Florida Senate - 2027 (NP) SB 26
By Senator Rodriguez
40-00047A-27 202726__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of the Estate of Oscar Cabrera
3 and Stephanie Cabrera, as personal representative and
4 surviving widow, by Miami-Dade County; providing an
5 appropriation to compensate the Estate of Oscar
6 Cabrera and Stephanie Cabrera for damages due to the
7 wrongful death of Mr. Cabrera as a result of the
8 negligence of Miami-Dade County; providing a
9 limitation on compensation and the payment of attorney
10 fees; providing an effective date.
11
12 WHEREAS, on February 8, 2017, Oscar Cabrera was employed as
13 a carpenter by a concrete construction company building the new
14 All Aboard Florida/Brightline terminal project in downtown Miami
15 and tracks to be located at 600 N.W. 1st Avenue in Miami, and
16 WHEREAS, the Brightline terminal in Miami, known as
17 MiamiCentral, was designed to be near multiple Miami-Dade County
18 transit systems, including the Metromover via the Wilkie D.
19 Ferguson, Jr. Metromover Station, located at 90 N.W. 5th Street
20 in Miami, and
21 WHEREAS, the Metromover is an elevated, electronically
22 powered, fully automated people-mover system that does not
23 require an operator and connects 21 stations within 3 loops in
24 and around downtown Miami, and
25 WHEREAS, in February 2017, the Metromover operated from
26 early morning to late at night, 7 days a week, every 3 minutes
27 during off-peak hours, and
28 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County owned, controlled, operated, and
29 maintained the Metromover trains, tracks, and stations, and
30 WHEREAS, because of the close proximity of the downtown
31 Brightline project and the Ferguson Metromover Station, and due
32 to the potential for danger to the workers presented by the
33 operation of the automated Metromover trains through the
34 construction site, Miami-Dade County, as the owner-operator of
35 the Metromover system, implemented a series of standard
36 operating procedures for the safety of the construction workers,
37 and
38 WHEREAS, construction workers were not to be within a zone
39 of 30 feet of the Metromover line when it was in operation, and
40 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County was responsible for halting the
41 operation of the Metromover cars when construction workers were
42 within the 30-foot perimeter zone, and
43 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County was responsible for timely and
44 accurate communication with the construction companies as to
45 when the Metromover was placed out of operation and when work
46 could safely begin and end each night, and
47 WHEREAS, on February 8, 2017, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a
48 construction company supervisor was called by the designated
49 Miami-Dade County employee who advised that the Metromover cars
50 had ended their service for the night and the construction
51 workers could safely commence work, and
52 WHEREAS, shortly thereafter, Mr. Cabrera and a coworker were
53 told by their supervisor that they were cleared to begin work,
54 and
55 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera and the coworker entered the bucket of
56 an aerial lift to work on the Brightline track over the eastbound
57 Metromover track adjacent to the Ferguson Metromover Station, and
58 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera was strapped into the bucket, wearing
59 his safety helmet, and operating the lift, and
60 WHEREAS, at approximately 12:48 a.m., Mr. Cabrera and the
61 coworker were engaged in their work on the Brightline track,
62 standing in the bucket of the raised aerial lift, which was
63 extended over the Metromover track, and
64 WHEREAS, despite the Miami-Dade County employee’s call to
65 the construction company supervisor indicating that it was safe
66 for work to begin, an empty two-car Metromover train
67 unexpectedly and suddenly appeared, striking the crane with such
68 force that both men were violently ejected from the bucket of
69 the aerial lift, and
70 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera was thrown between 30 and 40 feet onto
71 a pile of construction materials on the ground, his safety
72 harness having torn and failed due to the force of the impact,
73 and
74 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera, through no fault of his own, suffered
75 multiple catastrophic blunt trauma injuries and was rushed by
76 ambulance to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial
77 Hospital in Miami, where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful
78 and Mr. Cabrera was pronounced dead at approximately 1:24 a.m.,
79 and
80 WHEREAS, the medical examiner subsequently determined the
81 cause of death to be accidental and due to numerous blunt trauma
82 injuries, and
83 WHEREAS, official investigations by the Miami-Dade Police
84 Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
85 determined that the Miami-Dade County employee assigned to work
86 with Mr. Cabrera’s employer in the early morning hours of
87 February 8, 2017, erroneously advised the construction company
88 supervisor that there would be no more Metromover traffic for
89 the shift, thereby clearing work to begin within the 30-foot
90 perimeter zone near the Metromover track, when in fact the
91 empty, two-car train that struck the aerial lift Mr. Cabrera
92 occupied was in operation and traveling to another station to be
93 placed out of service for maintenance, and
94 WHEREAS, as a direct result of the erroneous communication
95 by the Miami-Dade County employee which ultimately led to the
96 death of Mr. Cabrera, Miami-Dade County enacted policy changes
97 that enhanced communication and safety procedures at the
98 worksite, including shutting off power to the Metromover track
99 during construction work so Metromover trains would be
100 inoperable when workers were within the construction zone, and
101 WHEREAS, had the electrical power to the Metromover track
102 been shut down at the time of incident that caused Mr. Cabrera’s
103 death, the tragedy would not have occurred, and
104 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County, by and through its employees, had
105 a duty to reasonably and accurately communicate to the construction
106 companies and their workers when the Metromover system was and was
107 not in operation so that work could safely be conducted at or
108 around the construction site, and
109 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County had a duty to use reasonable care
110 in the operation of the Metromover system and to abide by its
111 rules as to shutting down the system when workers were present
112 within the construction zone, and
113 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County failed to follow its own standard
114 operating procedures and safety regulations, and
115 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County, by and through its employees,
116 breached its duties and responsibilities and was negligent by
117 unreasonably failing to convey accurate information to the
118 construction companies working in and around the Metromover
119 tracks, failing to ensure that the Metromover shut-down
120 procedures were followed when workers were within the 30-foot
121 perimeter zone of the Metromover track, and failing to shut down
122 the Metromover while work was being performed near the tracks as
123 had been falsely reported, and
124 WHEREAS, as result of the negligence of the employees of
125 Miami-Dade County, Mr. Cabrera was killed, and
126 WHEREAS, in the early morning hours of February 8, 2017,
127 Stephanie Cabrera was asleep when she was awakened by a
128 telephone call at approximately 2 a.m. by a friend of Mr.
