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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act for the relief of L.E. by the Department of 2
Children and Families; providing an appropriation to 3
compensate L.E. for injuries and damages sustained as 4
a result of the negligence of the department; 5
providing a limitation on compensation and the payment 6
of attorney fees; providing an effective date. 7
8
WHEREAS, L.E. was born on July 29, 2019, and, at birth, 9
tested positive for amphetamines, and 10
WHEREAS, L.E.'s biological mother tested positive for 11
amphetamines after the delivery of L.E., and 12
WHEREAS, while at the hospital, L.E.'s biological mother 13
and father engaged in a violent altercation with each other, and 14
WHEREAS, shortly after L.E.'s birth, the D epartment of 15
Children and Families received two child abuse hotline reports, 16
one alleging intrafamily violence threatening L.E. and the other 17
alleging drug exposure of newborn L.E., and 18
WHEREAS, the department is charged under s. 39.001, Florida 19
Statutes, with conducting child protective investigations to 20
ensure child safety and prevent further harm to children and 21
owed L.E. a duty to ensure her safety and prevent further harm, 22
and 23
WHEREAS, the department sent a child protective 24
investigator to the hospit al to initiate an investigation into 25
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the reported abuse, and 26
WHEREAS, the department discovered that L.E.'s mother had a 27
history of substance misuse, untreated mental health issues, and 28
a criminal history involving violence, and 29
WHEREAS, the department d iscovered that both L.E.'s mother 30
and father had an extensive history of involvement with the 31
department, including, collectively, at least 20 prior child 32
abuse hotline reports, and 33
WHEREAS, one of those prior reports involved egregious 34
abuse of L.E.'s biological father's other daughter when she was 35
not yet 6 months old, resulting in long -bone fractures, and 36
WHEREAS, the department removed that daughter from the 37
father's care, and 38
WHEREAS, L.E.'s mother's other two biological children had 39
previously been removed from her care due to verified child 40
abuse, and 41
WHEREAS, as L.E.'s mother placed her third child for 42
adoption, she was also planning to place L.E. for adoption and 43
made such arrangements prior to L.E.'s birth, and 44
WHEREAS, shortly after L.E. was born, L.E.'s mother 45
abandoned L.E. at the hospital and, against medical advice, left 46
the hospital with L.E.'s father, and 47
WHEREAS, an adoption specialist arrived at the hospital to 48
visit L.E., and 49
WHEREAS, while L.E. was still in the hospital following her 50
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birth, the department determined that L.E. was in "present 51
danger" if left in the care of her parents and that immediate 52
action was necessary to protect L.E. from further abuse or 53
neglect, and 54
WHEREAS, the department contracted with a child welfare 55
agency and, instead of removing L.E. from her parents' care 56
through a judicial process, the department and its subcontractor 57
developed an out-of-home safety plan to place L.E. with a friend 58
of L.E.'s mother, and 59
WHEREAS, within 3 weeks after that placement, the friend 60
realized that she could no longer care for L.E. and informed the 61
department of this, and 62
WHEREAS, despite a reassessment that established that there 63
was still a "present danger" to L.E. i f left in the care of her 64
parents, the department relied upon information from its 65
subcontracted agency, and the joint decision was made to place 66
L.E. into her parents' care, and 67
WHEREAS, on August 21, 2019, L.E. was placed into her 68
parents' home, and 69
WHEREAS, on or about, September 17, 2019, less than 4 weeks 70
later, the department determined that it would be closing its 71
investigation, despite acknowledging that L.E.'s home situation 72
was volatile and unstable and that L.E.'s mother remained 73
violent and impulsive, and 74
WHEREAS, the subcontractor planned to decrease its 75
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monitoring of L.E. and the home upon the department closing its 76
investigation, and 77
WHEREAS, on September 18, 2019, the subcontractor 78
transitioned its services from safety management to nonju dicial 79
in-home services, which inherently decreased monitoring of L.E. 80
by child welfare professionals, and 81
WHEREAS, on September 24, 2019, the department closed its 82
investigation, despite the fact that there was no evidence of 83
change or progress with L.E. 's parents, and 84
WHEREAS, despite the subcontractor's claims that it had 85
provided services to the parents, the department expressly 86
acknowledged in its own investigative summary that, at the time 87
of closing its case, "[t]he home environment continues to be 88
volatile and unstable on a normal basis. The fighting in the 89
home will stabilize for a period of time but will always return 90
to a chaotic and aggressive environment... [violent and 91
impulsive behaviors] are clearly evident and severe... there has 92
been no clear changes made to their behaviors and the patterns 93
continue... [and] all of the children [including L.E.] are 94
vulnerable," and 95
WHEREAS, the very next day, on September 25, 2019, L.E. was 96
brought to Rockledge Regional Hospital in distress and 97
experiencing seizures, and 98
WHEREAS, medical staff at Rockledge Regional Hospital found 99
makeup covering obvious bruising across her forehead, and 100
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WHEREAS, doctors determined that L.E. had suffered 101
