Bill Text: FL S0036 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relief of the Estate of Victor Guerrero by Pasco County
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-27 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 3513 (Ch. 2015-210) [S0036 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S0036-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2015 (NP) CS for SB 36
By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Diaz de la Portilla
590-02145-15 201536c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of the Estate of Victor Guerrero
3 by Pasco County; providing for an appropriation to
4 compensate the Guerrero family for Officer Guerrero’s
5 death, which was the result of negligence by an
6 employee of Pasco County; providing that the
7 appropriation settles all present and future claims
8 relating to the death of Officer Guerrero; providing a
9 limitation on fees and costs; providing an effective
10 date.
11
12 WHEREAS, on May 1, 2008, Victor Guerrero, a veteran of the
13 United States Marine Corps and a decorated, 20-year veteran of
14 the City of Tampa Police Department, was riding his motorcycle
15 to visit his mother on his day off from work, and
16 WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero was traveling southbound on U.S.
17 41, about 1 mile north of S.R. 52, which is a straightaway with
18 no obstructions, and
19 WHEREAS, at the same time, Pasco County employee Daniel
20 Whipple was driving a Pasco County vehicle northbound on U.S.
21 41, and
22 WHEREAS, as Officer Guerrero approached Mr. Whipple, Mr.
23 Whipple made a left hand turn directly into the path of Officer
24 Guerrero, and
25 WHEREAS, an accident reconstruction expert estimated that
26 Officer Guerrero was about 100 feet away when Mr. Whipple, who
27 claimed that he never saw Officer Guerrero, made the turn, and
28 WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero had no time to brake or swerve
29 and struck the side of Mr. Whipple’s truck and was ejected from
30 the motorcycle, and
31 WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero was airlifted to St. Joseph’s
32 Hospital in Tampa, where he was pronounced dead, and
33 WHEREAS, the Pasco County Driver Safety Review Board
34 investigated the accident and determined that Mr. Whipple was at
35 fault, citing carelessness, and
36 WHEREAS, after the accident, Officer Guerrero’s widow, Lara
37 Guerrero, was unable to return to her job at Home Depot due to
38 severe emotional distress, and was prescribed anti-depressant
39 medication to assist her in dealing with her loss, and
40 WHEREAS, Officer Guerrero left behind three sons, Michael,
41 David, and Kevin, who were 21, 19, and 15, respectively, at the
42 time of the accident, and
43 WHEREAS, Lara Guerrero, as personal representative of the
44 Estate of Victor Guerrero, filed a law suit against Pasco County
45 in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pasco
46 County, and
47 WHEREAS, on February 10, 2012, the jury in the case
48 returned a verdict for $7,845,127.30 in favor of the Estate of
49 Victor Guerrero, which was reduced 10 percent for comparative
50 negligence for Officer Guerrero’s failure to wear a helmet,
51 leaving a total verdict of $7,060,614.57, plus interest at the
52 statutory rate of 4.75 percent per annum, and
53 WHEREAS, the amount awarded by the jury includes economic
54 damages of $1,095,127.30, which were stipulated to by the
55 parties and include damages for future loss of income and
56 funeral expenses, damages representing loss of support for Lara
57 Guerrero, and damages representing loss of support for Kevin
58 Guerrero, and
59 WHEREAS, the amount awarded by the jury also includes $1.5
60 million for Lara Guerrero for loss of her husband’s
61 companionship and protection and for her pain and suffering, and
62 $1.75 million for each of Officer Guerrero’s sons for loss of
63 parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for their
64 pain and suffering, and
65 WHEREAS, Pasco County has paid $186,776.38 of the final
66 judgment, and
67 WHEREAS, on March 6, 2015, Pasco County and the Guerrero
68 family reached a settlement in this matter for the payment of
69 1.5 million in addition to the amount previously paid, NOW,
70 THEREFORE,
71
72 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
73
74 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
75 found and declared to be true.
76 Section 2. Pasco County is authorized and directed to
77 appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise appropriated
78 and to draw a warrant payable to Lara Guerrero, as personal
79 representative of the Estate of Victor Guerrero in the amount of
80 $1,500,000.00, which shall be apportioned as follows: to the
81 Estate of Victor Guerrero in the amount of $90,000.00, to Lara
82 Guerrero in the amount of $405,000.00, to Kevin Guerrero in the
83 amount of $345,000.00, to Michael Guerrero in the amount of
84 $330,000.00, and to David Guerrero in the amount of $330,000.00,
85 as compensation for injuries and damages sustained as a result
86 of the death of Victor Guerrero.
87 Section 3. The amount paid previously by Pasco County and
88 the amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the
89 sole compensation for all present and future claims arising out
90 of the factual situation described in the preamble to this act
91 which resulted in the death of Victor Guerrero. The total amount
92 paid for attorney fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar
93 expenses relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the
94 amount awarded under this act.
95 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
