Legislation to clear the remainder of a $4.3 million settlement between Miami-Dade and a man who lost his leg after a county bus struck him five years ago is now one vote from passage.
The bill (SB 14), which would authorize a $4.1 million payment to Jose Correa of Coral Gables, just passed on the Senate floor by a 37-1 vote.
It will now go to the House, where lawmakers can approve it or its lower-chamber twin (HB 6521), which advanced through both its committee stops without a “no” vote.
The bills — sponsored by Doral Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Miami Rep. Omar Blanco, both Republicans — stem from a Dec. 16, 2021, crash in which a Metrobus driver drove into Correa while he was legally using a crosswalk at the intersection of Bird Road and LeJeune Road.
The crash resulted in catastrophic injuries, including a below-the-knee amputation.
SB 14 and HB 6521 are claims bills, 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, who qualified for the lesser amount, sued Miami-Dade after the accident, and the parties later reached a $4.3 million settlement.
Lawmakers this year are again working to raise the sovereign immunity caps. A House measure to do so passed on the floor last month 104-7.
SB 14 and HB 6521 would authorize the county to pay the remaining $4.1 million. It also limits attorneys fees and lobbying fees tied to the award to 25% of the total compensation.
“The county is not only neutral; they are supportive of this bill,” Blanco said earlier this month.
Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz is alone in voting against the legislation. He also did so during SB 14’s first committee stop last month. As was the case then, he offered no explanation why he opposed the bill before Wednesday’s floor vote.
