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Two families whose children were injured in separate incidents more than a decade ago have been fighting for compensation ever since. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the two families and hundreds of other people injured by government often face what is considered an unfair process to collect what courts have already said they are owed.

If every child riding this school bus were to be seriously injured because of the driver’s negligence, the most parents could collect combined would be just three hundred thousand dollars. Anything more than three hundred thousand dollars has to be approved by lawmakers.

Sometimes the success of a claims bill will depend on, well, which one of these lobbyists you actually hire.

“This process needs to be reformed,” Rep. John Wood (R-Polk County) said.

Eric Brody was seriously injured by a speeding sheriff’s deputy when he was 18. Now 32, his family hasn’t gotten a dime. His Dad says the process has been a nightmare.

“You’re pushed aside for politics like you don’t even exist,” Eric’s father Chuck Brody said. “Like Eric doesn’t exist, like there’s no Eric, there’s no situation.”

Mitzi Roden has been fighting a similar battle against Lee Memorial Hospital. A judge found a nurse disobeyed the mother’s wishes and cause a birth defect. For more than a decade the hospital has fought tooth and nail to avoid paying anything.

“Last week was the first time that Lee Memorial tried to negotiate this case,” Rep. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) said.

But even with that vote, awarding Mitzi and her ex-husband ten million now and a million a year for five years, the battle is far from over. Governor Rick Scott must also agree.

“Governor Scott, please pass Aaron Edwards’s bill,” Roden said. “He needs you to do this for him and for his future.”

Wood and others want the law changed. But until it is, if you’re hurt by government, don’t count on collecting anything to be easy.