Legislature passes $500K claims bill for woman struck by Miami-Dade gate arm

Legislation to deliver full compensation to a woman who suffered permanent nerve damage after a Miami-Dade gate arm struck her just cleared the Legislature’s upper chamber with near-uniform support.

Senators voted 38-1 for the bill (HB 6515), which passed on the House floor 108-0 earlier this month.

Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz, who voted against the bill’s Senate version in its first Committee stop last month, cast the sole “no” vote on the Senate floor.

HB 6515, sponsored by Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters and Coral Gables Republican Rep. Demi Busatta, authorizes payment of $500,000 to Lourdes Latour and her husband, Edward, for a 2017 accident for which Miami-Dade accepted liability.

The measure is a claims bill, a special classification of legislation intended to compensate a person or entity for injury or loss due to the negligence or error of a public officer or agency.

Claims bills arise when the damages a claimant seeks are above the thresholds set in Florida’s sovereign immunity law, which today caps payouts at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.

Last month, the House voted 104-7 to increase the caps to $500,000 and $1 million, respectively, with a 20% increase in 2031.

On Nov. 5, 2017, Latour was struck and thrown from her bicycle by a malfunctioning gate arm while exiting the Gables by the Sea community. She and her husband sued Miami-Dade in 2018, claiming the county was negligent in owning, operating and maintaining the gate.

A jury found Miami-Dade 100% liable in January 2025, awarding the couple more than $4.9 million in damages for long-term pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship and service.

Because of Florida’s liability limits for government entities, the parties ultimately settled for $800,000, with $300,000 paid directly by the county under Florida’s restrictive law and $500,000 contingent on approval of a claims bill.

Prior to the bill’s passage Wednesday, Gruters thanked Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez for presenting the bill in Committee. He offered similar appreciation to Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones for working to make sure the measure was enacted.

HB 6515 will next be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can sign the legislation, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.