Government Liability
"You may trod me in the dirt. But still, like dust, I'll rise." ~ Maya Angelou.
Glanz v. City of Lynnwood $2,250,000 settlement (2010)
Sharla Glantz was a senior citizen, living in senior housing in Lynwood Washington. When the housing facility was built, a lighted crosswalk warning system was required to be installed by the City. The crosswalk system warned motorist that the crosswalk was in use.
On September 21, 2008, when returning home from dinner with a friend, Sharla came to the crosswalk and pressed the warning system button, however, the system would not work. Sharla and her friend looked both ways, needing to cross the street, and no cars were coming in either direction. Sharla and her friend started across the street and after crossing two lanes, Sharla was hit in the third lane of travel by a car that had entered the roadway from a parking lot adjacent to the crosswalk.
Sharla suffered serious injuries and was in ICU at Harborview Medical Center for 3 months. She was later transferred to a rehabilitation center before returning home. Through determination and dedication to her rehabilitation program, Sharla was able to recover from many of her injuries, although she has been left with some permanent disabilities.
After Sharla chose the law firm of Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio (SKWC) to represent her, our investigation found that the City of Lynnwood should have known about the malfunctioning light system. Indeed, it had not been properly functioning for months. Also, SKWC personal injury attorneys discovered that a city employee had regularly come to the crosswalk to replace pedestrian flags. In fact, we found a witness that told us he had spoken with the city worker, informing the worker that the system was broken.
Ultimately, the evidence we obtained put the City in a position which allowed us to obtain a positive settlement for Sharla in the amount of $2,250,000. This settlement included payment of policy limits by the driver of the car that hit Sharla. This settlement will allow Sharla to move forward in a positive manner and allow her to be taken care of for the remainder of her life.
