Agenda

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County Attorney's Report 7. 3.

BCC Regular Meeting

Action

Meeting Date:	02/20/2020
Issue: Approval of Mediated Settlement of the Case of the Estate of Martin Detzel v. Escambia County, Case No. 2017 CA 001272
From:	CHARLES PEPPLER
Department:	County Attorney's Office
CAO Approval:

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation Concerning Approval of Mediated Settlement of the Case of the Estate of Martin Detzel v. Escambia County, Case No. 2017 CA 001272.

That the Board take the following action:

A. Approve the settlement reached during mediation for the sum of $50,000.00 to be paid to Edward Shelby as Personal Representative of the Estate of Martin Detzel in exchange for the execution of a general release and stipulation of dismissal with prejudice; and

B. Authorize the County Attorney's Office to execute a stipulation for dismissal with prejudice once the general release is executed and delivered to the County Attorney's Office and settlement payment is made.

BACKGROUND:

In September 2015, Mr. Detzel was an 85-year old resident of Sabal House, an advanced care facility, and had been experiencing kidney disease, Parkinson's disease and other chronic conditions associated with age. On September 20, 2015, Mr. Detzel appeared to be seizing or choking. The Sabal House called EMS to bring him to the emergency room at Sacred Heart Hospital. As our EMS crew was unloading Mr. Detzel from the ambulance, the stretcher mechanism was not properly engaged by the two EMTs who were attending to him, causing the stretcher to tip over. Mr. Detzel's left forehead slammed into the concrete floor of the ambulance portal. Mr. Detzel also sustained a large skin tear to the top of his left hand, which exposed tendons.

Two days later, he was discharged for hospice care with the concurrence of his treating neurologist, Dr. Lawrence King. A day later on September 23rd, Mr. Detzel was returned to Sacred Heart Hospital because he was found unresponsive and gasping for air. Upon his return to Sabal House, he was placed in continuous hospice care. On September 27, 2015, Mr. Detzel passed away.

Suit was filed based on the premise that the head injury accelerated the chronic health conditions and caused his death. The deposition of Dr. King, the treating neurologist, was taken, who gave conflicting testimony as to whether the head injury would have been a substantial or a significant factor in Mr. Detzel's demise.

A video of the accident was taken by the security cameras of Sacred Heart Hospital. The video does show a significant impact to Mr. Detzel from the accident. Although arguments could be made by the County that Mr. Detzel's chronic conditions were the cause of his death, a jury could be swayed by the video and by the closeness in time between the accident and his death that the head injury played a major role in accelerating or causing his death. The proposed settlement of $50,000.00 recognizes the uncertainties of litigation and represents a fair estimate of the risk of going to trial. This office recommends that the proposed settlement be approved.

BUDGETARY IMPACT:

The appropriate reserves from Internal Service, 501 Fund have been set.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF:

The County Attorney's Office will prepare the appropriate settlement documents.

PERSONNEL:

N/A

POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION:

N/A

IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION:

N/A

Attachments
Settlement Agreement