The Los Angeles City Council approved another costly payout Wednesday over the condition of the city’s sidewalks and streets, signing off on a $3 million settlement for a woman who brought a slip-and-fall lawsuit.
Holli S. Breakfield hit her head on a sidewalk in Hollywood at 1254 N. Cherokee Ave. on New Year’s Eve 2014 while being carried on the back of a man who “tripped on a pattern of defects,” according to her court papers. The original claim filed on her behalf against the city asked for $10.015 million in damages.
The City Council approved the settlement on an 11-0 vote, and also approved a $200,000 payment to another woman, Martha Guerra, in a lawsuit involving a fall on Dec. 5, 2014, near 2925 S. Orange Drive in the West Adams district.
The payouts come as the city is facing rising costs from legal settlements overall, including a spike related to the state of its sidewalks, bike paths and streets.
The city in 2017 paid out more than $19 million in lawsuits to settle cases involving cyclists injured or killed on city streets — four times higher than any other year over the last decade, according to the Los Angeles Times.
According to Breakfield’s lawsuit, the sidewalk where she was injured suffered from a lack of lighting, a lack of warning about ridges, jagged edges and erosion, and was “strewn with leaves.”
The lawsuit said she suffered a serious injury from the fall. Her court papers did not describe the injury, but said it required many visits to doctors, prevented her from engaging in her usual occupation and resulted in a loss of income.
Breakfield’s lawyer, Agvavani Kasparian, did not respond to a request to comment.