He sued City Hall for more than $1M after the accident
City Hall has agreed to give $275,000 to a homeless man who was run over by a tractor on the beach last year.
The payment is part of a settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed against City Hall by Richard Murphy, a 33-year-old transient.
The tractor hit Murphy while he slept on the sand last July. His medical bills amounted to $35,000 for injuries, including a fractured hip and complications that forced him to wear a catheter, said his attorney, Robert Skillin.
In addition to the medical bills, Murphy claimed the accident caused him emotional distress and pain and suffering, which account for the other $240,000. Skillin declined to say how much he received in attorney fees.
Murphy, who is fully recovered, currently lives in a Culver City hotel. But now that the case has been settled, he plans to leave Los Angeles.
“He’s an intelligent guy,” Skillin said. “He has a plan. He wants to go to Hawaii.”
“He has a plan. He wants to go to Hawaii.” — — ROBERT SKILLIN Attorney
The driver of the tractor, who was combing the beach for litter and other debris, said he didn’t run over Murphy but instead hit a utility pole while turning the machine around. He said he didn’t see Murphy, but when he heard the pole break, he stopped and discovered it had fallen on Murphy, who was lying in the sand near lifeguard tower No. 12, north of the Santa Monica Pier.
Deputy City Attorney Tony Serritella said City Hall settled the case before it went to court despite the conflicting versions of events.
“It didn’t really matter because it happened during the daytime and the city would be liable one way or another,” he said.
After the accident on July 15, 2002, Murphy, who is from the Midwest, was hospitalized and underwent surgery. And despite that he has fully recovered, Murphy had ongoing problems with urine retention for months, Serritella said.
The two lawyers fashioned a compromise in July and the Santa Monica City Council formally approved the settlement last week. Murphy couldn’t be reached for comment.
Serritella said there was no precedent for this type of lawsuit against City Hall and calculated the settlement amount based on how much a jury might have awarded Murphy if the case went
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 1, 2003. Read the original PDF.