THE BILL ITSELF
HB 6519
Relief/Sean Hurley/Orange County Sheriff's Office
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A bill to be entitled
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An act for the relief of Sean Hurley by the Orange
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County Sheriff's Office; providing for an
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appropriation to compensate Sean Hurley for injuries
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sustained as a result of the negligence of the Orange
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County Sheriff's Office; providing a limitation on the
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payment of compensation and attorney fees; providing
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an effective date.
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WHEREAS, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on November 15, 2019,
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Sean Hurley, at that time a 26-year-old resident of Seminole
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County, Florida, was driving his 2018 Yamaha MT07 motorcycle
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traveling westbound on Red Bug Lake Road at or near the
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intersection of Hollow Pine Drive, in Oviedo, Seminole County,
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Florida, and
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WHEREAS, Red Bug Lake Road is a street with three lanes in
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each direction, and
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WHEREAS, Orange County Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Orrizzi
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("Deputy Orrizzi") was leaving his home to work a night shift
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and driving a marked 2019 Ford Explorer belonging to the Orange
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County Sheriff's Office when he pulled out onto Red Bug Lake
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Road into the path of Sean Hurley's motorcycle, striking Sean
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Hurley in the lower extremity and throwing him into the grassy
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median, and
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WHEREAS, the collision was recorded on Deputy Orrizzi's
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dashcam showing, for example, that it was necessary for Sean
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Hurley to speed up just before the impact to try to avoid a
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collision, and
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WHEREAS, the investigating Florida Highway Patrol officer
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who arrived at the scene determined that Deputy Orrizzi violated
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Sean Hurley's right of way when Deputy Orrizzi pulled out into
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the path of Sean Hurley's motorcycle, and
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WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, Sean Hurley was
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rushed to the hospital by first responders and suffered
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significant catastrophic compound injuries to his lower
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extremities which required eight extensive surgeries, and
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WHEREAS, Sean Hurley sustained hip, leg, and foot injuries
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including broken legs, dislocated knees, a pelvic fracture, and
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toe fractures requiring a mechanical knee joint replacement in
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his right knee, hardware installed for a pelvic fracture, fusing
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of his shattered ankle, and reconstruction of his left knee due
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to the loss of two ligaments (ACL and MCL), and
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WHEREAS, one of Sean Hurley's legs is now shorter than the
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other, he requires specialized footwear to walk, and his long-
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term prognosis is intensive medical treatment and monitoring for
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the rest of his life, and
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WHEREAS, in June 2023, a jury in Orange County found that
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Deputy Orrizzi was 100 percent negligent in causing the
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collision and awarded $20,839,757 million in damages against the
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Orange County Sheriff's Office, which was reduced post-trial
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pursuant to s. 768.76(1),F.S., due to collateral sources paid
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toward Sean Hurley's past-medical expenses, for injuries Sean
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Hurley sustained as a result of Deputy Orrizzi's negligence,
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including $8 million for past noneconomic damages and $10
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million for future noneconomic damages for his pain and
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suffering, and
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WHEREAS, the jury found that Sean Hurley incurred
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$1,714,757.61 in medical expenses relating to the surgeries and
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treatments for his lower body injuries, and will incur
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$1,125,000 in future medical expenses over the next 47 years of
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expected life, NOW, THEREFORE,
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
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are found and declared to be true.
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Section 2. The Orange County Sheriff's Office is
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authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the county
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not otherwise appropriated or encumbered and to draw a warrant
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in the sum of $20,721,629.23 plus interest payable to Sean
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Hurley as compensation for injuries and damages sustained due to
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the negligence of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
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Section 3. The amount paid by the Orange County Sheriff's
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Office pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount
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awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
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compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
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the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
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injuries and damages to Sean Hurley. The total amount paid for
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attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent
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of the total amount awarded under this act.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.