HB 6513 full text · Session Watch

1 A bill to be entitled

2 An act for the relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City

3 of Clearwater; providing for an appropriation to

4 compensate Maximus Giannikos for injuries sustained as

5 a result of the negligence of the City of Clearwater;

6 providing a limitation on the payment of compensation

7 and attorney fees; providing an effective date.

9 WHEREAS, in the early evening of May 28, 2019, then 16-

10 year-old Maximus Giannikos and his family were on vacation in

11 Clearwater, visiting from Cape Town, South Africa, when, shortly

12 after their arrival, Maximus Giannikos, his sister, and her

13 husband left their hotel located near the northwest corner of

14 the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19

15 and walked to the nearby Clearwater Mall to eat dinner and shop

16 for beach supplies, and

17 WHEREAS, the electronic traffic and pedestrian control

18 devices located at the Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19

19 intersection were operated and maintained by the City of

20 Clearwater, and had a documented history of malfunctioning from

21 time to time, and

22 WHEREAS, the interchange where U.S. Highway 19 intersects

23 with Gulf to Bay Boulevard is a significant, high-volume

24 transportation corridor where U.S. 19 goes over Gulf to Bay

25 Boulevard with service ramps, and is a complex design requiring

26 continuous, regular inspections and maintenance of all signal

27 devices and signage to move large volumes of traffic and

28 pedestrians safely and efficiently, and

29 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos and his family members crossed

30 from the northwest to the northeast corner of the intersection,

31 beneath the overpass of U.S. Highway 19, and then proceeded from

32 the northeast to the southeast corner of the intersection,

33 crossing Gulf to Bay Boulevard, without any problem using the

34 pedestrian control device, and

35 WHEREAS, approximately 2 hours later, as they returned,

36 they approached the southwest corner of the intersection at Gulf

37 to Bay Boulevard and pressed the button at the crosswalk to

38 activate the pedestrian control device, and

39 WHEREAS, unbeknownst to Maximus Giannikos and his family

40 members, who were pedestrians at the time, the crosswalk buttons

41 and devices were not operating because of defective,

42 malfunctioning wiring and negligent maintenance by the City of

43 Clearwater, thereby causing the pedestrian signal to be stuck on

44 "Do Not Walk" at that location, and so the signal never changed,

45 and

46 WHEREAS, they pressed the button multiple times and waited

47 numerous light cycles to give the signal a chance to change, but

48 it did not change, and

49 WHEREAS, they then walked to the southeast corner of the

50 intersection and tried to activate the pedestrian control system

51 there, with no success, and

52 WHEREAS, they looked east and west along Gulf to Bay

53 Boulevard to see if there was another crosswalk with active

54 pedestrian signals but did not see any visible crosswalks from

55 their vantage point, and

56 WHEREAS, after 30 to 45 minutes passed, they agreed they

57 had no other choice but to cross where they were, so the

58 brother-in-law timed the lights and, once he saw all the lights

59 were red and traffic appeared to clear, all three stepped off

60 the curb and walked into the road to cross, and

61 WHEREAS, they made it about halfway across the street when

62 Maximus Giannikos was struck by a sport utility vehicle

63 traveling at approximately 35 miles per hour and was

64 catastrophically injured, and

65 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos was treated by emergency medical

66 services personnel at the scene, then rushed by ambulance to St.

67 Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center in stable but critical

68 condition, and

69 WHEREAS, a traffic homicide investigation was conducted by

70 the Clearwater Police Department, which determined that the

71 pedestrian crosswalk device did, in fact, malfunction, and was

72 not operating at the time that Maximus Giannikos was injured,

73 and

74 WHEREAS, a fact that witnesses who worked nearby and used

75 the crosswalks daily testified at trial that the subject

76 pedestrian crosswalk signal malfunctioned at least 10 to 15

77 times per year and had been doing so for 10 years, and

78 WHEREAS, during trial, plaintiff's expert witness testified

79 that the crosswalk buttons malfunctioned because the City of

80 Clearwater failed to perform an adequate maintenance check

81 during March 2019, and

82 WHEREAS, during discovery and at trial, documents in the

83 Signal Cabinet Access Logs generated near the date that Maximus

84 Giannikos was injured showed that the City of Clearwater rewired

85 the button on the southeast corner of the intersection and

86 replaced the button on the northwest corner 2 weeks and 4 weeks,

87 respectively, after Maximus Giannikos was critically injured,

88 and

89 WHEREAS, at trial, the plaintiff's attorneys proved that

90 the City of Clearwater was on notice regarding the problem and

91 was negligent in maintaining the signal, putting pedestrians in

92 unreasonable danger and being a legal cause of Maximus

93 Giannikos's injuries, and

94 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos remained hospitalized for more

