Facts

On January 10, 2020, Morton Weisberg was a pedestrian crossing King Street in San Francisco, California, when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Gabriel Arteaga, an employee of the City of San Francisco. Weisberg brought a claim against Arteaga and the City and County of San Francisco, alleging negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and dangerous conditions.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff conteded that Arteaga failed to yield to plaintiff, causing the accident in breach of his duty to drive his vehicle in a safe manner for the safety of others. Moreover, the City was liable for Arteaga's action under the Government Code since he was employed by the City when operating the motor vehicle owned by the City. Plaintiff argued that defendants were negligent and that their acts were the proximate cause of injuries and damages to plaintiff, including wage loss, loss of use of property, general damages, property damages, loss of earning capacity, and medical expenses.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied that plaintiff has been damaged in any sum or by reason of any act or omission of the City or Arteaga. Defendants also argued that plaintiff had full knowledge of the risk involved in the activity in which plaintiff engaged at the time of the incident and acted in a careless, reckless, wanton, and negligent manner that proximately contributed to his injuries and damages. Additionally, defendants argued that plaintiff's causes of action were barred both by the statute of limitations and by plaintiff's failure to use reasonable diligence to mitigate damages. Further, defendants alleged that the City did not create a substantial risk of injury on the relevant property and that any risk allegedly created was trivial and insignificant in nature and that the City had no actual or constructive notice of the condition. Finally, defendants contended that the City and Arteaga were immune from liability per the Government Code.

Result

The City agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the lawsuit.