Florida Senate approves claim

A Broward teenager who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being dragged by a county transit bus he was trying to board won the support of the Florida Senate on Monday to receive the full $850,000 settlement his attorneys had negotiated with the county.

The Senate voted 36-1 in favor of the claims bill for Jerry Cunningham, which the House had previously approved. The bill still must be signed by Gov. Rick Scott in order for Cunningham to collect the $550,000 still outstanding. The county paid the maximum $300,000 allowed by law and needs state authorization to pay the remainder.

Commissioners approved the settlement in January.

Cunningham was a 14-year-old Crystal Lakes Middle School student in May 2013 when he ran to catch a bus stopped at Sample Road and Northeast 12th Avenue in Pompano Beach. He stuck his hand in just as the bus driver was closing the door and pulling away.

He was dragged as the bus approached 18 mph before his arm dislodged and he fell to the pavement, according to the bill report filed by the special master reviewing the case for the House who recommended the claims bill be approved.

Cunningham was placed in a medically induced coma for a month and missed school for a yearand-a-half. He had multiple skull fractures, facial fractures, broken ribs and other injuries, the bill report said.

The boy’s father, Gerard Cunningham, said his son is on track to graduate from Deerfield Beach High School this year, but still requires a lot of help.

The family’s attorney, Glen Levine, said “it’s amazing the progress” from where Cunningham was after the accident that left him hospitalized for two months to where he is now.

“He is certainly doing well, but he has some significant deficits,” Levine said.

The driver of the bus, Reinaldo Soto, was suspended for 15 days and demoted to a janitorial position, but a hearing officer later ordered Soto to be reinstated as a bus driver and a restoration of his salary after receiving a $6,000 pay cut.

According to the legislation, the maximum the attorneys and lobbyists who handled the case can be paid is $137,500 from the extra funds.

The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Lithia.

Levine was pleased that the bill moved so quickly. Many times, claims bills can be filed year after year with no legislative action.

“The odds of these things passing historically have been dreadful, no question about it,” Levine said.

The Senate approved the bill despite a negative report by its special master who reviewed the case. That report said “the preponderance of evidence” showed Cunningham had caused his own injuries.

Senate special master Adam Stallard said Cunningham’s “hand, arm or wrist was not caught in the door of the bus.” Instead, Cunningham “placed his hand on or in between the doors of the moving bus, and then attempted to run alongside it until he lost both his grip and his footing.”