Florida Senate - 2020                               CS for SB 16
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Simmons
       
       
       
       
       
       590-03964-20                                            202016c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Christeia Jones, as the
    3         natural parent and legal guardian of Logan Grant,
    4         Denard Maybin, Jr., and Lanard Maybin; providing an
    5         appropriation to compensate them for injuries and
    6         damages sustained as a result of the negligence of
    7         Trooper Raul Umana and the Florida Highway Patrol, a
    8         division of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
    9         Vehicles; providing that certain payments and the
   10         appropriation satisfy all present and future claims
   11         related to the acts; providing a limitation on the
   12         payment of attorney fees; providing an effective date.
   13  
   14         WHEREAS, shortly before 9:25 p.m. on May 18, 2014, Florida
   15  Highway Patrol Trooper Raul Umana attempted to cross through a
   16  gap in the median onto the southbound lanes of I-75, south of
   17  Ocala, and
   18         WHEREAS, Trooper Umana misjudged the turn and his vehicle
   19  struck the concrete barrier before shooting out into the
   20  southbound lane and striking a car driven by Christeia Jones,
   21  and
   22         WHEREAS, Ms. Jones was transporting her minor sons, 2-year
   23  old Logan Grant, who was secured in a forward-facing infant
   24  seat, 7-year-old Denard Maybin, Jr., and 5-year-old Lanard
   25  Maybin, in the backseat of the car, and
   26         WHEREAS, after being struck by Trooper Umana’s vehicle, Ms.
   27  Jones’s car was struck in the rear by a tractor trailer, and
   28         WHEREAS, the impact crushed the trunk and rear seating area
   29  of the car, and
   30         WHEREAS, the car was propelled off the road, where it
   31  struck a tree and caught fire, and
   32         WHEREAS, all three children were transported by helicopter
   33  to the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in
   34  Gainesville, and
   35         WHEREAS, at the hospital, Logan Grant was diagnosed with a
   36  severe traumatic brain injury, extensive facial fractures,
   37  pulmonary edema, and respiratory failure, and
   38         WHEREAS, Logan Grant remained in the hospital for a month
   39  before he was discharged to Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in
   40  Jacksonville for 2 weeks of brain injury rehabilitation, and
   41         WHEREAS, Logan Grant continues to receive speech therapy
   42  weekly and struggles with expressive and receptive language, and
   43         WHEREAS, Logan Grant also exhibits left-side body weakness
   44  and behavioral difficulties, and
   45         WHEREAS, Logan Grant’s past medical bills exceed $310,000,
   46  and Medicaid has asserted a lien of $135,161.64, and
   47         WHEREAS, pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation
   48  specialist Dr. Paul Kornberg has examined Logan Grant and has
   49  observed ongoing left hemiparesis with motor, perceptual,
   50  communicative, cognitive, and behavioral impairments of a
   51  permanent nature which will prevent him from achieving gainful
   52  employment, and
   53         WHEREAS, Dr. Kornberg reported that Logan Grant is at a
   54  high risk for developing seizures in the future, requires
   55  ongoing bracing of his left ankle to improve gait, is
   56  anticipated to require a scooter for long-distance mobility by
   57  the age of 30, is likely to require invasive treatment or
   58  orthopedic surgery in the form of left heel-cord lengthening in
   59  the future, and is expected to be unable to live alone as an
   60  adult, necessitating guardianship and attendant care, and
   61         WHEREAS, Dr. Michael Shahnasarian has estimated Logan
   62  Grant’s future medical and palliative care needs to be
   63  $6,702,555, and his loss of earning capacity over his lifetime
   64  to be between $1,543,014 and $2,810,754, and
   65         WHEREAS, Lanard Maybin arrived at Shands Hospital with a
   66  Glasgow Coma Scale of 7, a head injury, a facial laceration, and
   67  a shoulder injury that required surgery, and
   68         WHEREAS, a plastic surgeon repaired Lanard Maybin’s facial
   69  laceration during his stay in the pediatric intensive care unit
   70  before he was discharged from the hospital on May 22, 2014, and
   71         WHEREAS, since the accident, Lanard Maybin has experienced
   72  night terrors, changes in behavior and temperament, and has
   73  gained significant weight, and
   74         WHEREAS, in early 2019, Dr. Patrick Gorman evaluated Lanard
   75  Maybin and diagnosed him as having posttraumatic stress disorder
   76  and significant neurocognitive difficulties secondary to
   77  traumatic brain injury, and
   78         WHEREAS, Lanard Maybin’s past medical bills amount to
   79  $35,584.16, and Medicaid has asserted a lien in the amount of
   80  $22,525.66, and
   81         WHEREAS, at Shands Hospital, Denard Maybin, Jr., was
   82  intubated, was put on mechanical ventilation for a day, and was
   83  diagnosed with a severe traumatic brain injury and a
