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Deserving victims still go unpaid

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published March 29, 2007

Maybe the tragic case of Martin Lee Anderson, who died after a beating at a Panama City boot camp, will have a positive impact for other victims seeking compensation from the state. Lawmakers are under pressure from Gov. Charlie Crist to pass a claims bill for $5-million to compensate Anderson's family.

It would be the first claims bill in years to pass the Legislature, and it may nudge forward other deserving claims that have been in limbo for far too long.

Florida law grants those injured on public property or by public employees due to negligence or bad acts up to $100,000 per person at fault and $200,000 per incident - limits that have not budged since 1973. Any additional court-awarded damages or settlements can be submitted to the Legislature for payment. But it is entirely discretionary; the Legislature can refuse to pay.

This system has never worked optimally, but lawmakers' refusal to pass any claims bills the past two years is not a solution and unfairly penalizes those victims who deserve to be compensated for their injuries. A bill granting Wilton Dedge compensation for the 22 years he spent in prison for a crime he didn't commit passed in a special session, but it wasn't technically a claims bill. Beyond that, there has been no movement.

That has meant inexcusable delays for people like Minouche Noel, who won an $8.5-million judgment against Children's Medical Services - a division of the Department of Children and Families - in 1999. When she was 6 months old, surgery to her spine left her in a wheelchair and unable to control her bladder. Because the Legislature has failed to act on her claims bill, Noel, now an 18-year-old Brevard Community College student, has to crawl on the floor to get around her house. Her family doesn't have the money to modify their home for her wheelchair.

The primary gripe against the current system is that it benefits plaintiffs who have hired well-connected lobbyists or who have high-profile cases rather than the worthiest cases. Lawmakers also chafe at the 25 percent that can go to the lawyers and lobbyists who steer the claims bills through the process.

These are legitimate criticisms. But lawmakers have known about these flaws in the system for a long time. They should be addressed, not used as an excuse to ignore paying valid claims.

Last year, when the state was enjoying a budget surplus, would have been an opportune time to address the claims bills backlog. That didn't happen. Now, with money tighter, it will be more difficult to pay up. But that's no excuse, either.

The Anderson family should be compensated for the loss of their son. But there are dozens of other deserving families who have waited for years for economic justice. It is time for the Legislature to set things right and start considering these bills while reforming the system at the same time.

[Last modified March 28, 2007, 23:02:14]