An 85-year-old woman has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the Department of Water and Power in which she alleged she was seriously injured when a power line fell on her while she was walking in the Fairfax district in 2023.
The plaintiffs are Ann Gelfand and her husband, 87-year-old Martin Gelfand. On Tuesday, the couple’s attorneys filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lynne M. Hobbs informing her of a “conditional” settlement in the case pending a final decision by the DWP Board of Commissioners. No terms were divulged.
Ann Gelfand alleged a claim for dangerous condition of public property and her spouse contended loss of consortium. Hobbs previously dismissed Ann Gelfand’s negligence claim. In their court papers, the couple’s attorneys stated that Ann Gelfand sustained severe injuries that left her with “debilitating and lifelong deficits that will require future medical care.”
The suit was filed last June 7 and stated that Ann Gelfand was walking near the corner of Kilkea Drive and Clinton Street on March 1, 2023, when an electrical power line fell from an overhead pole and was dragged by a passing car before it struck the woman and caused her to fall to the ground.
The woman suffered a “massive blow to the head” as well as a fractured knee and ankle that required surgery and her recovery is ongoing, her lawyers’ court papers stated.
Ann Gelfand also continues to have blurry vision in her right eye, needs a home health nurse to assist her with wound care dressing and uses a wheelchair, according to her attorneys’ court papers.