Florida SB 12: Relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City of Clearwater

Bill Text

12 
Relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City of Clearwater 
2025-08-01T12:14:22Z 
Providing for the relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City of Clearwater; providing for an appropriation to compensate Maximus Giannikos for injuries sustained as a result of the negligence of the City of Clearwater; providing a limitation on the payment of compensation and attorney fees, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
LCB 
Claim Bill/Local 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 12 

 By Senator DiCeglie 

 18-00046B-26 202612__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act for the relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City 
 3 of Clearwater; providing for an appropriation to 
 4 compensate Maximus Giannikos for injuries sustained as 
 5 a result of the negligence of the City of Clearwater; 
 6 providing a limitation on the payment of compensation 
 7 and attorney fees; providing an effective date. 
 8 
 9 WHEREAS, in the early evening of May 28, 2019, then 16 
 10 year-old Maximus Giannikos and his family were on vacation in 
 11 Clearwater, visiting from Cape Town, South Africa, when, shortly 
 12 after their arrival, Maximus Giannikos, his sister, and her 
 13 husband left their hotel located near the northwest corner of 
 14 the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19 
 15 and walked to the nearby Clearwater Mall to eat dinner and shop 
 16 for beach supplies, and 
 17 WHEREAS, the electronic traffic and pedestrian control 
 18 devices located at the Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19 
 19 intersection were operated and maintained by the City of 
 20 Clearwater, and had a documented history of malfunctioning from 
 21 time to time, and 
 22 WHEREAS, the interchange where U.S. Highway 19 intersects 
 23 with Gulf to Bay Boulevard is a significant, high-volume 
 24 transportation corridor where U.S. 19 goes over Gulf to Bay 
 25 Boulevard with service ramps, and is a complex design requiring 
 26 continuous, regular inspections and maintenance of all signal 
 27 devices and signage to move large volumes of traffic and 
 28 pedestrians safely and efficiently, and 
 29 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos and his family members crossed 
 30 from the northwest to the northeast corner of the intersection, 
 31 beneath the overpass of U.S. Highway 19, and then proceeded from 
 32 the northeast to the southeast corner of the intersection, 
 33 crossing Gulf to Bay Boulevard, without any problem using the 
 34 pedestrian control device, and 
 35 WHEREAS, approximately 2 hours later, as they returned, 
 36 they approached the southwest corner of the intersection at Gulf 
 37 to Bay Boulevard and pressed the button at the crosswalk to 
 38 activate the pedestrian control device, and 
 39 WHEREAS, unbeknownst to Maximus Giannikos and his family 
 40 members, who were pedestrians at the time, the crosswalk buttons 
 41 and devices were not operating because of defective, 
 42 malfunctioning wiring and negligent maintenance by the City of 
 43 Clearwater, thereby causing the pedestrian signal to be stuck on 
 44 “Do Not Walk” at that location, and so the signal never changed, 
 45 and 
 46 WHEREAS, they pressed the button multiple times and waited 
 47 numerous light cycles to give the signal a chance to change, but 
 48 it did not change, and 
 49 WHEREAS, they then walked to the southeast corner of the 
 50 intersection and tried to activate the pedestrian control system 
 51 there, with no success, and 
 52 WHEREAS, they looked east and west along Gulf to Bay 
 53 Boulevard to see if there was another crosswalk with active 
 54 pedestrian signals but did not see any visible crosswalks from 
 55 their vantage point, and 
 56 WHEREAS, after 30 to 45 minutes passed, they agreed they 
 57 had no other choice but to cross where they were, so the 
 58 brother-in-law timed the lights and, once he saw all the lights 
 59 were red and traffic appeared to clear, all three stepped off 
 60 the curb and walked into the road to cross, and 
 61 WHEREAS, they made it about halfway across the street when 
 62 Maximus Giannikos was struck by a sport utility vehicle 
 63 traveling at approximately 35 miles per hour and was 
 64 catastrophically injured, and 
 65 WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos was treated by emergency medical 
 66 services personnel at the scene, then rushed by ambulance to St. 
 67 Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center in stable but critical 
 68 condition, and 
 69 WHEREAS, a traffic homicide investigation was conducted by 
 70 the Clearwater Police Department, which determined that the 
 71 pedestrian crosswalk device did, in fact, malfunction, and was 
 72 not operating at the time that Maximus Giannikos was injured, 
 73 and 
 74 WHEREAS, a fact that witnesses who worked nearby and used 
 75 the crosswalks daily testified at trial that the subject 
 76 pedestrian crosswalk signal malfunctioned at least 10 to 15 
 77 times per year and had been doing so for 10 years, and 
 78 WHEREAS, during trial, plaintiff’s expert witness testif