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Council Mtg: 9/2 '79
CONFIDEidTIAL
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September 5, 1979
Santa Monica, California
TC: City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Settlement of Case Entitled Vera C. Steckler v.
City of Santa Monica, WE C 59639; Claim ^Io, CSM 78-170
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Vera C. Steckler, age 50, has sued the City
of Santa Monica for personal injuries to her knee when she was
walking in the eastbound .crosswalk on Broadway at the Fourth
Street intersection. Although the Complaint has not been served
upon the City, Paul Robbins of Brown Brothers Adjusters has arrived
at a settlement of this case for the sum of Eleven Thousand
($11,OOO.CO) Dollars. Extensive settlement negotiations have taken
place between Paul Robbins with the aid of the City Attorne_y's
Office and plaintiff's attorney, Clifford R. Cunningham, where
plaintiff's demand in April of this year was $20,000.00. ?~4rs.
Steckler underwent a partial patellectomy to remove the bone
fragments in her knee and to reattach the patellar tendon into
the majority of the body of the patella. The following staff re-
port transmits a proposed settlement of Eleven Thousand ($11,000.00)
Dollars.
BACKGROUND
The fall allegedly occurred on October 24, 1978 at or
about 9:50 A.M. Liability could-easily be found against the City
of Santa Monica on the grounds that a dangerous condition existed
in the marked crosswal}k. Alex Casillas, Street Inspector, checked
the intersection:.. of Fourth Street and Broadway for an irregularity
in the pavement and found a depression in the pavement at the north-
east corner of Broadway which was approximately 36 inches in diameter
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and about 2-1/2 inches deep at the midpoint. The City has been
successful in the past in obtaining judgments in its favor for
defects which were less than one inch in irregularity; however,
it is the opinion of this office that a 2-1/2 inch depression
could point towards liability against the City. Obviously, the
plaintiff has a duty to care for her own safety by watching where
she is walking and this Office would attribute 25 to 5C percent
.comparative liability against her. Photographs of the defect
are available for inspection upon request. The plaintiff was
interviewed by our investigator and she stated that she stepped
off the northwest curb and in so doing stepped into a depression
or pothole, thus causing her to fall and in so doing fell on her
knee. An ambulance was called for her and the plaintiff was trans-
mitted to Santa Monica Iospital.
MEDICAL SPECIALS
Plaintiff incurred the following medical specials:
Schaefer Pmbulance $ 63.00
Santa Monica Hospital Emergency Room 156.75
Los Angeles County Harbor Hospital 369.00
UCLA Hospital & Clinics (medical &
surgical supplies) 202.00
UCLA Hospital & In-Patient Clinics 2,420.70
UCLP_ Hospital & Physical Therapy
Clinics 334.50
Bus & Cab Fare to UCLA hospital &
Clinics 96..00
Dr. Ackerman, Anestheseologist 3.72.00
TOTAL $4,013.95
Dr. Kevin M. Ehrhart, Chief Resident of IJCI,A Orthopedic
Surgery, in his report dated April 3, 1979, found. the plaintiff
to have suffered from an avulsion fracture of her right patella,
the x-rays of which revealed a fracture of the distal inferior
pull of the patella. Postoperatively, she was placed iri a
cylinder cast in which she remained until 10/20/78, approximately
six weeks postoperative. Patient waS started on range of motion exer-
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cises and by 2/28/79, her range of motion was from 0 to 110 degrees.
He states:
"Her prognosis is good. Although she will have
a slight limited range of motion, nevertheless,
she should have no problem. She may, however,
develop some patella femoral-arthritis in the
future. Although this cannot be accurately pre-
dicted, she indeed has a slightly higher chance
than normal."
The surgery which was performed resulted in a disfiguring
scar across the width of the plaintiff's knee. Photographs of that
scar are available upon request.
LIKELY JURY RANGES
The Personal Injury Evaluation Handbook by Jury Verdict
Research, Inc., was consulted regarding examples of recent awards
for patellectomys. The following statistics were Found:
Midpoint :Verdict ..Range..
Probability Range
Verdict Range
$33,000.0.0
$17,995.00 - 65,000.00
$10,000.00 - 103,300.00,
Average $4.1,398.00
One case listed, a 65 year old plaintiff who incurred
$2,000.00 medical specials alleged faulty maintenance of a public
street owned by the defendant City when she fell into a hole in the
crosswalk. She incurred a fractured patella which resulted in a
patellectomy and recovered $36,000.00. (Rehak v. City of Joliet,
March, 1976). Verdicts rendered throughout Los Araeles County over
the past few years have experienced verdicts which are 20 percent.
above the national verdict expectancies whereas the Santa b?onica
awards indicate an average at five percent below the national
verdict expectancies. Irrespective of the above, it is clear that
the midpoint verdict range in regard to a patellectomy is $33,000.00,
substantially more than the $11,000.00 settlement. The probability
range at trial is $17,000.00 to $65,000.00 and again, the $11,000.00..'
settlement is extremely beneficial. Even if one places 50 percent...
comparative negligence against the plaintiff, the $11,000.00 sett?
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ment is economically Feasible.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
The alternatives are either to approve the settlement
or reject it and proceed to protracted litigation through discovery
and eventual trial.
RECOMMENDATION
It is the recommendation of this Office that the City
Council instruct the Director o£ Finance to draw a warrant made
payable to Vera C. Steckler and the Law 0£f ices o£ P.odney E. Moss,
a professional corporation, her attorneys of record in full and
complete settlement of the case entitled Vera C. Steckler v. City
o£ Santa Igionica, 6dE C 59639.
PREPARED BY:
RICHARD L. KNICKERBOCKER, City Attorney
SHARI K. SILVER, Assistant City Attorney
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