The sub-par state of at least one section of Morgan Hill’s roads proved injurious and costly when a bicyclist crashed after hitting a pothole or bump on East Dunne Avenue in January 2014, according to court records.
The Morgan Hill City Council on Dec. 7 approved a $250,000 settlement with Yong Sohn, who suffered “sustained multiple, permanent and severe personal injuries” due to the Jan. 18, 2014 accident, according to a claim he filed with Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Sohn was riding his bicycle down a steep section of East Dunne Avenue, near the intersection of Hilltop Court, when he hit the bump in the road, described in his complaint as a “height differential or deviation or bump or buckling or heaving or abrupt change in the elevation of the traveled portion of the downhill lane,” according to the complaint. This road defect—termed a “concealed trap” in the roadway in the complaint—caused Sohn to lose control of his bicycle, resulting in a crash and injuries.
The claim further alleges that the city knew about the damage to the roadway before Sohn’s accident, but failed to address the safety hazard or post warning signs advising approaching travelers to beware the bump.
Among the injuries suffered by Sohn are five rib fractures, scapular body fracture and clavicle fracture, his complaint continues. Sohn filed the claim for damages in superior court Nov. 21, 2014. The “full extent” of his damages was not known at the time of the filing.
Also named in Sohn’s lawsuit are the county and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Sohn’s claim also cites damages related to loss of wages, hospital and medical expenses, property damage and loss of household services.
Morgan Hill City Attorney Don Larkin said the council’s approval of the settlement with Sohn on a 4-0 vote (Mayor Pro Temp Rich Constantine was absent from the Dec. 7 meeting) does not mean the city is accepting liability for the accident.
“The lawsuit was alleging the bump was a dangerous condition on public property that caused these injuries,” Larkin said. “It was a compromise settlement. There is no admission of liability, but we acknowledge there was a bump in the road that may have caused the accident.”
The city’s deteriorating streets and other public infrastructure have been a frequent topic of discussion among city councilmembers and residents. The five-member council has repeatedly warned of a $20 million backlog of “deferred maintenance” costs for streets, parks and public facilities, with no source of regular funding to make the repairs.
Late this summer, the council considered placing a local tax on the ballot, with revenues dedicated largely to this infrastructure maintenance backlog. However, the body declined to put the question to the voters after polling results showed a sales tax or bond issue was unlikely to pass on Election Day.
Mayor Steve Tate said the city has enough funding from existing sources to make street repairs that pose a safety hazard. However, the bump on East Dunne Avenue somehow was not addressed before Sohn ran over it in 2014.
Tate suggested the city has learned a lesson from the case.
“We have enough money to take care of safety situations, and we should have taken care of that one,” Tate said. “(The bump) was there for too long and we should have known about it. You learn and put procedures in place, and make yourself aware of where safety problems exist.”
With the success of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Measure B countywide sales tax in the Nov. 8 election, the city will at least gain some new funding that will help get caught up on infrastructure repairs, Tate noted. This measure will, in part, provide the City of Morgan Hill with $800,000 annually over the next 30 years to fix potholes and fulfill other street repairs.
That sum will bring the city’s annual street repair budget up to $1.8 million, Tate said.
The city will pay for the first $100,000 out of the $250,000 settlement from the “liability fund” within the city attorney’s office budget, Larkin said. The remaining $150,000 will be paid out of the city’s insurance risk pool, the Association of Bay Area Governments plan.
