Modesto paid $500,000 for trips and falls, fallen trees, other mishaps in 2014

Modesto paid more than $530,000 last year to settle lawsuits and claims filed against it by people who were injured after tripping and falling on uneven sidewalks, whose cars were smashed by falling tree limbs and for other injuries and damage they attributed to the city and its workers.

The biggest payout was $370,000 to end a discrimination lawsuit filed by former police Sgt. Carlos Castro, and the smallest was $17.97 to a woman whose mailbox was damaged when workers removed a city tree. In all, the city paid $530,703.07 to resolve 64 claims and lawsuits. The money came from the city and not insurance.

As in past years, the majority of the payouts were for damage and injuries caused by falling tree limbs and branches or an entire tree toppling over, said Mary Akin, the city’s risk manager.

Modesto is increasing staffing in its forestry division and trimming city trees more often. Officials say that will result in a healthier urban forest and eventually fewer tree-related claims and lawsuits.

Akin said the other main sources of legal actions against the city also are public works-related.

For example, the city paid Pacific Gas and Electric Co. $38,501 for two claims after workers digging up city streets inadvertently hit the utility’s gas lines. And the city paid more than $11,800 for the repairs to the sewer line for an Oakdale Road fourplex. A city contractor had drilled a hole through the line for a conduit for streetlights about a decade ago. The sewer line became more clogged over the years until plumbers could no longer clear it. They discovered the problem as they were replacing the blocked line.

Akin said while public works-related claims generate the highest number of legal actions, the payouts typically are for relatively low dollar amounts. The city’s one big payout last year was for Castro’s lawsuit.

He sued Modesto in 2013, claiming he had been discriminated against and subjected to other mistreatment while with the Police Department because he is Mexican-American. The Bee wrote a story about the lawsuit in November when the city – while denying the allegations – settled the lawsuit for $370,000.

The payouts included two connected to the Modesto Grand Prix. The city held the race over an August weekend along downtown streets. Modesto paid $7,500 to Galletto Ristorante and $500 to Harvest Moon after the two restaurants said their sales sputtered during the grand prix, which resulted in street closures over several days and complaints from some downtown businesses.

Overall, Akin said she is pleased with the amount Modesto paid last year. She said it continued a trend of several years of the city paying less than $1 million annually for claims and lawsuits. For instance, Modesto paid about $600,000 in 2013. She said those are good results for a city the size of Modesto, which has more than 200,000 residents and about 1,200 employees.

This story was originally published January 13, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Modesto paid $500,000 for trips and falls, fallen trees, other mishaps in 2014."