Florida lawmakers OK bill to raise payouts in lawsuits against government

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. —

Moments and memories line the walls inside Len and Krystle Mace’s home in Cape Coral.

The pictures tell the story of their life together. It’s a life that – in many ways – Krystle can no longer remember.

"It’s basically done to let her see some of the memories,” Len said of all the photos. “Try to get some kind of flashback of something we did together, to try to get that spark going.”

5 YEARS AGO: THE ACCIDENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Five years ago, the couple was riding motorcycles on Edgewater Drive in Port Charlotte.

There was a light mist in the air and the ground was wet, Len recalled, when they approached the roundabout at West Tarpon Boulevard.

Krystle started fishtailing through the black-painted area, and when she reached the concrete, Len said she was thrown from the bike.

"I got to her, and her eyes were still open,” Len said. “My immediate thought was, 'Oh my God, I just lost my wife.’”

Krystle was alive, but was in rough shape. Doctors had to perform two brain surgeries, and she was in the hospital for months.

Even today, five years later, her memories are spotty, and her brain can’t communicate with her body the way it needs to, including her legs.

“I can move them, I just don’t have the strength to be able to get up and walk,” she said. “I'd love — absolutely love — to be able to go and use the bathroom.”

CHARLOTTE COUNTY SUED FOR NEGLIGENCE

After the accident, the Mace family hired attorneys and sued Charlotte County for negligence over the type of paint used at the intersection.

“They didn't use it according to the FDOT, Florida Department of Transportation standards,” Eve Volkmann said. “It created a dangerous condition for motorists, specifically motorcyclists.”

Volkmann is an attorney for the law firm Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice, Purtz, Smith & Smith. She is part of the team representing the Mace family.

Finally, last year, a trial finally happened.

While Krystle was not wearing a helmet at the time, her neurosurgeon testified that he could not say with confidence it would have helped, given the type of injury she suffered.

Ultimately, a jury found the county was indeed negligent and awarded the Mace family $6.3 million in damages.

“I always knew this accident was not her fault,” Len said. “I knew 100% in my mind."

DESPITE A JUDGEMENT, THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE ISN’T OVER

Florida’s sovereign immunity laws protect governments from paying out large amounts in lawsuits.

After the judgement, Charlotte County filed a motion under those laws, asking the court to limit its liability to the legal cap of $300,000.

Compared to the $6.3 million the jury awarded, Len said the amount is a 'slap in the face.'

“That's not going to get (anywhere). That's going to pay that medical bill — that's it. And some fees for my attorney. That's not going to help my wife,” he said.

“There's really not anything left for them, and they're the ones that suffered here,” Volkmann added.

Now, attorneys plan to file what’s called a claims bill to ask lawmakers to approve a bigger payout for their specific case.

NEW LEGISLATION RAISES PAYOUT LIMITS

Meantime, a bill passed by lawmakers Thursday would raise the statutory caps from $200,000 per individual to $350,000, and from $300,000 per incident to $500,000.

It now heads to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would be the first increase to the caps in more than a decade.

Still, those numbers are nowhere close to what the Mace family was awarded. They hope to file their claims bill next year so lawmakers can approve damages beyond those caps.

“We've got to do better. There's got to be a better way to compensate these people for their injuries,” Volkmann said. “Someone who is injured in a sovereign entity situation is no less injured than someone who is not."

For Len and Krystle Mace, it means an already long journey to justice is about to get even longer.

"You have to have compassion. You have to have patience. And you have to have a lot of love,” Len said. "She's a fighter, and I'm going to fight right with her."

Gulf Coast News reached out to Charlotte County about the case, but a spokesperson wrote in an email that the county "does not comment on ongoing litigation.”

We followed up asking, broadly, if they plan to fix the road where the injury happened. The spokesperson never responded.

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