Coversheet

Item Coversheet

ITEM 6.
County Attorney - Consent


AGENDA ITEM REPORT

DATE:	March 5, 2019
DEPARTMENT:	County Attorney
REQUESTER:	Louis Lira
TITLE:	Approve Mediated Settlement in the Personal Injury Case of Sandra Goodman v. Lee County

I.	MOTION REQUESTED
	Approve settlement in personal injury case of Sandra Goodman v. Lee County for $75,000 inclusive of attorney’s fees and costs. The settlement is within the sovereign immunity limits of Florida Statute § 768.28 and will be paid by the County’s self-insurance loss fund.

II.	ITEM SUMMARY
	Approval of the proposed settlement resolves the case in its entirety against Lee County.

III.

BACKGROUND AND IMPLICATIONS OF ACTION

	A)	Board Action and Other History
		On September 23, 2015 the Plaintiff, Sandra Goodman fell off her bicycle as she was riding across a crosswalk located at the intersection of Sanibel Blvd and Evergreen road. This area is located within the San Carlos area of Lee County and the County maintains the area in question. The site location of the potholes was on Sanibel Blvd, between Evergreen road and Holly road, which is within the area where the Plaintiff fell. The Plaintiff sustained a comminuted fracture of her left tibia as well as a left fibular fracture, both of which required surgery in the form of an open reduction & internal fixation with a metal plate and screws inserted into her lower left leg. Total medical bills were just over $60,000

	B)	Policy Issues
		N/A

	C)	BoCC Goals
		N/A

	D)	Analysis
		N/A

	E)	Options
		1. Settle – resolves outstanding litigation. 2. Jury Trial – increases further costs and exposes Lee County to unknown liabilities.

IV.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

	A)	Current year dollar amount of item:	$75,000
	B)	Is this item approved in the current budget?	Yes
	C)	Is this a revenue or expense item?	Expense
	D)	Is this Discretionary or Mandatory?	Discretionary
	E)	Will this item impact future budgets? If yes, please include reasons in III(D) above.	No
	F)	Fund: Self Insurance Loss Fund Program: Property and Liability Project: Self Insurance Account Strings: GC5133857700.504540
	G)	Fund Type?	Other: $75,000; Self-Insurance Loss Fund; Included in Budget
	H)	Comments:

V.	RECOMMENDATION
	Approve

VI.	TIMING/IMPLEMENTATION

VII.	FOLLOW UP

REVIEWERS:
Department	Reviewer	Action	Date
County Attorney	Wesch, Richard Wm.	Approved	1/25/2019 - 2:11 PM
Budget Services	Henkel, Anne	Approved	1/28/2019 - 2:12 PM
Budget Services	Winton, Peter	Approved	1/28/2019 - 2:47 PM
County Attorney	Lira, Louis C.	Approved	1/28/2019 - 4:03 PM
County Manager	Winton, Peter	Approved	1/28/2019 - 4:06 PM