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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-83-04034 0 J-83-371 RESOLUTION NO. __� 31 A RESOLUTION AUTHOR IZI*.G THE, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY TO BESSIF VON ZAhFT 'THE' SUf,1 OF TWELVE THOUSANf) DOLLARS (512,000.00) V:ITHOUT THL ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, IN FULL AND coNii,LE,TE SETTI,EME NT OF ALL BODILY INJURY, PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION LIENS, f70RKER'S COMPENSATION LIENS, PROPERTY DAMAGE, CLAIMS, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI AND UPON EXECUTION OF A RELEASE R,ELE',ASINv THE CITY FROM ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS. ;NHEREAS, Bessie Von Zamft, through Robert Rosenblatt, %sq., of Gilmour, Morgan & Rosenblatt, her attorneys, filed a claim against the City of Miami for alleged bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens anJ property damage resulting from an accident on a City owned sidewalk on March 15, 1978, at approximately 141.0 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, .jade County, Florida; and NHEIz ,AS, the above claim have been investigated by the Torts Division of the City Attorney's Otfice and in accordance with ordinance #8417, which created the City of Miami's Self -Insurance Program, the said office: recommends that these claims be settled for the sum of. Twelve Thousand Dollars ($12,000.00); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE- COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA. Section 1. The Director_ of Finance is hereby authorized to pay to Bessie Von Zamft the sum of Twelve Thousand Dollars ($12,000.00) in full and co-nplete settlement of all bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens, property damage claims, claims and demands against the City of Miami upon execution of a release releasing the City of Miami from all bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens, property damage claims, claims and demands. CITY C011111ISSIVN MEETit;C C'F 1`! 1983 83-403 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 12th day of April, 1983. Maurice A. Ferre MAURICF. A FERRE MAYOR ,= (RALPWI G. ONGIE '1'PY CLERK PRE'PARE,D AiND APPkOVUj BY: Z4 "'O'Poe� LIA J. R.OBERTS ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY AI?PROVE D AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: USE R. GARCIA—PEDROSA I ITY ATTORNEY wpc/165 -2- 83-4©2 , a TC CITY OF MIAMI. FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM Jose R. Garcia -Pedrosa City Attorney,_ C. A7E FILE " April 29, 1983 VC-78-09, L-79-031 E1_T Bessie Von Zamft vs. City of Miami, et al., Circuit Court #79-6167 (22) FED-ERE^1.ES D/I: March 15, 1978 E :�LOS_RES L/I: 1410 N. F. Second Avenue Miami,_ Florida Plaintiff Bessie Von Zamft filed a claim against the City of Miami through her attorney Robert Rosenblatt, Esq., of Gilmour, Morgan and Rosenblatt, for personal injury arising out of a trip and fall on a City sidewalk. The accident occurred on i•;arch 15, 1978 at 1410 N. E. Second Avenue, in front of the Lindsey Hopkins School building. Plain- tiff was a student at the school and was leaving for the day when she allegedly tripped and fell on debris and construction rubble or a defectively placed metal plate on the City sidewalk, fracturing her right hip. The sidewalk area on which the Plaintiff was traveling had a terrazzo surface which was put in by the Dade County School Board in 1968 as part of their design of the Lindsey Hopkins building. The sidewalk itself was still owned, controlled, and maintained by the City of Miami. There was also construction ongoing in the area as the Miami Dade Water & Sewer Authority had a contract with Inman, Inc. to install a 16" sludge line four feet below the surface of th sidewalk along N.E. Second Avenue in front of the Lindsey Hopkins building. The Miami Dade Water & Sewer Authority also owned and maintained the plates in the terrazzo sidewalk which were permanent metal plates covering entrances to the sewer and water lines. As the City of Miami owned the sidewalk on which this accident occurred, it was primarily liable for any damages suffered by the Plaintiff, although it would be entitled to collect from any other joint tort-feasors (such as Inman, Inc. or Miami Dade Water & Sewer Authority) for any Judgment awarded against it in favor of the Plaintiff. Plaintiff, Bessie Von Zamft was approximately 59 years old at the time of this accident. She received emergency treatment at South Miami Hospital and, approximately three days after the accident, a Moore Prosthetic replacement and arthroplasty were accomplished on the right hip through surgery. In other words, the top of the right upper leg bone was replaced with a man made prosthesis or ball in an attempt to reconstruct the hip joint. This operation was performed by Dr. Rush Acton and her total B3-403. Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 2 April 29, 1983 medical bills were approximately $5,200 for that treatment. While she was in the hospital, Plaintiff received some blood transfusions and subsequently contacted hepatitis which also necessitated further treatment. The 1978 prosthesis lasted for approximately two years and then Plaintiff began to suffer increasing pain radiating from the right hip into her leg. She was referred to Dr. Jerry Enis who performed a total hip replacement on August 31, 1980. Plaintiff was hospitalized for approximately 17 or 18 days at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. This hospitalization cost approximately $9,193.33. Surgery and treatment by Dr. Jerry Enis resulted in approximately $4,568 in additional medical bills. After both operations, Plaintiff had to hire someone to cone in and help her do cleaning around the house, as well as to help her with physical therapy. Plaintiff also had not yet retired at the time of this accident. Although she was unemployed at the time of the accident, she was going to school to brush -up on her secretarial skills to get a secretary's job. Because of the hip injury, she was no longer able to sit for long lengths of time, or do any bending to do filing in low cabinets or activities of that nature. She was left with a pronounced limp on her right side and can no longer do any sporting activities that she was used to doing. She can also no longer do any kind of activity which involves bending or squatting. A prosthesis of this nature has a life expectancy of approximately 12 to 15 years. Except for this injury, Plaintiff was healthy and it can be anticipated that she will outlive the life of the prosthesis and may in the future become a candidate for a second replacement operation., The two co-defendants in this case, Miami Dade Water & Sewer Authority and Inman Inc., have settled with the Plaintiff for a total of. $40,000. As Plaintiff will give them a complete release, we will no longer be entitled to contribution from them and therefore if we went to a jury and were found negligent, we could be held responsible for any amount over $40,000 awarded to Plaintiff less a percentage credit for any amount of negligence which could be assigned to her directly. 83-403 . 4 E Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 3 April 29, 1983 All the medical expenses and other damages have been verified as to correctness. Plaintiff's initial demand was $100,000 which was later reduced to $75,000 as trial approached. After extensive discussions and negotiations, this matter can now be settled for $12,000 on behalf of the City of Miami. The claim has been investigated by the City Attorney's office in accordance with Ordinance No. 8417, which created the City's self insurance program. The City Attorney's Office recommends that the City of Miami pay $12,000 in full and complete settlement of this claim. ///C JGP/JJR/mfl66 cc: Howard V. Gary City Manager Ralph G. Ongie City Clerk 1 83'-4 Q3 . 40 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 91 April 29, 1983 All the medical expenses and other damages have been verified as to correctness. Plaintiff's initial demand was $100,000 which was later reduced to $75,000 as trial approached. After extensive discussions and negotiations, this matter can now be settled for $12,000 on behalf of the City of Miami. The claim has been investigated by the City Attorney's Office in accordance with Ordinance No. 8417, which created the City's self insurance program. The City Attorney's Office recommends that the City of Miami pay $12,000 in full and complete settlement of this claim. hl/f JGP/JJR/mfl66 cc: Howard V. Gary City Manager Ralph G. Ongie City Clerk