95 than a month at St. Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center, 11 days

96 of which were spent in a coma, while his family lived at the

97 Ronald McDonald House, and

98 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos suffered life-altering traumatic

99 brain injuries, bleeds, and swelling, skull and facial

100 fractures, multiple orthopedic fractures and injuries, including

101 spinal fractures from C6 to T4, rib fractures, left leg

102 fractures, compound fractures of the right arm, right shoulder

103 fractures and dislocation, a punctured lung, and other serious

104 traumatic injuries, and

105 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos underwent numerous surgeries,

106 and his recovery has been slow, difficult, and painful, with

107 many setbacks, and

108 WHEREAS, once Maximus Giannikos was released from the

109 hospital, he and his family lived at the Ronald McDonald House

110 for 6 months while he engaged in treatment and therapy until

111 they ran out of funds to pay for his treatment, and

112 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos has incurred more than $1.1

113 million in medical bills and is facing $4.9 million in future

114 medical care costs, and total economic damages amount to more

115 than $10 million, and

116 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos's current diagnosis includes

117 permanent brain injuries, posttraumatic epilepsy, severe

118 cognitive and behavioral impairments, disfigurement, severe

119 radiating neck and back pain, arthritis, limited range of

120 motion, and other orthopedic and neurological disorders, as well

121 as severe posttraumatic psychological injuries, and

122 WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater had a duty of care to

123 reasonably maintain and operate the pedestrian signals at the

124 subject intersection and had failed to do so at the time Maximus

125 Giannikos was injured, and

126 WHEREAS, due to the City of Clearwater's negligence,

127 Maximus Giannikos was unreasonably left to cross the

128 intersection unaided by operable crosswalk signals, which but

129 for the inoperable condition of the crosswalk signals, Maximus

130 Giannikos would not have been injured, and

131 WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater's negligent maintenance of

132 the crosswalk signals at the location where Maximus Giannikos

133 was injured was a legal cause of the collision that injured him,

134 and

135 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos filed a lawsuit against the City

136 of Clearwater which was tried before a Pinellas County jury in

137 the circuit court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit beginning

138 September 9, 2024, and on September 13, 2024, the jury found

139 Maximus Giannikos's total damages to be $38,496,781.68, with the

140 City of Clearwater's negligence to be 45 percent and Maximus

141 Giannikos's negligence to be 55 percent, comparatively, and

142 WHEREAS, based on the jury verdict, the court entered a

143 final judgment in the amount of $17,323,551.76 in favor of

144 Maximus Giannikos and against the City of Clearwater, and

145 WHEREAS, on January 6, 2025, following post-trial motions

146 and oral arguments, the trial court entered an Amended Final

147 Judgment in the amount of $15,687,889.50, and

148 WHEREAS, pursuant to a negotiated agreement by the parties,

149 on January 6, 2025, the trial court entered an Agreed Order to

150 claimant's motion to entitlement to attorney fees in the amount

151 of $249,460, taxable costs in the amount of $99,832.99, and the

152 parties' agreement to taxable post-judgment interest at the rate

153 of 9.46 percent annually, all of which the parties negotiated

154 and agreed to, and

155 WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater is insured with a Lloyd's

156 of London policy having a limit of $7 million for this claim,

157 and

158 WHEREAS, before the trial began, Maximus Giannikos's

159 attorneys offered to settle the case for an amount within the

160 policy limits, but the insurance company refused to settle and

161 made no counteroffer, thereby exposing the City of Clearwater to

162 an excess judgment of $16,037,182.49, plus interest of 9.46

163 percent annually, NOW, THEREFORE,

165 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

167 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act

168 are found and declared to be true.

169 Section 2. The City of Clearwater is authorized and

170 directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered and

171 to draw a warrant in the sum of $16,037,182.49, plus post-

172 judgment interest at the rate of 9.46 percent annually, as

173 agreed to by the parties and to be calculated by the trial

174 court, payable to Maximus Giannikos as compensation for injuries

175 and damages sustained due to the negligence of the City of

176 Clearwater.

177 Section 3. The amount paid by the City of Clearwater

178 pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded

179 under this act are intended to provide the sole compensation for

180 all present and future claims arising out of the factual

181 situation described in this act which resulted in injuries and

182 damages to Maximus Giannikos. The total amount paid for attorney

183 fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the

184 total amount awarded under this act.

185 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.