suffered a C6-7 interior
25 subluxation and reversal of normal cervical lordosis, with
26 spinal cord flattening, and
27 WHEREAS, Mr. Carter was taken by ambulance to Wellington
28 Regional Medical Center and subsequently to St. Mary’s Medical
29 Center, where he was diagnosed and treated for the injuries he
30 sustained, and
31 WHEREAS, Mr. Carter received a discectomy and fusion at C6
32 7, along with placement of a bone graft and cage, plates, and
33 screws to fuse the spine at C6-7, and
34 WHEREAS, following rehabilitation, an MRI taken in June
35 2009 indicated a small herniation at the C7-T1 level,
36 representing the start of degenerative disc disease, and
37 WHEREAS, on February 25, 2010, Mr. Carter received a jury
38 verdict against the Palm Beach County School Board, and the
39 court entered a judgment in the amount of $1,094,034.30, and
40 WHEREAS, on August 4, 2010, an additional final cost
41 judgment in the amount of $46,830.11 was entered in favor of Mr.
42 Carter against the Palm Beach County School Board in the same
43 matter, and
44 WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board on April 14,
45 2010, paid the sum of $100,000, the statutory limit at that time
46 under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, leaving an unpaid balance of
47 $1,040,864.41 in this matter, and
48 WHEREAS, the remainder of the judgments in this matter are
49 sought through the submission of this claim bill to the
50 Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE,
51
52 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
53
54 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
55 found and declared to be true.
56 Section 2. The Palm Beach County School Board is authorized
57 and directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not
58 otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of
59 $1,040,864.41, payable to Altavious Carter as compensation for
60 injuries and damages sustained.
61 Section 3. The amount paid by the Palm Beach County School
62 Board under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded
63 under this act are intended to provide the sole compensation for
64 all present and future claims arising out of the factual
65 situation described in this act which resulted in injuries to
66 Mr. Carter. The total amount paid for attorney fees relating to
67 this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount awarded
68 under this act.
69 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.