This bill provides for the relief of Jacob Rodgers, who sustained severe injuries due to the negligence of an employee of the City of Gainesville. On October 7, 2015, Mr. Rodgers was involved in an accident where a vehicle owned by the City, operated by its employee, ran a stop sign and struck his vehicle, resulting in catastrophic injuries that left him paraplegic. Following a jury trial that found the City 100% at fault, the initial damages were assessed at $120 million, later reduced to $18,319,181.20 after a remittitur. Ultimately, a settlement was reached for $11 million, but the City had only paid the statutory limit of $200,000.
The bill includes several key provisions: it declares the facts in the preamble to be true, authorizes the City of Gainesville to appropriate $10.8 million to compensate Mr. Rodgers, and stipulates that this amount, along with the previously paid statutory limit, will serve as the sole compensation for all claims related to the incident. Additionally, it limits attorney fees to a maximum of 25% of the total amount awarded under the act. The bill is set to take effect upon becoming law.