catastrophic injuries from child abuse which had occurred over a 102
period of time, including a parietal calvarial skull fracture; a 103
left frontal parietal subdural hematoma with bilateral frontal, 104
temporal, and parietal cortical edema and encephalomalacia; 105
healing fractures of the left sixth and seventh ribs; a healing 106
fracture of the right eighth rib; acute fractures to the right 107
tenth and eleventh ribs; a pelvic fracture –left acetabular 108
cortical avulsion fracture; cortical buckling of the right 109
proximal tibial medial metaphysis; and multiple ecchymotic 110
lesions to the forehea d, and 111
WHEREAS, L.E. was immediately transferred to Nemours 112
Children's Hospital in Orlando and admitted in critical 113
condition, due to severe organ system injury and dysfunction, 114
and was diagnosed as being at risk for hypoxia, hypercarbia, 115
hypotension, sepsis, shock, cardiorespiratory arrest, 116
intracranial hypertension, cerebral edema, stroke, and death, 117
and 118
WHEREAS, L.E. was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome 119
causing traumatic brain injury, seizures, and cerebral palsy, as 120
well as malnourishment, and 121
WHEREAS, between August 21, 2019, and September 25, 2019, 122
L.E. was subjected to repeated and severe child abuse and 123
neglect while in the care of her parents, and 124
WHEREAS, L.E.'s parents were arrested, charged, and 125
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convicted of aggravated child abuse based up on their abuse of 126
L.E. while she was in their home between August 21, 2019, and 127
September 25, 2019, and 128
WHEREAS, L.E. was subsequently adopted by her maternal 129
grandmother and relocated to Chicago, where she is followed by a 130
medical team at Lurie Children' s Hospital, and 131
WHEREAS, L.E. has received, and will continue to receive, 132
therapeutic services across a host of disciplines, including 133
occupational, physical, speech, nutritional, vision, and 134
cognitive therapy, and 135
WHEREAS, L.E., who just turned 5 years old, is currently 136
under an individual educational plan at school for her 137
disability, which has been formally classified as traumatic 138
brain injury, and 139
WHEREAS, L.E. requires and will continue to require 140
constant care, monitoring, supervision, various ther apies, 141
multiple specialist services, and supportive care throughout the 142
remainder of her life, which may include admission to a skilled 143
residential home if her adoptive parent is no longer able to 144
care for her, and 145
WHEREAS, the department, charged with op erating Florida's 146
child welfare system, failed in its duties to ensure L.E.'s 147
safety and protect her from harm, and 148
WHEREAS, the department's negligence, in combination with 149
the failures of its subcontracted agency, caused catastrophic 150
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brain injury that will have a significant impact on L.E. for the 151
remainder of her life, and 152
WHEREAS, the department agreed to resolve L.E.'s claims 153
against the department through a negotiated settlement in the 154
Circuit Court for the 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Brevard 155
County, under case number 05 -2022-CA-033685, in the total amount 156
of $4 million, and 157
WHEREAS, the settlement agreement required that the 158
department make an initial payment of $200,000, which is the 159
maximum amount allowed under the sovereign immunity limitat ions 160
imposed under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes; and that the 161
remaining $3.8 million be paid contingent upon the passage and 162
funding of this claim bill, which the department has expressly 163
agreed it does not, and will not oppose, and 164
WHEREAS, on July 9, 202 4, the settlement agreement was 165
approved by the circuit court, and, with the department's 166
agreement and consent, a final judgment was entered against the 167
department in the amount of $4 million pursuant to the 168
negotiated settlement, and 169
WHEREAS, L.E.'s civil claims against the subcontracted 170
child welfare agency remain pending, NOW, THEREFORE, 171
172
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 173
174
Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act 175
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are found and declared to be true. 176
Section 2. The sum of $3.8 million is appropriated from 177
the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Children and 178
Families for the relief of L.E. for injuries and damages 179
sustained as a result of the negligence of the department. 180
Section 3. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw 181
a warrant in favor of L.E., payable to the irrevocable trust 182
which has already been created for the exclusive use and benefit 183
of L.E., in the sum of $3.8 million upon funds of the Department 184
of Children and Families in the S tate Treasury and to pay the 185
same out of such funds in the State Treasury. 186
Section 4. The amount paid by the Department of Children 187
and Families pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the 188
amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the only 189
compensation for all present and future claims against the 190
department arising out of the factual situation described in 191
this act which resulted in injuries and damages to L.E. The 192
total amount paid for attorney fees relating to this claim 193
against the department may not exceed 25 percent of the total 194
amount awarded under this act. 195
Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 196