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Home My WebLink AboutR-82-0942RESOLUTION r ram, J43. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY TO STEPHANIE THOMPSON AND HER MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN, FLORABELLE THOMPSON DANSEY, THE SUM OF FOURTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($14,000.00), WITHOUT THE ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, IN FULL AND COMPLETE SETTLE- MENT OF ALL BODILY INJURY, PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION LIENS, WORKER'S COMPENSATION LIENS, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI, RICHARD LUBOW AND LLOYD STONEBRAKER UPON EX- ECUTION OF A RELEASE, RELEASI14G THE CITY, RICHARD LUBOW AND LLOYD STONEBRAKER FROM ALL CLAIMS. WHEREAS, Stephanie Thompson and her mother, Florabelle Thompson Dansey, through Thomas A. Equels, Esq., their attorney, filed a claim against the City of Miami and City of Miami Police Officers, Richard Lubow and Lloyd Stonebraker, for alleged bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens, resulting from an incident involving City police officers Richard Lubow and Lloyd Stonebraker on October 3, 1977 at or near 658 Northwest loth Street in Miami, Dade County, Florida; and WHEREAS, the above claims have been investigated by the Torts Division of the City Attorney's Office and in accordance with Ordinance 8417, which creates the City of Miami's Self - Insurance Program, the said office recommends that these claims be settled without the admission of liability for the sum of Fourteen Thousand Dollars ($14,000.00). 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 Stephanie Thompson and Florabelle Thompson Dansey, her mother, the sum of Fourteen Thousand Dollars ($14,000.00) without the admission of liability, in full and complete settle- ment of all bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens, claims and demands against the City of Miami and City police officers Richard Lubow and CITY COMMISSION ' _ MEETING OF (� r, T 1 11982 �,,)—ch n RESOt.UT10N NO.....:�af....:.�« REmam ......................r.... 0 Lloyd Stonebraker upon execution of a release, releasing the City of Miami, Richard Lubow and Lloyd Stonebraker for bodily injury, personal injury protection liens, worker's compensation liens and claims and demands. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 14th 1982. ATTEST: RA H G. ONGIE CITY CLERK PREPARED AND APPROVED BY: JOCIA J. ROBERTS ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: ,�& Ct - 4400-8- R. GARCIA—PEDROSA ATTORNEY qT�Y day of October, 'taurice %. Terre MAURICE A. FERRE MAYOR �'31 q ti• 1 ' P r. CITY OF MIAMI. FLORIDA 40 INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM �O Honorable Mayor and Members °ATE September 21, 1982 FILE L-81-09 of the City Commission & PT-79-087 G1/l FROM /ose R. Garcia -Pedrosa ty Attorney SilSJFCT Stephanie Thompson, a minor, et al. v. City of Miami, Lubow and Stonebraker REFERE ,,E�ircuit Court Case # 81-12 8 3 (10 ) D/I: October 3, 1977 L/I: 658 Northwest loth Street ENCLOSURES Plaintiffs, Stephanie Thompson, and her mother and natural guardian, Florabelle Thompson Dansey, filed a claim against the City of Miami and two City of Miami police officers, Richard Lubow and Lloyd Stonebraker, through their attorney, Thomas K. Equels, Esq., as a result of personal injuries received by Stephanie Thompson pursuant to her arrest by Police Officers Lubow and Stonebraker. At the time of the injury, Stephanie Thompson was a minor and therefore, her mother and natural guardian, Florabelle Thompson Dansey has a derivative claim for medical expenses incurred on her behalf. This incident arose on October 3, 1977, when City of Miami Police Officers Richard Lubow and Lloyd Stonebraker were trying to arrest a male suspect without a warrant at or near the Culmer area residence of 658 Northwest loth Street. The officers all throughout this incident were acting within the course and scope of their employment and therefore respon- sibility for their actions rests with the City of Miami. After hearing a bulletin over their car radio that several mopeds had been stolen from the Police Pound, the City of Miami police officers involved in this incident, spotted a group of youths near the address of 658 Northwest loth Street. One youth was astride a moped, apparently working on it. The police officers approached the youth and began questioning him about ownership of the moped. They also radioed in the identification number on the vehicle. The radio check revealed that the identification number on that particular moped matched the number of one stolen from the Police Pound. The police officers proceeded to place the youth under arrest. At that time, Plaintiff Stephanie Thompson intervened and contested the officers' right to place the male suspect under arrest. She was led qr • Honorable Mayor and Members -2- September 21, 1982 of the City Commission away by Officer Stonebraker so that Officer Lubow could complete the arrest of the male suspect. Ms. Thompson began struggling with Officer Stonebraker. He placed her under arrest for obstructing a police officer and began to subdue her. At this point, a crowd was beginning to gather. Various witnesses who have been identified from the crowd, have in- dicated that Ms. Thompson had stopped struggling but that the police officer had swept her off her feet and threw her face down on the ground bringing her right arm up be- hind her back with excessive force. These same witnesses indicate that they and/or other members of the crowd, in- cluding the male suspect being dealt with by Officer Lubow, had shouted to Officer Stonebraker to be careful as Ms. Thompson was pregnant. These witnesses indicate