Four years after a Metrobus driver struck him at a Coral Gables crosswalk, leading to the partial amputation of his left leg, Miami-Dade man Jose Correa is set to receive the remainder of a $4.3 million settlement with the county.
House members voted unanimously for the bill (SB 14), which clears a $4.1 million payment to Correa as compensation for the accident and injuries he suffered on Dec. 16, 2021, exactly one month after the Senate passed it 37-1.
Miami Republican Rep. Omar Blanco, who carried the measure’s House twin (HB 6521), ushered the bill to passage on the floor. Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez of Doral carried SB 14 in the upper chamber.
Blanco acknowledged and thanked Correa and his family, who he said were watching the vote, for trusting him to get the bill passed.
SB 14 is a claims bill, a special classification of legislation intended to compensate a person or entity for injury or loss due to the negligence or error of a public officer or agency.
Claims bills arise when the damages a claimant seeks are above the thresholds set in Florida’s sovereign immunity law, which today caps payouts at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
Correa was lawfully crossing a crosswalk at the intersection of Bird Road and LeJeune Road when a Metrobus driver failed to see him and drove into him. He subsequently sued Miami-Dade, which settled with him without trial.
The state’s sovereign immunity caps limited Correa to receiving $200,000 without legislative action.
Lawmakers this year passed legislation (HB 145) to raise the sovereign immunity caps — by a 104-7 House vote in January and a 36-0 vote in the Senate on Tuesday — to $500,000 per person and $1 million per incident, with 20% increases for each to come in 2031.
Notably, HB 145 would also authorize local governments to settle claims above those caps without getting approval from the Legislature through claims bills, of which roughly a dozen are filed yearly, with only a few, at most, typically passing.
That bill’s sponsor — Sarasota Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland, who has tried since 2024 to make the change — highlighted the need for an update to the state’s sovereign immunity statutes, which were last amended in 2010, before SB 14’s passage Wednesday.
“This accident happened in 2021, so the poor victim has been waiting all these years to receive financial compensation above $200,000. So, think of his medical bills. Think of the prosthetic. Think of all the things he’s had to endure since 2021 while waiting for this claims bill to pass,” she said.
“Now, I believe the dollar amount is quite high, so no matter where the caps will be placed, this would still be a bill that deserves an act of legislative grace, if the county so asks for it. But if we could just raise those sovereign immunity caps a little bit more, we could get the victims the financial payment they need to cover some of those medical costs when they are the victim of government negligence.”
SB 14 and HB 145 will next go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can choose to sign or veto one or both of them, or allow one or both of them to become law without his signature.
