City settles suit with injured skater
CITY HALL — A woman who tripped over a hose and injured her shoulder while in-line skating on the beach bicycle path will receive more than $57,000 as part of a settlement with City Hall.
On Tuesday, the City Council offered to pay $57,500 to Wendy Maceri to help cover medical expenses, as well as the pain and suffering she endured during her recovery from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Maceri, a special education teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, is expected to receive a similar payout from Cavalia, a circus-like show that was staging performances just north of the Santa Monica Pier at the time of the accident. Cavalia, was one of two other parties named in the civil suit, according to Louis J. Cutrone, Maceri’s attorney.
Cutrone said he would not release the terms of the settlement agreement until it was approved by the court.
Deputy City Attorney Anthony Serritella said the settlement included two payments of $57,500, one from City Hall, and the other from Cavalia, a traveling Cirque du Soleil-like show incorporating live music, projected images, 69 performers and 37 horses.
“My client is happy,” Cutrone said.“She wasn’t looking to get rich. Sometimes plaintiffs get injured and they think they’ve won the lottery. That’s not the case here.”
Maceri, who frequently skates on the bike path, claims City Hall and Cavalia were responsible for her accident — which occurred Nov. 5, 2004 — because they failed to warn those on the path about a “dangerous condition” north of the pier.
Maceri said she was in-line skating with two friends when she tripped over a hose strewn across the bicycle path. The hose, which Maceri said was the size of those found on fire trucks, was being used to pump water out of an adjacent parking lot that had been flooded by Cavalia’s operations. The water was being pumped out by PumpMan, Inc., according to Cutrone and Serritella.
Attorneys for City Hall argued that the city is not liable for the accident because it was not responsible for placing the hose over the bike path. Attorneys also argued that Maceri was illegally using the bike path to in-line skate, which is prohibited. All skaters are considered pedestrians and, therefore, not allowed on the bike path, Serritella said.
The council decided to settle the case, Serritella said, because it would have cost significantly more money to fight the suit if it had gone to trial.
“We think the total settlement is a fair compromise of the claim,” Serritella said.
Representatives for Cavalia and PumpMan could not be reached for comment.
When asked whether or not PumpMan Inc., which does not have to pay penalties as part of the settlement, was being let off the hook, Serritella said City Hall “will be evaluating what remedies (it) has available against PumpMan.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 15, 2006. Read the original PDF.