South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog
A defective sidewalk was reportedly to blame for injuries suffered by a California man who encountered an uneven slab that launched him some 30 feet from his bicycle.
Now, according to the San Diego Union Tribune, city leaders have agreed to settle his personal injury claim for nearly $5 million. That’s a substantial sum considering previous defective sidewalk claims against the city have ranged in payouts between $75,000 and $235,000. The severity of injuries the man suffered as a result of the bicycle accident no doubt played a significant part in the city’s decision to settle, rather than take their chances at trial. The last time the city gambled on a trial involving a case of poor maintenance of city property (in that case, it was a dead tree), jurors awarded the victim, who was paralyzed, a $7.6 million verdict.
City officials originally called plaintiff’s injuries “minor” and “trivial.” Apparently after more closely reviewing the evidence, they had second thoughts of that characterization. Continue reading →