LA To Pay Out Over $3M In Latest Broken Sidewalk Settlements
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Los Angeles will pay out another multi-million-dollar settlement, and it is thanks to the broken sidewalks all across the City of Angels.
The city council on Wednesday unanimously approved a payout of $3 million to Holli S. Breakfield. Her lawsuit against the city claimed she fell and hit her head on the sidewalk at 1245 N. Cherokee Ave. on New Year's Eve 2014, City News Service reported.
Breakfield was being carried by a friend when he dropped her. Her original claim sought $10.015 million in damages.
The council also approved a $200,000 payment to Martha Guerra, whose lawsuit claimed she fell on the sidewalk at 2925 S. Orange Ave. in the West Adams neighborhood in December 2014, according to CNS.
Last year, the city paid out nearly $20 million in cases where people either were injured or died because of L.A.'s infamously uneven and broken sidewalks. That was about four times the amount paid out any other year during the last decade.
The city recently approved a $1.4 billion plan to fix its broken sidewalks over the next 30 years. In February, two L.A. city councilmen introduced a motion that would instruct staff to report on possible fixes to sidewalks ahead of the 2028 Olympics to be held in L.A.
Nearly 40 percent of L.A's sidewalks have a D or F rating and more than 8,700 miles need fixing.