FL S0062

Appropriates $1,092,040 plus taxable costs to Amie Draiemann Stephenson as Personal Representative of the Estate of Christian Darby Stephenson to compensate her and the two surviving minor children for wrongful death.

Christian Darby Stephenson died on August 12, 2000, when his gasoline tanker jackknifed and overturned on the Hart Bridge Expressway after he attempted to avoid a hydroplaning vehicle; a jury determined the Department of Transportation was 36 percent negligent due to a clogged drain that caused standing water.

Jury verdict in Circuit Court Case No. 01-03428 CA (March 22, 2005) awarded $1.3 million to the estate, $763,000 to the widow, $1 million to surviving child Hailey Morgan Stephenson, and $526,000 to surviving child Christian Darby Stephenson, II.

The $1,092,040 payment represents 36 percent of the aggregate damages minus the $200,000 already paid by the Department of Transportation under section 768.28, Florida Statutes.

Limits attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses to a maximum of 25 percent of the amount awarded under this act.