that Stephanie Thompson, as soon as she was on the ground, began to complain loudly about pain in her right shoulder. According to Officer Stonebraker, Ms. Thompson continued to struggle with him after he placed her under arrest. So to subdue her, he swept her feet out from under her, placing her face down on the ground. He landed with his knees on either side of her and at that time brought her right arm up across her back toward the base of her head. He indicated at that time that she stopped struggling and he may have pulled the arm up too far causing the injury. He also indicated that after he handcuffed Ms. Thompson, he lifted her to her feet using the right arm. He states that he did not hear any warnings that she was pregnant. Officer Lubow did not see Officer Stonebraker put Stephanie Thompson on the ground nor handcuff her. He, however, did hear the warning from the male suspect he was dealing with but did not believe it was loud enough for Officer Stonebraker to hear. Neither _ officers became aware of any injury to Stephanie Thompson until she complained to them once she had been seated in the police car. At that time, the decision was made to transport her to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. Plaintiff was initially treated and put in a cast at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She was released from Ward "D" into her mother's custody. Two days later she was admitted under the care of Dr. Aida Rodriguez to Miami International Hospital. 0 11 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission -3- September 21, 1982 Additional x-rays taken there showed that there was a fracture below the right humerus head with a rotation of the humerus head so the bone was no longer in align- ment. Dr. Norman Moskowitz was called in for a consul- tation. lie recommended immediate closed reduction surgery in an attempt to straighten the bone before a severe deform- ity occurred. The closed reduction surgery was done on October 16, 1977. The results were inconclusive. She was seen again by Dr. Claude Holmes in 1978. Dr. Holmes noted a slight degreeable osseous deformity in the right shoulder and he gave her a permanent impairment rating of the right shoulder. In September of 1979, Stephanie Thompson still complained of pain and deformity in her right shoulder. She obtained the services of Dr. Kim from Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. Dr. Kim re -x-rayed the shoulder and diagnosed a rotation of the humerus bone. He also noted that her right arm was 5/8ths of an inch shorter than the left and there was muscle atrophy. On September 25, 1979, an open reduction was performed where the humerus head was rotated. It was fixed internally through the use of a rush rod. Plaintiff improved until February 5, 1980, when the doctor diagnosed a snapping in the right shoulder and a reduction of movement. The rush rod was removed through surgery and Plaintiff proceeded to have a satisfactory recovery. When she was last seen by the doctor she was relatively pain free but there was still a limitation of motion. The doctor assigned her a ten to fifteen percent disability to the upper right extremity. Plaintiff claims to have been four months pregnant at the time of this accident and to have miscarried due to the vio- lence of the incident. Medical records at Jackson Memorial Hospital indicate a possibility of pregnancy. Tests taken on October 11, 1977 at Miami International Hospital indicate no pregnancy at that time. Plaintiff was not working at the time of this accident and therefore has no claim for lost wages. She was still in school. Plaintiff has included in her demand, a claim for loss of future earning capacity. At the time of this incident, she was approximately fourteen years old. �'a:"'C 0 lJ Honorable Mayor and Members -4- September 22, 1982 of the City Commission Ms. Thompson's medical bills, including the three hospitali- zations due to the deformity of her right shoulder, total approximately $8,084.25. All of the medical expenses and other damages have been verified as to correctness. Plaintiff, Stephanie Thompson, brought her claim against the City of Miami and the two (2) police officers involved in three basic areas: negligence and gross negligence on the part of the police officers with negligent hiring, training and retention by the City of Miami; intentional injury as an assault and battery by the police officers; and a violation of 42 U.S.C., Section 1983, involving lst, 4th, 8th, 9th and 14th amendment rights. Under the state counts, Plaintiff could not recover more than $50,000.00 from the City under Florida Statute 768.28. The amount of damages recoverable under the Federal claim, violation of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, was unlimited as far as compensatory damages against the City. If violation of Federal statute 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 was established, Plaintiff would also be entitled to attorney's fees and costs against the City of Miami. The Plaintiffs also claimed punitive damages against the two police officers involved in this incident. Plaintiffs' original demand in this case was for the state statutory limits of $50,000.00. After negotiations, Plain- tiffs were persuaded to reduce this demand to $20,000.00. After extensive discussions and further negotiations, the matter can now be settled for $14,000.00. This claim has been investigated by the City Attorney's Office and in accordance with Ordinance # 8417, which creates the City of Miami's Self -Insurance Program and the City Attorney's Office recommends that the City of Miami pay $14,000.00 in a settlement of this claim. 01 �GPXJJ�� Enclosures (Resolution) cc: City Manager SZ —91 tAc