Recommendation Concerning Approval of Settlement of the Case of Kerri Burd as Personal Representative of the Estate of Samuel D. Averheart v. Escambia County, Florida, Case No. 2017 CA 001701, Escambia County Circuit Court
That the Board take the following action:
A. Approve a settlement payment of $125,000.00 (the County would be responsible for $41,666.67 as part of its deductible) to Kerri Burd as Personal Representative of the Estate of Samuel D. Averheart in exchange for the execution of a mediated settlement agreement and general release and that the Estate cooperate in obtaining a dismissal with prejudice of the pending lawsuit; and
B. Ratify the execution of the Mediated Settlement Agreement and General Release by Charles V. Peppler, Deputy County Attorney. |
Samuel Averheart was incarcerated at the Escambia County Jail, on November 10, 2015. At that time, he was 21 years old and unemployed. Eventually, Mr. Averheart began to suffer from hallucinations, high blood pressure and other symptoms.
Mr. Averheart was admitted to the ER at Sacred Heart Hospital on November 17th because of his being fidgety, nervous, sweating profusely, rambling and confused speech, and hallucinating.
Upon his return from the ER visit that same day, for a period of approximately 40 hours, Mr. Averheart was never assessed by a health care provider, only given one dose of medication and no vital signs were taken. In the early morning hours of November 19th, after being checked by Infirmary personnel at 1:49 a.m., Mr. Averheart was found to be unresponsive twenty-six minutes later. A medical emergency was declared and lifesaving efforts were begun. County EMS arrived, but Mr. Averheart was pronounced dead after thirteen minutes of resuscitation efforts.
The autopsy completed on November 20th determined that the cause of death was bilateral pulmonary thromboemboli (pulmonary embolism) secondary to bilateral deep venous thrombi (blood clots) of the legs and secondary to extreme truncal obesity. The Medical Examiner deemed all causes as complications of hypertensive cardiac disease and obesity.
Suit was filed by the Personal Representative on behalf of the estate. Mr. Averheart's survivors were his parents. Plaintiff's theory of the case was that his symptoms should have alerted medical staff that he was suffering from a pulmonary embolism and that the medical treatment given was inadequate. Plaintiff alleges that his physical and mental health deteriorated rapidly after his return from the ER visit and that he should have been assessed or seen by a medical doctor after his return from the ER.
Voluntary mediation was agreed upon before expert witnesses' depositions were taken so that expert witness fees expenses would not increase the settlement value of the case. The detention liability carrier, Lloyds of London, through its third-party administrator, Western Litigation, and Markel Insurance Company, the County's medical malpractice carrier, agreed to a one-third, two-third split of payment of any settlement. Under the detention liability policy, the County is subject to a $100,000.00 deductible and under the medical negligance policy, the County is subject to a $7,500.00 deductible. With the one-third, two-third split between the carriers and taking into account the deductibles under both the detention liability policy and the medical malpractice policy, it appears that the County will be responsible for approximately $41,666.67 of the total settlement of $125,000.00. |