Florida HB 6513: Relief/Reginald Jackson/City of Lakeland

Bill Text

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HB 6513 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6513-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act for the relief of Maximus Giannikos by the City 2
of Clearwater; providing for an appropriation to 3
compensate Maximus Giannikos for injuries sustained as 4
a result of the negligence of the City of Clearwater; 5
providing a limitation on the payment of compensation 6
and attorney fees; providing an effective date. 7
8
WHEREAS, in the early evening of May 28, 2019, then 16-9
year-old Maximus Giannikos and his family were on vacation in 10
Clearwater, visiting from Cape Town, South Africa, when, shortly 11
after their arrival, Maximus Giannikos, his sister, and her 12
husband left their hotel located near the northwest corner of 13
the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19 14
and walked to the nearby Clearwater Mall to eat dinner and shop 15
for beach supplies, and 16
WHEREAS, the electronic traffic and pedestrian control 17
devices located at the Gulf to Bay Boulevard and U.S. Highway 19 18
intersection were operated and maintained by the City of 19
Clearwater, and had a documented history of malfunctioning from 20
time to time, and 21
WHEREAS, the interchange where U.S. Highway 19 intersects 22
with Gulf to Bay Boulevard is a significant, high-volume 23
transportation corridor where U.S. 19 goes over Gulf to Bay 24
Boulevard with service ramps, and is a complex design requiring 25

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HB 6513 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6513-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

continuous, regular inspections and maintenance of all signal 26
devices and signage to move large volumes of traffic and 27
pedestrians safely and efficiently, and 28
WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos and his family members crossed 29
from the northwest to the northeast corner of the intersection, 30
beneath the overpass of U.S. Highway 19, and then proceeded from 31
the northeast to the southeast corner of the intersection, 32
crossing Gulf to Bay Boulevard, without any problem using the 33
pedestrian control device, and 34
WHEREAS, approximately 2 hours later, as they returned, 35
they approached the southwest corner of the intersection at Gulf 36
to Bay Boulevard and pressed the button at the crosswalk to 37
activate the pedestrian control device, and 38
WHEREAS, unbeknownst to Maximus Giannikos and his family 39
members, who were pedestrians at the time, the crosswalk buttons 40
and devices were not operating because of defective, 41
malfunctioning wiring and negligent maintenance by the City of 42
Clearwater, thereby causing the pedestrian signal to be stuck on 43
"Do Not Walk" at that location, and so the signal never changed, 44
and 45
WHEREAS, they pressed the button multiple times and waited 46
numerous light cycles to give the signal a chance to change, but 47
it did not change, and 48
WHEREAS, they then walked to the southeast corner of the 49
intersection and tried to activate the pedestrian control system 50

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HB 6513 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6513-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

there, with no success, and 51
WHEREAS, they looked east and west along Gulf to Bay 52
Boulevard to see if there was another crosswalk with active 53
pedestrian signals but did not see any visible crosswalks from 54
their vantage point, and 55
WHEREAS, after 30 to 45 minutes passed, they agreed they 56
had no other choice but to cross where they were, so the 57
brother-in-law timed the lights and, once he saw all the lights 58
were red and traffic appeared to clear, all three stepped off 59
the curb and walked into the road to cross, and 60
WHEREAS, they made it about halfway across the street when 61
Maximus Giannikos was struck by a sport utility vehicle 62
traveling at approximately 35 miles per hour and was 63
catastrophically injured, and 64
WHEREAS, Maximus Giannikos was treated by emergency medical 65
services personnel at the scene, then rushed by ambulance to St. 66
Petersburg Bayfront Medical Center in stable but critical 67
condition, and 68
WHEREAS, a traffic homicide investigation was conducted by 69
the Clearwater Police Department, which determined that the 70
pedestrian crosswalk device did, in fact, malfunction, and was 71
not operating at the time that Maximus Giannikos was injured, 72
and 73
WHEREAS, a fact that witnesses who worked nearby and used 74
the crosswalks daily testified at trial that the subject 75

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HB 6513 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6513-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

pedestrian crosswalk signal malfunctioned at least 10 to 15 76
times per year and had been doing so for 10 years, and 77
WHEREAS, during trial, plaintiff's expert witness testified