HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-89-0639J-89-618
6/23/89
RESOLUTION NO.�;
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF
FINANCE TO PAY TO AMADA HENRIQUEZ THE SUM OF
$39,000.00, WITHOUT THE ADMISSION OF
LIABILITY, IN FULL AND COMPLETE SETTLEMENT OF
ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE
CITY OF MIAMI, UPON EXECUTION OF A RELEASE,
RELEASING THE CITY FROM ALL CLAIMS AND
DEMANDS.
WHEREAS, AMADA HENRIQUEZ, through counsel, filed a claim
against the City of Miami resulting from an accident which
occurred on July 11, 1986 at or near Northwest 13th Avenue and —
10th Street, Dade County, Florida; and
WHEREAS, it is advantageous for the City of Miami to effect
a settlement of said lawsuit;
WHEREAS, the above claim has been investigated by the Torts
Division of the City Attorney's office and in accordance with
Ordinance No. 84-17, which created the City of Miami's Self -
Insurance Program, the City Attorney's office recommends that the
claim be settled without the admission of liability for the sum
of $39,000.00;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the Director of Finance is hereby
authorized to pay to AMADA HENRIQUEZ the sum of $39,000.00,
without the admission of liability, in full and complete
settlement of all claims and demands against the City of Miami in
Circuit Court Case No. 88-35702 (04), said payment to be made
upon the execution of a Release releasing the City of Miami from
all claims and demands.
CITY COMMISSION
MEETING OF
JUL 13 1989 ,�y
)N No. fig-f 3 -
,r
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of July 989.
ATTEST: IER L. SUARE , MAY
MATT H I RA I
CITY CLERK
J
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
_ JO GE FE ANDEZ
CITY ATTORN
LMF/cm/Mll01
-2-
��ITY OF '.+;A.MI, FLORIDA
kv, INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Honorable Mayor and Members
of the City Commission
4ioge -h. FeFy
ndez
City Attorn
~TEJune 26, 1989 "LE
URJECT Amada Henriquez v . City
Case No. 88-35702 (04)
L-88-207
°ErERENCE�laims No. 007/V-86-226
Settlement Authority
ENCLOSURES
On April 10, 1989, I forwarded a memorandum to you (copy
attached) requesting your authority to file an Offer of Judgment
i in the amount of $23,501.00 in the above -referenced case. Based
upon your approval the offer was made, but it was not accepted.
During the course of the next months the Plaintiff's
attorney had the Plaintiff undergo a second Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (M.R.I.) test, which was performed by a reputable
radiologist. The second test confirmed the existence of a disk,
as was previously suspected and since we have not been able to
develop any evidence attributing the disk injury to another
source other than her trauma as a result of the subject accident.
we are, therefore, recommending that our. Offer of Settlement be
increased to $39,000.00, which we understand will be acceptable
to the Plaintiff, who is desirous of concluding this matter
rather than waiting for a trial. The settlement is beneficial to
the City in that disk injuries resulting from rear -end collisions
have resulted in verdicts in excess of $60,000.00.
JLF/cm/P930
Enc .
S9_639,
LATER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Honorable Mayor and Members of
the City Commission
tJo ge L. rnandez
City +
y
April 10, 1989
== Amada Henriquez v. City
Case No. 88-35702 (04)
Claims No. 007/V-86-226
__ . __L-88-207
Offer of Judgment
__wFC
On July 11, 1986, the Plaintiff, Amada Henriquez was driving
home when she stopped behind another vehicle at a red light, at
the intersection of Northwest 20th Street and 13th Avenue. She
had been waiting for the light to change for less than one minute
when she was rear ended by a City of Miami police vehicle, which
in the process of trying to stop to avoid the accident, laid down
56 feet of skid marks so that driver's speed before applying his
brakes was calculated to be at least 35 MPH.
Ms. Henriquez claims no prior injuries due to accidents at
work or otherwise and although she still has the same job as a
sweater cutter that she held before the accident, she claims that
her movements are restricted and she cannot pick up any heavy
loads because of pain in her lower back which radiates into her
legs.
The lady incurred approximately $2,600.00 in medical bills
including diagnostic testing for a herniated disk. The CAT SCAN
performed at Palmetto General Hospital resulted in a finding that
was suspicious for a small herniated disk on the left side of the
L4-L5 level and other degenerative abnormalities. At the City's
request an independent medical examination was performed by Dr.
W. Scott Piper and based upon his examination and review of the
CAT SCAN, his findings were that there was no disk. However,
when Dr. Piper reviewed what he considered to be a poor quality
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) taken one and one-half years
after the accident, he stated that the MRI study was consistent
with a disk, but that he was not absolutely convinced because of
the quality of the MRI study.
The Tort Committee has approved $25,000.00 for purposes of
settling this case in light of Dr. Piper's testimony. By way of
this memorandum we are requesting your authority to file an Offer
of Judgment in the amount of $23,501.00. This is to be done for
tactical purposes with regard to the trial of the case which is
upcoming in late May 1989. tinder the Statute, if Plaintiff does
not recover by way of Judgment twenty five percent (25%) more
than the Offer of Judgment, the costs incurred by the City would
be deductible from the Judgment received. In this regard, we may
89--639,
Page 2 April 10, 1989 —
{ Honorable Mayor and Members Amada Henriquez
of the City Commission Case #88-35702 (04)
save money in the long run on this particular case if the verdict
comes in at less than $29,f00.00 (apprcximately).
Unless you cbject to this method of attempting to resolve
this case and this tactical move, within fifteen days the Offer
-Df Judgment in the amount of $23,501.00 will be filed.
Should you have any questions, I will be happy to make
myself available to answer them.
JLF/cm/P754