Eric Brody was 18 years old when a speeding off-duty Broward Sheriff's deputy T-boned his car on Oakland Park Boulevard and left Brody in a coma. The officer was later fired for falsifying police reports in an unrelated incident; Brody woke up six months later with permanent brain damage.
A jury awarded the Brody family more than $30 million, but a Florida law requires any judgment of more than $200,000 to be ratified by the Legislature. Yesterday, after 14 years and multiple failed attempts, the Florida Legislature passed the compensation bill for Brody -- but he'll never see that $30 million.
The compensation bill the House approved yesterday clears the way for the insurance company of the Broward Sheriff's Office to pay just under $11 million for Brody's care.
"It should be enough to take care of him for the rest of his life," Eric's father, Chuck Brody, said, according to the Miami Herald. "That's the main thing."
The Senate passed its companion bill on the first day of the session back in January; all the deal needs now, once the bills are reconciled, is Gov. Rick Scott's signature.
Check out my story from last month to see how the Legislature essentially decided that the jury was wrong and that Brody didn't deserve compensation for pain and suffering, and the other story about why Boca Raton Republican Bill Hager voted against the bill in committee and again yesterday.
(If you're curious, we also had a 2009 feature about Brody and his family's struggles after the accident.)
