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San Diego City to Pay $1.8 Million to Settle Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The city of San Diego will pay $1.8 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a motorcyclist who was killed in an accident caused by a dangerous intersection.  What’s even more appalling to San Diego motorcycle accident attorneys is that the fatal accident could have been avoided if the city had simply spent $3,000 to install a traffic signal at the intersection.

The 58-year-old motorcyclist was killed in an accident at the Pacific Highway-Cedar Street intersection.  His motorcycle was struck by a Toyota Corolla.  He sustained fatal injuries and died.  An investigation found that that particular intersection had been the site of several fatal accidents over the years.  In fact, between 2006 and 2009 alone, that intersection had been the site of dozens of other accidents.  At least two of these accidents occur after the motorcyclist’s death.

The motorcyclist’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of San Diego, claiming $5 million in damages.  The San Diego wrongful death lawsuit called the accident “preventable.”  Further, the lawsuit alleged that the city had failed to install or maintain warning signs that warned motorcyclists about the need to yield to Northbound Pacific Highway traffic while turning on Cedar Street.  Three months after the motorcyclist’s death, the city of San Diego finally acted to install a left turn signal at the dangerous intersection.

Now, the city has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle the lawsuit.  Lawyers for the city have admitted that the city had delayed addressing concerns about the accident dangers at the intersection.  While there had been several attempts made to fix the situation over the years, most of these fizzled out, mainly because of financial constraints.

Several accidents occur every year because of highway and road design failures.  Often, accidents occur not because motorists violated any rules, but simply because they were traveling on a road that was not designed with the safety of motorists in mind.  Some of California’s roads and highways were designed decades earlier, when the population demographics of these areas were vastly different from today.

Highway and road safety doesn’t necessarily have to mean poor design.  Sometimes, a road may become safer simply by adding a small safety device improvement like a traffic signal or stoplight.  Shockingly, many accidents occur every year in California because of the local administrations’ delay in implementing such basic safety devices.  In this case, the city of San Diego will have to pay $1.8 million because of its failure to install a device that costs merely $3,000.  Its failure to do so has cost at least one motorcyclist’s life.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of wrongful deaths in San Diego. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire to discuss a personal injury matter,  you can reach us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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