HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 CLAIM R. GERONDALE 09-20-99 LAW OFFICES OF
WOODRUFF~ SPRADLIN & ...,MART
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
NO. ~0
9-20-99
AGE DA
MEMORANDUM
DIRECT DIAL: (714) 564-2607
DIRECT FAX: (714) 565-2507
E-MAIL: LEJ@WSS-LAW. COM
TO:
FROM:
DATE'
RE:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Tustin
City Attorney
September 14, 1999
Claim of Regina Gerondale; Claim No. 99-32
RECOMMENDATION
After investigation and review by this office and the City's Claims Administrators,
it is recommended that the City Council deny the claim and send notice thereof to the
claimant and the claimant's attorneys.
DISCUSSION
This is a claim for personal injuries in an unspecified amount that were suffered
by the claimant in an accident at Irvine Blvd and Old Myford Road. Claimant was a
passenger in a County of Orange vehicle driven by a County employee. The area of the
collision was undergoing roadway construction. The County vehicle was struck by
another vehicle in the intersection. Based on the investigation to date, we have no
evidence of a dangerous condition of public property. Any contractors working in the
area will be notified of this claim.
LOIS E. JEFFREY
Enclosure
cc: William A. Hust°n, City Manager
110306\1
Office of the City Clerk
Carl Warren & Co.
P. O. Box 25:[80
Santa Aha, CA 92799-5180
Re:
_Transmittal of Document(s)
C
ity of Tustin
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 573-3026
FAX (714) 832-0825
Claimant:
Claim No.'
Filed With City:
Regina Gerondale
99-32
8-17-99
Receipt of Claim/Summons and Complaint by the City Clerk's Office on:
Date: 8-:[7-99
Time: 2:55 p.m.
By: _ X Personal Service upon the undersigned
___ Regular Mail
-___ Certified/Registered Mail
- ~fnterdepartment Delivery'
The enclosed Claim (or Application to File Late Claim) was presented to this office
as indicated above and has been referred to the appropriate City department for its
investigation and also to the offices of Woodruff, Spradlin and Smart, Attn' Lois E.
.~effrey, City Attorney. By this letter, you are authorized' to commence the
necessary investigation of this claim on behalf of the City.
We request that you give such notices as may be appropriate to the City's
insurance carrier(s) and further request that you submit your preliminary and all
subsequent reports to the City, with a copy to the City Attorney and to the
insurance carder(s) if they so request. Upon receipt of advice from the City
Attorney, we will plan to present this matter to the City Council and/or take such
other stePS as are directed by the City Attorney.
Other:
A copy of this letter and enclosures were sent on 8-17-9____~_9 to the City Attorney and
Department Head, and the original was forwarded to ~ Finance Department.
Sincerely,
Valerie Crabill
_Chief Deputy City Clerk
LAW OFFICE OF WINIFRED PARR-PEAK
150 South Waterwheel
Orange, California 92869
Tel. (714) 532-3987
Fax. (714) 532-5485
Attorney for Claimant: REGINA GERONDALE
In the Matter of the Claim of
REGINA GERONDALE,
Claimant,
Vo
CITY OF TUSTIN,
Respondent.
TORT CLAIM TO GOVERNMENTAL
ENTITY PURSUANT TO
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 910, et seq.
Claimant: REGINA GERONDALE
Address: c/o Law office~'of Winifred Parr-Peak, 150 South
Waterwheel, Orange, Cali~0rnia, 92869 '
Phone Number: (714) 532-3987
·
The damage or injury occurred:
Date: February 18, 1999
Hour: 0815 (a.m.)
·
The damage or in jury occurred:
At: Irvine Boulevard, at its intersection with
(Old) Myford Road~
City: Tustin
County: Orange
3. The damage or injury occurred as follows:
Claimant was a front-seat passenger in a County of Orange
vehicle, driven and operated by County of Orange Public Facilities
Resource Department employee, Jesse Ruiz. The area in which the
collision occurred was undergoing improvements and was in an area
of "roadway construction". While in the intersection of Irvine
Boulevard at Myford Road attempting to make a left turn, the County
of Orange vehicle was struck at its passenger side by another
vehicle which had entered the intersection from the opposite
direction.
As a result of the collision, the County of Orange vehicle
Tort Claim to Governmental Entity
Gerondale v. City of Tustin
Page Two
then careened into a pole at the corner of the intersection,
sustaining major damage. Claimant suffered substantial injuries as
a result of the collision and both claimant and the driver of the
County of Orange vehicle were driven by ambulance to Western
Medical Center.
4. Briefly, the particular acts or omissions on the part of the
agents, servants, or employees that caused the injury or damage are
as follows:
That during and as a result of the roadway improvements and
construction there was no notice, signals, signs or warnings to
those drivers traveling along and upon Irvine Boulevard on approach
to Myford Road that there was cross-traffic ahead, that drivers
should proceed with caution or that drivers should reduce speed on
approach to the intersecting roadway; that there was no posted
speed limit in effect on the date of the above-referenced incident
in light of and despite the physical characteristics of the roadway
and the improvements being made thereon, the'absence of warnings to
drivers along and upon ~the~' roadway, the absence of traffic
management personnel and flagmen, and the amount of traffic along
and upon Irvine Boulevard, at or near its intersection with Myford
Road.
That as a result of the roadway improvements and traffic
realignment, there was caused to be present, and there was caused
to remain, at a position along the roadway, a visual obstruction to
those users of the particular roadways at or near the intersection
and which further created a' trap for those unwary users of the
roadway at or near the intersection, despite the danger thereby
created to the public and to the users of the roadway.
5. The names of the agents, servants, or employees that caused
the injuries or damage are as follows:
The specific identities are unknown to' claimant at this time
who therefore alleges on information and belief that those agents,
servants or employees include, but are not limited to, traffic and
roadway planners, traffic and roadway engineers, traffic and
roadway management, traffic and roadway maintenance personnel,
traffic and roadway construction personnel, and traffic and roadway
operations personnel.
6o Claimant has incurred the following expenditures, economic and
non-economic damages to date as a result of the injury or damage:
Damages: Claimant sustained multiple rib fractures,
Tort 'Claim to Governmental Entity
Gerondale v. City of Tustin
Page Three
neck/throat injuries, left shoulder injuries, lacerations and
bruising to both lower extremities, chest and diaphragm injuries,
lacerations to both hands, and emotional and mental distress.
Economic DamageS: $ not yet known to claimant
Non-Economic Damages: $ not yet known to claimant
7. The following are those health care providers, individuals and
entities who have provided treatment and services to the claimant
and the amounts of the obligation incurred by and known to claimant
to date as a result of the injury or damage:
Western Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, and others, whose
identities and amounts incurred to date are unknown to claimant at
this time.
8. The following are witnesses to the incident, injuries or
damages, known to claimant to date:
At this time, the Only Witness known to claimant, other than
those involVed in the~ traffic'collision, is Cindy Radke.
The undersigned, under penalty of perjury, states: That the
above-claim and items set our are true and correCt; and that the
amounts therein are justly due to the claimant.
THIS CLAIM IS MADE ON BEHALF OF THE ABOVE-NAMED CLAIMANT BY
AND THROUGH CLAIMANT'S ATTORNEY, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE,
SECTION 910.2, et seq.
DATED: August 13, ~1999
·
Attorney for Claimant