Last month, a homeless man settled out of court with City Hall for $275,000 after a tractor accidentally ran over him last summer while he was sleeping on the beach. He sued for more than $1 million, but City Hall conceded that the city was liable for his injuries and emotional distress because it occurred on property it is responsible for. Attorneys thought about what a jury might award the man and figured settling was probably less expensive.
Thousands of homeless people sleep on public property and dozens of them are injured in accidents in parking lots, beaches and streets. But some would argue that it’s no different than anyone who drives, visits or walks on public property.
So this week, Q-Line wants to know, “If you were on a jury, would you have ruled for or against the man’s lawsuit? Why?”
Call (310) 285-8106 with your response before Thursday at 5 p.m. We’ll print them in Friday’s paper. Please limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 8, 2003. Read the original PDF.