Maury Hernandez, the Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who defied the odds by surviving a gun shot to the head during a traffic stop gone awry, is suing the Florida Department of Corrections for negligence.

Hernandez's lawsuit, filed Thursday in Broward Circuit Court, claims the department did not keep proper tabs on shooter David Maldonado -- an ex-con with a lengthy criminal record who told parole officers he kept a gun for work-related reasons. But a rookie parole officer never checked his story -- if he had, he would have discovered the ex-con was lying.

"There's clear evidence of negligence,'' said Lance Block, a Tallahassee-based attorney representing Hernandez. "All of these violations of procedure are the reason why Maldonado has a weapon, why Maury Hernandez was shot.''

In August 2007, Maldonado shot Hernandez in the back of head after the undercover deputy tried to pull him over for running several red lights along Pembroke Road. Hernandez was not expected to live. He spent months in a coma.

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