Bill > S0098

Introduced Session

An act for the relief of Max Giannikos by the City of Clearwater; providing for an appropriation to compensate Max Giannikos for injuries sustained as a result of the negligence of the City of Clearwater; providing a limitation on compensation and the payment of attorney fees; providing an effective date. WHEREAS, in the early evening of May 28, 2019, then 16 year-old Max Giannikos and his family were on vacation in Clearwater, visiting from Cape Town, South Africa, when, shortly after arrival, Max Giannikos, his sister, and her husband left their hotel located near the northwest corner of the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard (S.R. 60) and U.S. Highway 19 and walked to the nearby Clearwater Mall, and WHEREAS, the electronic traffic and pedestrian control devices located at the Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19 intersection were owned, operated, and maintained by the City of Clearwater, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos and his family members crossed from the northwest to the northeast corner of the intersection, beneath the overpass of U.S. Highway 19, and then proceeded from the northeast to the southeast corner of the intersection, crossing Gulf to Bay Boulevard, to visit local business establishments to purchase dinner and shop for beach supplies, and WHEREAS, approximately 2 hours later, upon their return, they approached the southwest corner of the intersection and pressed the button at the crosswalk to activate the pedestrian control device, and WHEREAS, unbeknownst to Max Giannikos and his family members, who were pedestrians at the time, the crosswalk buttons and devices were not operating because of defective, malfunctioning wiring and negligent maintenance, thereby causing the pedestrian signal to be stuck on “Do Not Walk,” and WHEREAS, when they pressed the button multiple times and waited numerous light cycles to give the signal a chance to change, it did not work, and WHEREAS, they then walked to the southeast corner of the intersection and tried to activate the pedestrian control system there, with no success, and WHEREAS, they looked east and west along Gulf to Bay Boulevard to see if there was another crosswalk with active pedestrian signals but did not see any visible crosswalks from their vantage point, and WHEREAS, after 30 to 45 minutes passed, they agreed they had no other choice but to cross where they were, so the brother-in-law timed the lights and, once he saw all the lights were red and traffic appeared to clear, all three stepped off the curb and walked into the road to cross, and WHEREAS, they made it about halfway across the street when Max Giannikos was struck by a sports utility vehicle traveling at approximately 40 miles per hour, and was catastrophically injured, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos was treated by emergency medical services personnel at the scene, then rushed by ambulance to St. Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center in stable but critical condition, and WHEREAS, a traffic homicide investigation was conducted by the Clearwater Police Department, which determined that the pedestrian crosswalk device did, in fact, malfunction, and was not operating at the time that Max Giannikos was injured, and WHEREAS, a fact that witnesses who worked nearby and used the crosswalks daily testified at trial that the subject pedestrian crosswalk signal malfunctioned at least 10 to 15 times per year and had been doing so for 10 years, and WHEREAS, during trial, plaintiff’s expert witness testified that the crosswalk buttons malfunctioned because the City of Clearwater failed to perform an adequate maintenance check in March 2019, and WHEREAS, during discovery and at trial, documents in the “Signal Cabinet Access Logs” generated near the date that Max Giannikos was injured showed that the City of Clearwater rewired the button on the southeast corner of the intersection and replaced the button on the northwest corner, respectively, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after Max Giannikos was critically injured, and WHEREAS, at trial, the plaintiff’s attorneys proved that the City of Clearwater was on notice regarding the problem and was negligent in maintaining the signal, putting pedestrians in unreasonable danger and being a legal cause of Max Giannikos’s injuries, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos remained hospitalized for more than a month at St. Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center, 11 days of which were spent in a coma, while his family lived at the Ronald McDonald House, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos suffered life-altering traumatic brain injuries, bleeds, and swelling, skull and facial fractures, multiple orthopedic fractures and injuries, including spinal fractures from C6 to T4, rib fractures, left leg fractures, compound fractures of the right arm, right shoulder fractures and dislocation, a punctured lung, and other serious traumatic injuries, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos underwent numerous surgeries, and his recovery has been slow, difficult, and painful, with many setbacks, and WHEREAS, once Max Giannikos was released from the hospital, he and his family lived at the Ronald McDonald House for 6 months while he engaged in treatment and therapy until they ran out of funds to pay for his treatment, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos has incurred more than $1.1 million in medical bills and is facing $4.9 million in future medical care costs, and total economic damages amount to more than $10 million, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos’s current diagnosis includes permanent brain injuries, posttraumatic epilepsy, severe cognitive and behavioral impairments, disfigurement, severe radiating neck and back pain, arthritis, limited range of motion, and other orthopedic and neurological disorders, as well as severe posttraumatic psychological injuries, and WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater had a duty of care to reasonably maintain and operate the pedestrian signals at the subject intersection and failed to do so when Max Giannikos was injured, and WHEREAS, due to the City of Clearwater’s negligence, Max Giannikos was unreasonably left to cross the intersection unaided by operable crosswalk signals, which but for the inoperable condition of the crosswalk signals, Max Giannikos would not have been injured, and WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater’s negligent maintenance of the crosswalk signals at the location where Max Giannikos was injured was a legal cause of the collision that injured him, and WHEREAS, Max Giannikos filed a lawsuit against the City of Clearwater which was tried before a Pinellas County jury in the circuit court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit beginning September 9, 2024, and on September 13, 2024, the jury found Max Giannikos’s total damages to be $38,496,781.68, with the City of Clearwater’s negligence to be 45 percent and Max Giannikos to be 55 percent comparatively negligent, and WHEREAS, based on the jury verdict, the court entered a final judgment in the amount of $17,323,551.76 in favor of Max Giannikos and against the City of Clearwater, and WHEREAS, the City of Clearwater is insured with a Lloyd’s of London policy having a limit of $7 million for this claim, and WHEREAS, before the trial began, Max Giannikos’s attorneys offered to settle the case for an amount within the policy limits, but the insurance company refused to settle and made no counteroffer, thereby exposing the City of Clearwater to an excess judgment of $17,323,551.76, plus taxable costs of $100,000, NOW, THEREFORE,

Keith Truenow (R)*, 

Died in Special Master on Claim Bills (on 06/16/2025)

Official Document