FL S0026

Palm Beach County School Board is directed to appropriate $944,034.30 to compensate Altavious Carter for injuries sustained in a December 15, 2005 school bus accident at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and Olympia Boulevard.

Altavious Carter, then 14 years old, suffered a broken neck at the C6 level and spinal cord damage when a school bus driven by Dennis Gratham struck the vehicle he was in while stopped at a red light; the bus was traveling at 48.5 miles per hour.

Carter underwent a discectomy/fusion surgery at C6-7 and subsequently developed degenerative disc disease; a jury awarded him $1,094,034.30 in February 2010.

The $944,034.30 payment authorized by this act supplements the $100,000 statutory limit the school board must pay under Florida Statutes section 768.28, with the total comprising sole compensation for all present and future claims.

Attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and similar expenses related to this claim are capped at 25 percent of the total amount awarded.