   84  subcutaneous soft tissue scalp laceration that required surgery,
   85  and
   86         WHEREAS, Denard Maybin, Jr., remained hospitalized for 2
   87  weeks before he was transferred to Brooks Rehabilitation Center
   88  in Jacksonville for acute inpatient rehabilitation, and
   89         WHEREAS, the rehabilitation center noted that Denard
   90  Maybin, Jr., had significant cognitive deficits as well as
   91  impulsivity and behavioral changes, and
   92         WHEREAS, Denard Maybin, Jr., continues to receive
   93  occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy, and
   94         WHEREAS, Denard Maybin, Jr.,’s past medical bills exceed
   95  $175,000, and Medicaid has asserted a lien of $96,833.99, and
   96         WHEREAS, specialist Dr. Paul Kornberg has diagnosed Denard
   97  Maybin, Jr., with permanent impairment that will prevent him
   98  from achieving gainful employment, and
   99         WHEREAS, Dr. Kornberg reported that Denard Maybin, Jr., is
  100  at a high risk for developing seizures in the future and that he
  101  is expected to be unable to live alone as an adult,
  102  necessitating guardianship and attendant care, and
  103         WHEREAS, Dr. Michael Shahnasarian has estimated Denard
  104  Maybin, Jr.,’s future medical and palliative care needs to be
  105  $5,773,129, and his loss of earning capacity over his lifetime
  106  to be between $1,568,817 and $2,858,577, and
  107         WHEREAS, Ms. Jones, as parent and natural guardian of Logan
  108  Grant, Denard Maybin, Jr., and Lanard Maybin, through a lawsuit
  109  filed in Orange County under case number 2017-CA-00732-O,
  110  alleged that the negligence of the Florida Highway Patrol,
  111  through its trooper, was the proximate cause of serious injuries
  112  to her minor sons, and
  113         WHEREAS, Ms. Jones, through a separate lawsuit filed in
  114  Orange County under case number 2018-CA-004258-O, alleged that
  115  the negligence of the Florida Highway Patrol, through its
  116  trooper, was the proximate cause of her injuries, and
  117         WHEREAS, on November 30, 2018, in case number 2017-CA
  118  00732-O, Ms. Jones and the Florida Highway Patrol entered into a
  119  settlement agreement regarding the claims of Ms. Jones and her
  120  minor sons which arose out of the accident described in this
  121  act, including the claims under case number 2018-CA-004258-O,
  122  which are to be dismissed with prejudice, and
  123         WHEREAS, Ms. Jones and the Florida Highway Patrol
  124  acknowledged that if the case had gone to trial, a jury could
  125  reasonably have awarded damages to Ms. Jones in the amount of
  126  $18 million, and
  127         WHEREAS, the settlement agreement requires the Division of
  128  Risk Management of the Department of Financial Services to pay
  129  $285,000 to Ms. Jones in accordance with the statutory limits of
  130  liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
  131         WHEREAS, Ms. Jones seeks satisfaction of the remaining
  132  balance of the settlement agreement, which is $17.715 million,
  133  NOW, THEREFORE,
  134  
  135  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  136  
  137         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
  138  found and declared to be true.
  139         Section 2. The sum of $9 million is appropriated from the
  140  General Revenue Fund to the Department of Highway Safety and
  141  Motor Vehicles for the relief of Christeia Jones, as natural
  142  parent and legal guardian of Logan Grant, Denard Maybin, Jr.,
  143  and Lanard Maybin, to compensate Logan Grant, Denard Maybin,
  144  Jr., and Lanard Maybin for injuries and damages sustained as a
  145  result of the accident that occurred on May 18, 2014, due to the
  146  negligence of Trooper Raul Umana, an employee of the Department
  147  of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
  148         Section 3. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
  149  a warrant in favor of the special needs trusts for the exclusive
  150  use and benefit of Logan Grant, Denard Maybin, Jr., and Lanard
  151  Maybin in the sum of $9 million upon funds of the Department of
  152  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the State Treasury and to
  153  pay the same out of such funds in the State Treasury.
  154         Section 4. The amount paid by the Division of Risk
  155  Management of the Department of Financial Services in accordance
  156  with the statutory limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28,
  157  Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under this act are
  158  intended to provide the sole compensation for all present and
  159  future claims arising out of the factual situation described in
  160  this act which resulted in damages sustained by Logan Grant,
  161  Denard Maybin, Jr., and Lanard Maybin. Of the amount awarded
  162  under this act, the total amount paid for attorney fees may not
  163  exceed $1,800,000, the total amount paid for lobbying fees may
  164  not exceed $450,000, and the total amount paid for costs or
  165  other similar expenses may not exceed $15,603.17.
  166         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.