Facts

At approximately 1 a.m. on Dec. 26, 2004, plaintiff was riding his bike home after completing his shift as a Waiter Captain at the Hotel Bel Air in the city of Westwood. He proceeded to ride his normal route home, which was now partially obstructed by a public works project with a temporary traffic control plan (TCP) in place.

The sidewalk was open and he rode his bike past the construction zone. It was very dark, however, plaintiff's bike came equipped with a headlight. As plaintiff proceeded westbound on Charing Cross, no longer in the construction zone, he hit the rear-side of a C3A traffic control sign mounted on a barricade, placed in the center of the roadway.

Plaintiff crashed to the pavement and displaced the radius of his right arm and shattered the radial head of his elbow. Surgical intervention with the placement of a prosthesis in place of the radial head was performed. Plaintiff underwent months of painful physical therapy.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that the C3A sign was not called for in the TCP. Defendant T.L. Pavlich Construction deviated and modified the approved TCP without an engineer's authorization. The sign was placed at the end of a curve which prevented plaintiff from seeing it until it was too late and sign was not independently illuminated. Medical testimony opined that within a reasonable medical certainty plaintiff will require, within his 45-year life expectancy, two additional replacement surgeries for failure of the prosthesis as well as a capsulatomy to improve range of motion due to the formation of scar tissue.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff is solely responsible for the accident. He was not exercising due care, was traveling at high rate of speed on the wrong side of the road and was not intending to follow the rules of the road. The sign was open and obvious. Plaintiff may have been intoxicated. Plaintiff tampered with evidence. It was safer to place the sign in the middle of the road. There was no requirement for independent illumination in any of the manuals that provided guidance and illumination was not required by California law.

Plaintiff did not meet his burden of proof as against the public entities, City of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power inasmuch as plaintiff did not exercise due care.

Settlement Discussions

In the months before trial, plaintiff's demand was $200,000. Defendant's offer: "maybe nuisance value." Twelve days before trial, plaintiff served defendant with the C.C.P. Section 998 offer for $124,999.99, which was withdrawn after expert depositions and prior to the commencement of trial. Plaintiff's demand was increased to $300,000. Defendant's offer was $25,000.

Result

Bench verdict, $67,967.21. Plaintiff was found 80 percent liable for his injuries. Defendant T.L. Pavlich was found only 20 percent liable. Total amount of the award was $67,967 based on a finding of damages in the amount of $339,836. Past pain and suffering $50,000; Future pain and suffering $200,000; Meds: $55,483.07; Lost earnings: $27,500.