THE FLORIDA SENATE
SPECIAL MASTER ON CLAIM BILLS
Location
409 The Capitol
Mailing Address
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
(850) 487-5229
DATE COMM ACTION
3/30/23 SM Favorable
4/4/23 JU Favorable
4/12/23 ATD Pre-Meeting
March 30, 2023
The Honorable Kathleen Passidomo
President, The Florida Senate
Suite 409, The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
Re: SB 2 – Senator Hooper
HB 6007 – Representative Abbott
Relief of Estate of Molly Parker by the Department of Transportation
SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT
THIS IS A SETTLED CLAIM BILL FOR $5,950,000, FROM
UNAPPROPRIATED GENER AL REVENUE FUNDS . THE
ESTATE OF MOLLY PARK ER SEEKS DAMAGES FRO M
THE FLORIDA DEPARTME NT OF TRANSPORTATION
(FDOT) CAUSED BY THE ALLEGED NEGLIGE NCE OF AN
FDOT EMPLOYEE, WHICH RESU LTED IN THE DEATH OF
MOLLY PARKER.
FINDINGS OF FACT: The Accident
On the morning of December 12, 2019, Molly Parker was
involved in a crash with a dump truck operated by a Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) employee. This crash
occurred at the intersection of State Road 2 (SR 2), which
runs east-west, and County Road 167, which runs north-
south. There are stop signs and stop lines on County Road
167 on each side of its intersection with SR 2; on the north
side of County Road 167, the stop sign is approximately 40
feet behind the stop line. The posted speed limit at the
relevant portion of SR 2 is 55 miles per hour.
Just prior to the crash, the FDOT employee stopped at the
stop sign, approximately 40 feet behind the stop line, on the SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 2
north side of County Road 167, looked left and right multiple
times, and did not see any cars on SR 2. However, the
employee’s view of SR 2 from the stop sign was obscured by
trees.
1
The FDOT employee then entered the intersection and
noticed a “brief glance of a car right there in the turning lane
as I proceeded across the highway.”
2
Ms. Parker’s car then
collided with the FDOT dump truck.
Damages
Ms. Parker suffered multiple injuries as a result of the crash.
At the scene of the crash, witnesses stated that she had a
pulse, but was unresponsive, and she was bleeding from her
head.
3
Ms. Parker was intubated and airlifted to the nearest
trauma care hospital, Southeast Alabama Medical Center.
Ms. Parker underwent emergency hemicraniectomy and
evacuation upon arrival. Doctors at the hospital diagnosed
Ms. Parker with complex comminuted depressed left cranium
skull fractures with intracranial hemorrhage, traumatic brain
injury, extensive mid-face and skull fractures, a fractured
sternum, multiple broken vertebrae, and a comminuted
fracture of her right calcaneus (heel fracture).
On December 22, 2019, Ms. Parker died. She was 39 years
old.
4
Expert witness Dr. Matthew Lawson concluded that,
based on his review of relevant documents from Ms. Parker’s
medical records, “Molly Parker’s severe traumatic brain injury
and death were more likely than not directly caused by the
trauma she sustained in the motor vehicle accident on
December 12, 2019.”
5
Ms. Parker is survived by her husband, Tom Parker, and
minor son. Mr. Parker has since been diagnosed with post-
traumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief disorder by
Michaeleen Burns, a licensed psychologist. Ms. Burns cites
the cause of these diagnoses as “related to the trauma of
witnessing Ms. Parker’s condition” in the hospital for the ten
days following the car accident, and witnessing the moment
of her death.
1
Deposition of J.A.R., Oct. 5, 2021 at 123-124.
2
Deposition of J.A.R, Oct. 5, 2021 at 60, lines 7-11. See also, Fl. Dep’t. of Transp. Vehicle Crash/Incident Report,
1 (Jan. 13, 2020).
3
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency CAD Report (911 call details) for Dec. 12, 2019.
4
Molly Parker’s Death Certificate (Dec. 22, 2019).
5
Affidavit of Matthew F. Lawson, M.D., Apr. 14, 2022. SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 3
Litigation History and Settlement
Mr. Parker, acting as a representative of Ms. Parker’s estate,
filed a civil cause of action in Leon County Circuit Court
seeking relief as a result of this incident.
6
Prior to trial, the
parties arrived at a settlement agreement
7
and the case was
subsequently closed.
