At Last, Florida House Clears Way To Pay Eric Brody
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) –Eric Brody was left wheelchair-bound and unable to speak after his car was struck by a patrol car driven by a Broward Sheriff's Deputy who was late for work. An insurance company agreed to pay him more than $10 million, but lacked the state approval to write the check. The family has been fighting everyone for 14 years, and Friday, a state committee said yes.
It's not completely over. The full House must also pass the bill that the Senate approved the first day of the session, but that approval is expected. It's needed by law because even though a jury ordered a payment, state law protects governments from large payouts without legislative approval, through a claims bill. No bill, no payment.
Brody's bill is designed to provide lifetime care and therapy. A jury had awarded them $30 million, but his family settled for $10.75 million after years of battling the insurance company's lobbyists. Brody was 18 when the crash paralyzed him and damaged his brain. His parents, like Aaron Roden, who was awarded $30 million for mistakes made by a West Florida hospital at his birth, have caring for him for the past 14 years.
"We're spending our retirement years taking care of Eric," said his father, Chuck Brody. "Everything is Eric, Eric, Eric."
The Senate last year passed bills for Brody and Dillon, but the House failed to take them up during the frantic final hours of the 60-day session.
This year the Senate passed them on Jan. 10, the session's first day. Senate president Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said he want to give the House plenty of time to act.
In all, the gatekeeper committee approved 16 claims bills, including one for the parents of Juan Carlos Rivera, a Coral Gables High School; student who was stabbed to death by fellow student Andy Rodriguez, who was convicted of second degree murder. Miami-Dade schools agreed to pay just over $1.8 million to settle a negligence claim.
Rivera's family claimed the school and school district were also to blame, because teachers stood in doorways instead of monitoring hallways and courtyards, and because a police officer scheduled to patrol the school on the day of the attack was in court, and had not been replaced.
The bills each must pass the full house, and be signed by Governor Scott, before payments are made.
