Oakland Pays $2.95 Million to Family of Teen Struck by Driver in 2021

The City of Oakland agreed to pay $2.95 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a 13-year-old who was struck by a driver on January 19, 2021, after stepping onto a southbound Bancroft Avenue crosswalk just before 8 p.m. According to the lawsuit, the accident led to serious hip and head injuries as well as a multimillion-dollar settlement against both the City of Oakland and the driver who struck him.

Oakland announced the settlement in a City Council resolution this summer stating that the city’s attorneys determined it was in the best interests to settle the lawsuit without admitting liability. According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, the location where the accident occurred “constituted a dangerous condition of public property.”

Generally speaking, California cities have broad immunity from liability claims. However, special circumstances related to a road’s design in this case may have forced Oakland to settle the suit.

In this case, a traffic engineering expert was ready to testify on the plaintiff’s behalf. The expert would have testified that Oakland “violated longstanding Caltrans design safety standards” by failing to paint the curb red for about 100 feet, the minimum distance required to ensure that a car would not park closer to the intersection. In the case of this particular intersection, the red zone was painted 24 feet from the intersection.

The family’s legal team argued that this created a dangerous sightline obstruction between pedestrians standing on the sidewalk and motorists approaching from the driver’s direction.

As part of the initial complaint, the plaintiff and their legal team also argued that the city had enough notice of possible danger at that intersection. This included city data on speeding cars on Bancroft Avenue, a high average number of daily drivers, and a large number of people crossing Bancroft at 100th Avenue. Poor lighting conditions also factored in. The plaintiffs noted that there had been a history of collisions at or near that intersection.

The city’s lawyers, on the other hand, argued that the intersection had “no visible obstructions from any street features from over 1,000 feet away from the crosswalk” and that the “intersection was straight, flat, and level.”

According to the city, “the risk of harm here was created by a motorist who failed to exercise due care.” Oakland’s lawyers argued that the driver had traveled “past the intersection many times before that night and specifically knew about the crosswalks at the intersection.” The city noted that pedestrians have the right of way at every intersection.

The city paid $2.95 million while the driver paid $500,000 through his insurance policy.

Talk to an Oakland, CA Car Accident Lawyer Today 

Venardi Zurada represents the interests of those who have been injured in car and traffic accidents. We serve the Bay Area from our office locations in Oakland and Walnut Creek. Call our Oakland personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your claim right away.

Source:

oaklandside.org/2024/09/17/oakland-pays-2-95-million-settlement-to-family-of-teen-struck-by-driver-in-2021/