8
Settlement
Counsel for claimant’s estate believe the potential jury verdict
value of this matter would be in excess of $6 million. The
respondent did not admit responsibility for the incident, but did
reach a settlement agreement of $6.25 million. As part of the
agreement, the respondent agreed to support the passage of
a claim bill, and did not present a case or argument at the
special master hearing.
9
Funds Received by Claimants
The claimant has received the full amount of the respondent’s
statutory limit ($300,000 per incident) from the FDOT and
seeks the remaining balance of the settlement ($5.95 million)
through this claim bill. According to the claimant’s attorney,
these funds will be partially held in a trust for the education
and care of Ms. Parker’s minor child.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: The claim bill hearing held on February 4, 2023, was a de
novo proceeding to determine whether FDOT is liable in
negligence for damages suffered by the claimant, and, if so,
whether the amount of the claim is reasonable. This report is
based on evidence presented to the special master prior to,
during, and after the hearing. The Legislature is not bound
by settlements or jury verdicts when considering a claim bill,
the passage of which is an act of legislative grace.
Section 768.28, of the Florida Statutes, limits the amount of
damages a claimant can collect from the state or any of its
agencies as a result of its negligence or the negligence of its
6
Complaint (Dec. 11, 2020), Parker, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Molly Morrison Parker, and on
behalf of all survivors v. Fl. Dep’t. of Transp., Case No: 2020-CA-2294 (Fla. 2
nd
Jud. Circ. 2022).
7
Stipulated Settlement Agreement (June 21, 2022), Parker, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Molly
Morrison Parker, and on behalf of all survivors v. Fl. Dep’t. of Transp., Case No: 2020-CA-2294 (Fla. 2
nd
Jud. Circ.
2022).
8
Final Judgment (June 23, 2022), Parker, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Molly Morrison Parker, and
on behalf of all survivors v. Fl. Dep’t. of Transp., Case No: 2020-CA-2294 (Fla. 2
nd
Jud. Circ. 2022).
9
Stipulated Settlement Agreement, supra at 6. SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 4
employees to $200,000 for one individual and $300,000 for
all claims or judgments arising out of the same incident.
Funds in excess of this limit may only be paid upon approval
of a claim bill by the Legislature. Thus, the claimant will not
receive the full amount of the judgment unless the
Legislature approves this claim bill authorizing the additional
payment.
In this matter, the claimant alleges negligence on behalf of
an employee of the FDOT. The State is liable for a negligent
act committed by an employee acting within the scope of his
or her employment.
10
Negligence
Negligence is “the failure to use reasonable care, which is
the care that a reasonably careful person would use under
like circumstances;”
11
and “a legal cause of loss, injury or
damage if it directly and in natural and continuous sequence
produces or contributes substantially to producing such loss,
injury or damage, so that it can reasonably be said that, but
for the negligence, the loss, injury or damage would not have
occurred.”
12
There are four elements to a negligence claim: (1) duty –
where the defendant has a legal obligation to protect others
against unreasonable risks; (2) breach – which occurs when
the defendant has failed to conform to the required standard
of conduct; (3) causation – where the defendant’s conduct is
foreseeably and substantially the cause of the resulting
damages; and (4) damages – actual harm.
13
Duty
Statute, case law, and agency policy describe the duty of
care owed by the operator of a motor vehicle. Generally, the
operator of a motor vehicle has a duty to use reasonable
care, in light of the attendant circumstances, to prevent injury
to persons within the vehicle's path.
14
The FDOT employee had two additional statutory duties
pursuant to section 316.123(2)(a), F.S. The first: to “stop at a
10
City of Boynton Beach v. Weiss, 120 So. 3d 606, 611 (Fla. 4
th
DCA 2013).
11
Florida Civil Jury Instructions, 401.4 – Negligence.
12
Florida Civil Jury Instructions, 401.12(a) - Legal Cause, Generally.
13
Williams v. Davis, 974 So.2d 1052, at 1056-1057 (Fla. 2007).
14
See Gowdy v. Bell, 993 So. 2d 585, 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008); and Williams v. Davis, supra at 13,1063. SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 5
clearly marked stop line…before entering the intersection [.]”
The second: to “yield the right-of-way to any vehicle […]
which is approaching so closely on said highway as to
constitute an immediate hazard.” These duties required the
FDOT employee to (1) stop his dump truck at the stop line,
rather than the stop sign, and (2) yield the right-of-way to
any vehicle which is approaching so closely as to constitute
an immediate hazard.
