SB 46 — Relief of Ramiro Companioni, Jr., by the City of Tampa

Florida Senate - 2018 (NP)CS for SB 46 By Senator Galvano 21-00228A-18 201846__ A bill to be entitled An act for the reliefCommittee ofon RamiroJudiciary; Companioni, Jr., by the City of Tampa;

and Senator Galvano 590-02638-18 201846c1 A bill to be entitled An act for the relief of Ramiro Companioni, Jr., by the City of Tampa;

9 WHEREAS, at about noon on November 22, 1996, 34-year-old Ramiro Companioni, Jr., was seriously injured while operating his motorcycle inon the inside, eastbound lane of East Hillsborough Avenue nearin itsTampa, intersectionFlorida, withas Northa 50thresult Street,of anda WHEREAS,collision with a City of Tampa Water Department trucktruck, operatedand byWHEREAS, citya employeelawsuit Faustino Pierola, which was accompaniedfiled by two other similar vehicles owned by the city and operatedin by2004 citya employees,final pulledjudgment intowas theentered outside,in eastboundfavor lane from the south shoulder of Hillsborough Avenue and steered across three lanes of traffic into the path of Mr.

Companioni,Companioni in the amount of $17,928,800 against the City of Tampa, based on a jury verdict in the amount of $19,932,000, and WHEREAS, althoughafter appeals and all legal remedies were exhausted, claim bills have been filed annually since the 2014 Regular Session seeking the full amount of the final judgment, plus interest, for Mr.

CompanioniCompanioni, attemptedand toWHEREAS, avoid the collisionparties byhave layingagreed downto hisa motorcycle,compromised hesettlement andin his motorcycle struck the rearamount of the$5 city-ownedmillion, truck,NOW, violentlyTHEREFORE, ejecting24 himBe fromIt theEnacted motorcycleby onto the pavement,Legislature causingof him massive and catastrophic injuries, and WHEREAS, independent eyewitnesses interviewed at the sceneState told traffic accident investigators that they witnessed the city-owned truck pull away from the shoulder and steer across the lanes of trafficFlorida: into the lane in which Mr.

Companioni26 wasSection traveling,1. The andfacts WHEREAS,stated onein eyewitnessthe estimatedpreamble thatto Mr.this act are found and declared to be true.

CompanioniSection had2. The beenCity travelingof atTampa ais speedauthorized ofand 40directed milesto perappropriate hourfrom asfunds henot approachedotherwise theencumbered city-ownedand truck,to whichdraw wasa wellwarrant withinin the maximumsum speed limit of 45$5 milesmillion, perto hour,fund anda WHEREAS,special theneeds eyewitnesstrust statedcreated thatfor the driverexclusive use and benefit of theRamiro cityCompanioni, ownedJr., truck,as Mr.compensation for injuries and damages sustained as described in this act.

Pierola, was the cause of the accident, and WHEREAS, witnesses testified at trial that the three-truck caravan owned and operated by the city appeared to be a “wagon train,” and that Mr.

Companioni was “cut off” by the trucks and had “nowhere to go,” and WHEREAS, Mr.

Pierola admitted that he failed to observe any traffic to the rear of his truck despite an even roadway, clear visibility, and the absence of obstructions, proving that he was negligent by failing to properly look for rearward traffic, and WHEREAS, despite an obvious conflict of interest, the City of Tampa Police Department failed to request an independent law enforcement agency to conduct the official traffic accident investigation, and the department attributed fault to both Mr.

Pierola and Mr.

Companioni, ignoring the eyewitnesses’ testimony that Mr.

Companioni was not operating his vehicle in excess of the speed limit, and WHEREAS, city employees at the scene, including Mr.

Pierola, did not tell investigators that Mr.

Companioni was operating his vehicle in excess of the maximum speed limit, and WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, Mr.

Companioni was rendered unconscious and suffered massive catastrophic injuries resulting in a coma;

multiple internal lacerations of the midsection organs resulting in the loss of the large intestine and necessitating a colostomy and urethral catheter;

removal of the spleen;

multiple fractures of his right hip and four spinal vertebrae;

a severed right sciatic nerve resulting in loss of control of the right hip, leg, and foot;

laceration and partial severance of the urethra and testicles;

and multiple lacerations and abrasions from contact with the road surface, causing permanent scarring and disfigurement, and WHEREAS, Mr.

Companioni’s injuries include fusions of his hips and lower back, surgeries on his midsection to repair the abdomen, multiple bouts of sepsis and infection, reattachment of the urethra and testicles, severe concussion syndrome, and posttraumatic stress disorder, and WHEREAS, Mr.

Companioni’s medical expenses totaled more than $1.2 million, and WHEREAS, Mr.

Companioni, who was an executive chef at the time of the accident, and had earned more than $40,000 in income annually, and WHEREAS, according to the unrefuted testimony of a prominent Tampa restaurateur, Mr.

Companioni was a rising star in the local restaurant community and would have likely had his annual income rise to more than $80,000 annually had he not been injured, and WHEREAS, as a result of the accident, Mr.

Companioni has suffered a loss of earnings and his earning capacity has been devastated, and WHEREAS, although permanently disabled, Mr.

Companioni has persevered and attempted to support himself by operating a hot dog stand at Tampa Bay Buccaneers games and other crowd events, and WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, Mr.

Companioni was an active, physically fit man in the prime of his life and had served his country as a Third Class Naval Reservist in a special unit attached to a Marine Corps and Navy Seal assault landing craft unit, and WHEREAS, before the accident, Mr.

Companioni actively served his community as a volunteer and was a Mason, which included volunteering and donating his services for various charity events at the Shriners Hospital for Children in his role as a Shriner, volunteering at career days and counseling students interested in becoming chefs at four high schools in Tampa, volunteering at community hospitals as part of the Navy’s “Operation White Hat” program, and has continued volunteering at events at Christ the King Catholic Church through organizing the church’s food service for various charitable events, and WHEREAS, Mr.

Companioni has suffered catastrophic and life changing injuries, severe bodily injury, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, incontinence which requires the use of a colostomy bag, and the loss of enjoyment of life, and WHEREAS, on March 26, 2004, a Hillsborough County jury found the City of Tampa, by and through its employee, Mr.

Pierola, to be negligent and 90 percent at fault for the accident and resulting injuries to Mr.

Companioni, and found Mr.

Companioni to be 10 percent comparatively negligent, and WHEREAS, the jury determined Mr.

Companioni’s damages to be in the amount of $17,928,800, and WHEREAS, final judgment was entered on April 5, 2004, in the amount of the jury verdict, plus interest at the statutory rate of 7 percent per annum, and WHEREAS, following multiple posttrial motions and appeals, which have denied Mr.

Companioni justice for more than 10 years, the Florida Supreme Court and the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the verdict and final judgment, and WHEREAS, the City of Tampa has paid $100,000, which is the sovereign immunity limit applicable to this case, leaving a remaining balance of $17,828,800, plus interest at the statutory rate of 7 percent per annum, for which Mr.

Companioni seeks satisfaction, and WHEREAS, Mr.

Companioni has waited more than 21 years for any compensation in excess of the $100,000 sovereign immunity cap and has lived a tragic life because of his disabilities and life-changing permanent injuries, which have been made more difficult without receiving adequate compensation, NOW, THEREFORE, 131 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

133 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are found and declared to be true.

Section 2. The City of Tampa is authorized and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of $17,828,800, plus interest at the statutory rate of 7 percent per annum, payable to Ramiro Companioni, Jr., as compensation for injuries and damages sustained.