San Diego is paying out $500,000 to settle three separate injury lawsuits — two cases filed by people were hit by city vehicles and one by a person who tripped on a damaged sidewalk.
The largest of the three payouts goes to Hannah Rexroth, who is receiving $173,000 for injuries she sustained when she was hit by a city truck that allegedly didn’t come to a full stop at a stop sign in Point Loma at Cordova and Carmelo streets.
Rexroth — 32 when she was struck on Sept. 24, 2020 — was jogging at the time. She said in her lawsuit that the crash resulted in injuries to her left wrist, shoulder and hip.
A payout of $150,000 is going to Tanner Jones, who was hit by a city Environmental Services Department vehicle after the driver made an illegal left turn in front of him.
The crash took place at Murray Ridge Road and Larkdale Avenue in Serra Mesa on July 1, 2020.
In both settlements, the people injured contended the city employees driving the vehicles were negligent and that the city is financially responsible.
In a third payout, Harry Cornell Beans is receiving $146,000 for injuries he suffered tripping on an uneven sidewalk on Olivet Street in La Jolla.
Beans, 83, was on a morning walk on July 15, 2021, when he climbed a short flight of steps and tripped over a 1.5-inch rise between the top step and the sidewalk, causing him to land face-first in the street, according to his lawsuit.
Beans said he lost consciousness for about 20 seconds, fractured his teeth, lacerated his lip and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
The settlements come in the wake of a 2020 city audit that found San Diego could significantly reduce the nearly $25 million a year it spends on lawsuit payouts if it invests in better employee training and deeper analyses of risks.
The audit found that San Diego spent $220 million in total over nine fiscal years, from 2010 to 2018, handling about 20,000 claims and lawsuits filed during that time.
Auditors also recommended proactive measures like fixing damaged sidewalks and concrete in key areas, revamping dangerous intersections and providing more training for drivers of city vehicles.