FDOT policy requires its employees to operate the
Department’s motor vehicles and heavy equipment in a safe
manner.
15
Breach
As the evidence demonstrates, the FDOT employee violated
section 316.123(2)(a),of the Florida Statutes., and breached
the required standard of care when he failed to stop his
vehicle at the stop line, and when he entered the intersection
in violation of Ms. Parker’s right-of-way, resulting in a
collision. This constitutes a failure to use reasonable care to
prevent injury to persons within his vehicle’s path.
The FDOT employee was cited for his violation of section
316.123(2)(a), of the Florida Statutes, by the Florida
Highway Patrol and ultimately found guilty of that violation at
a hearing on March 11, 2021.
FDOT issued an official written reprimand to the employee in
question for his violation of the FDOT Disciplinary Standards
of Conduct, which required he exercise due care and
reasonable diligence in the performance of his job duties.
16
Causation
Ms. Parker’s death was the natural and direct consequence
of the FDOT employee’s breach of his duties. A collision was
a foreseeable outcome from the risk produced by the FDOT
employee’s failure to yield the right-of-way and failure to use
reasonable care upon entering the intersection. But for these
failures, the accident would not have occurred, Ms. Parker
15
FDOT Policy 13.5.1(C)(1) requires operators of motor vehicle/heavy industrial equipment to “…safely operate
all vehicles or equipment they are assigned to operate.” Additionally, FDOT Policy 10.11.1 states that it is the
operator’s responsibility to safely operate FDOT motor vehicles or equipment. FDOT, Safety and Loss Prevention
Manual, 107 (May 16, 2018).
16
The FDOT employee reprimand also cited Policy 10.11.1 of its Safety Loss and Prevention Manual, which
states that the “safe operation of Department motor vehicles or equipment is the responsibility of the operator.” SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 6
would not have been severely injured, and she would not
have ultimately died as a result of those injuries.
The employee was acting within the course and scope of his
employment with FDOT at the time of the crash. As the
employer, FDOT is liable for damages caused by its
employee’s negligent act.
17
Damages
Ms. Parker is survived by her husband and minor son, and
worked both a full-time and part-time job to help provide
financially for them. Additionally, Ms. Parker performed
numerous unpaid tasks in and around the home, and in
connection with the care of her son and family.
According to the economic analysis done by the Raffa
Consulting Economists, Ms. Parker’s estate suffered
damages of at least $2,365,284.51 due to her premature
death.
18
Ms. Parker’s funeral expenses totaled $2,549.
Ms. Parker’s medical bills initially totaled $255,347.49, but
according to documentation submitted by the claimant’s
attorney, were reduced by partial payments to $164,395.75.
According to the terms of the bill, lien interests relating to the
care and treatment of Molly Parker will be waived and
extinguished, excluding the federal portions of any liens.
In addition, Mr. Parker endured and continues to experience
pain and suffering relating to the death of his wife, Ms.
Parker.
A representative of Ms. Parker’s estate and the FDOT have
agreed to settle this matter for $6,250,000. This figure is
reasonable based on the evidence and case law. The
agreed amount settled upon represents the pain and
suffering, expenses incurred, and the loss of services and
financial support experienced by Ms. Parker’s husband and
minor child.
ATTORNEY FEES: Section 768.28(8), of the Florida Statutes, limits a claimant’s
attorney fees to 25 percent of any judgment or settlement.
17
Florida Civil Jury Instructions, 401.14(a), Vicarious Liability - Owner, Lessee, or Bailee of Vehicle Driven by
Another, and 401.12(a) - 401.14(b)(1), Vicarious Liability – Agency, Master and Servant.
18
Raffa Consulting Economists, Economic Damages Analysis for Molly Parker (May 20, 2022). SPECIAL MASTER’S FINAL REPORT – SB 2
March 30, 2023
Page 7
Claimant’s attorney has agreed to this limit and included
related lobbying fees within the limit, as follows:
Attorney fees: 20 percent ($1,119,000); and
Lobbyist fees: 5 percent ($297,500).
RECOMMENDATIONS: For the reasons set forth above, the undersigned finds the
claimant has demonstrated the elements of negligence by the
greater weight of the evidence and the amount sought is
reasonable. The undersigned recommends the bill be
reported FAVORABLY.
Respectfully submitted,
Jessie Harmsen
Senate Special Master
cc: Secretary of the Senate