129 Cabrera’s who advised that her husband had been in a serious
130 work-related accident and he was taken to Jackson Memorial
131 Hospital, and
132 WHEREAS, Ms. Cabrera was so shaken by the call that she
133 arranged for her sister to drive her to the hospital, where she
134 waited for several hours before medical personnel disclosed to
135 her that her husband had been killed, and
136 WHEREAS, the Cabreras had been happily married for 20 years
137 and lived together in their home in Homestead, and
138 WHEREAS Mr. Cabrera was the loving stepfather of Ms.
139 Cabrera’s four daughters, all of whom loved him and two of whom
140 were living with the Cabreras at the time of Mr. Cabrera’s
141 death, and
142 WHEREAS, Ms. Cabrera had 10 grandchildren when Mr. Cabrera
143 died, all of whom he adored and loved, and
144 WHEREAS, Ms. Cabrera suffered a profound loss due to the
145 sudden, unexpected, violent, and wrongful death of Mr. Cabrera,
146 leaving her with painful, extraordinary, and unresolved grief
147 and emotional trauma, and
148 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera’s employment was the primary source of
149 income for Ms. Cabrera, and
150 WHEREAS, Mr. Cabrera’s sudden death has caused financial
151 and severe emotional hardship for Ms. Cabrera, and
152 WHEREAS, pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, Stephanie
153 Cabrera, as personal representative of the Estate of Oscar
154 Cabrera, filed suit against Miami-Dade County in the 11th
155 Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, case number 2019
156 003339-CA-01, for negligence and the wrongful death of her late
157 husband, Mr. Cabrera, and
158 WHEREAS, on November 18, 2025, a Miami-Dade County jury
159 rendered a verdict in the amount of $6 million in favor of the
160 plaintiff, Stephanie Cabrera, et al., and against the defendant,
161 Miami-Dade County, and
162 WHEREAS, the verdict included the jury’s calculations for
163 the Estate of Oscar Cabrera regarding the loss of earnings of
164 Oscar Cabrera and the loss of prospective net accumulations, and
165 to Stephanie Cabrera, as surviving spouse, as to the value of
166 the lost support and services of her late husband, past and
167 future, the loss of his companionship and protection, and the
168 mental pain and suffering as a result of his tragic death, and
169 WHEREAS, on December 8, 2025, in accordance with the jury
170 verdict’s findings of negligence and itemized damages, the
171 circuit court entered a final judgment of $4.2 million in favor
172 of Stephanie Cabrera, et al., against Miami-Dade County, and
173 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County did not file an appeal, and
174 WHEREAS, on April 1, 2026, pursuant to chapter 57, Florida
175 Statutes, and based on an agreement between the parties, the
176 circuit court entered an agreed order granting plaintiff’s
177 motion to tax costs in the amount $24,441.26, and
178 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has tendered $200,000 to the
179 Estate of Oscar Cabrera and Stephanie Cabrera, as surviving
180 spouse, in full satisfaction of its liability up to the limits
181 set forth in s. 768.28(5), Florida Statutes, applicable to a
182 claim against a governmental entity arising out of a single
183 incident or occurrence, and
184 WHEREAS, a judgment debt of $4,024,441.26 remains
185 unsatisfied by Miami-Dade County owed to the Estate of Oscar
186 Cabrera and Stephanie Cabrera, as surviving spouse, in
187 accordance with the final judgment and agreed cost order, NOW,
188 THEREFORE,
189
190 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
191
192 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
193 found and declared to be true.
194 Section 2. Miami-Dade County is authorized and directed to
195 appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered and to draw a
196 warrant in the sum of $4,024,441.26, payable to Stephanie
197 Cabrera as personal representative for the Estate of Oscar
198 Cabrera for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the
199 death of Oscar Cabrera.
200 Section 3. The amount paid by Miami-Dade County pursuant to
201 s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded under this
202 act are intended to provide the sole compensation for all
203 present and future claims against Miami-Dade County arising out
204 of the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
205 the death of Oscar Cabrera. The total amount paid for attorney
206 fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the
207 total amount awarded under this act.
208 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.