Confidential
Settlement – $1,000,000Court
Placer Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Stephen E. Horan
(Porter Scott)
Experts
Plaintiff
Claude S. Munday
(medical)
Duane Ford
(technical)
Lee L. Lesh
(technical)
Alan Wachtel
(technical)
William H. Ramsey
(medical)
Jack E. Miller
(medical)
Alexander W. LaRiviere
(technical)
Defendant
Alan E. Brooker
(medical)
Arnold A. Johnson
(technical)
Edwin E. Stirtz
(technical)
J. Michael Stephenson
(technical)
Facts
A bicyclist was seriously injured when he fell from his bicycle after running into tree roots on the pavement. The plaintiff was a 72-year-old retiree and the defendant was the town of Loomis. The plaintiff alleged that he lost control of his road bicycle and crashed to the pavement because of a dangerous condition concealed by dappled shade, consisting of five two-inch high ridges in a washboard pattern caused by gradual tree root encroachment. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant was negligent in failing to identify and repair the hazard or warn of it by means of high visibility marker paint, caution signs or barricades. The defendant contended that it had no actual or constructive notice and that the hazard was so open and obvious and that the plaintiff should have seen it and steered around it. The defendant also contended that the suit was barred by recreational immunity, but lost this point on a motion for summary judgment. Its application for writ of mandate was denied.
Specials in Evidence
$455,840 $225,456 (disputed)
Injuries
Right basilar and right orbital skull fracture, traumatic brain injury with quadripolar cortical contusions and intra-cerebral bleeding, fractures of right clavicle and scapula, fracture of seven ribs with collapse of right lung, total loss of smell and taste, partial loss of sight, hearing and balance, inability to continue outdoor sports, loss of cognitive flexibility and processing speed and emotional liability.
Other Information
The case was settled before Joe Ramsey.
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