After being hit by a vehicle, Debra Todd decided to sue Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and the state of California, stating they all share liability for the accident where she received multiple injuries.
The accident happened in 2020 when the homeless encampment blocked Todd’s access to the sidewalk. Todd’s suit claims that because of the encampment, she could not use the sidewalk and had to walk on the street.
But when she did step out on the road, she was hit by a car. The accident happened on October 4th in North Gower Street, just under the 101 Freeway.
The driver that hit Todd was just as surprised as she was about the size of the encampment and had no knowledge that many people were forced to walk on the street to get around the encampment.
Furthermore, the suit states that because of the size of the encampment, both Todd and the driver failed to see each other and avoid the accident.
This Monday, Todd decided to file a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and the state of California, stating that the defendants knew about the issues caused by the homeless encampment but have failed to warn the public about it.
Debra Todd took the suit to Los Angeles Superior Court, but the damages she seeks to recover are unspecified. As a result of her accident, she suffered injuries to her leg, arm, hip, back, and head.
Pedestrian accidents are very common in Los Angeles and many end up in pedestrians being killed.
The data shows a staggering 55 percent increase in pedestrian accidents in the last give years. Just in 2019, as much as 134 pedestrians lost their lives in pedestrian accidents. That means one pedestrian every two-and-a-half days.
This was one of the main reasons why Los Angeles implemented Vision Zero in hopes of preventing more pedestrian deaths. However, the increase in fatalities happened after, despite and some would say, because Vision Zero was unsuccessfully implemented.
Vision Zero is implemented by the city’s Department of Transportation, whose officials state that the safety initiative is simply not conducted fast enough, but also meets various political and bureaucratic obstacles.
Occasionally, a car accident can have more than one liable party. For example, when road conditions were partially to blame for your accident or poor signalization led to the crash in which you were injured, all liable parties should be determined and be held responsible for negligence.
A top Los Angeles car accident attorney can help you determine which governmental agency can be partially responsible for your auto accident and share liability for your injuries.
California has various rules and laws that help protect it against lawsuits, but a skilled auto accident attorney may help you prove negligence in a claim against the government entity.