Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bicyclist vs. city's pothole

Devastating injury could have been prevented, says lawsuit

March 21, 2015, was a perfect day for a bike ride in La Jolla…until cyclist Jonathan Sammartino struck a two-and-a-half-foot by four-foot pothole on Torrey Pines Road and was thrown from his bike head-first onto the concrete.

While unconscious from the fall, Sammartino had a seizure and was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital, where doctors discovered that his brain was bleeding from the impact. He stayed in the intensive care unit for five days before being admitted to an in-patient rehabilitation facility.

Nearly one year after the fall, Sammartino is suing the City of San Diego for neglecting public property.

Sammartino's attorneys claim that Sammartino "exercised due care" by riding in the bicycle lane and was riding "below the posted speed limit and was following all other safety precautions including using bicycle safety equipment and wearable protection, including a helmet."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Yet, while Sammartino used caution during his ride, it was the city, says the lawsuit, that failed to protect the public.

According to the complaint, the "pothole is visible on images on the Internet, including satellite images and from street-view images taken months before the accident." Its visibility and the sheer size leads Sammartino's attorneys to believe that the city was most likely aware of the pothole for some time before the accident.

"The City of San Diego likely had actual notice of the condition, such as by observation or citizen complaints, but at very least had constructive notice of the dangerous condition sufficient in time to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition....

"As a direct and proximate result of the injuries, [Sammartino] has been unable to perform the duties of a husband in that [he] can no longer assist in the same ways that he used to be able to with housework, cooking, have sexual intercourse, participate in family, recreational, or social activities with [his wife], or contribute to the household income," reads the complaint.

"Due to the nature of the injuries...and the severe physical and psychological strains they cause him, [Sammartino] is no longer able to provide [his wife] with love, companionship, affection, society, moral support, and solace."

The lawsuit is one of many filed in recent years by cyclists and pedestrians who have allegedly been injured as a result of San Diego's crumbling infrastructure. In 2014, as reported by the Reader, a cyclist sued the city after running into a crumbling sidewalk during a ride in Carmel Valley. The case is ongoing. In June 2014, the city filed a counter-claim against a construction company for construction defects.

In another lawsuit filed in 2013, a cyclist sued the city for failing to maintain the streets and create bike lanes after she was hit by a car near Pacific Beach. In April 2015, the city council settled the case out of court for $225,000 for Martinez.

A hearing in San Diego Superior Court is scheduled for September 30, 2016.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”

March 21, 2015, was a perfect day for a bike ride in La Jolla…until cyclist Jonathan Sammartino struck a two-and-a-half-foot by four-foot pothole on Torrey Pines Road and was thrown from his bike head-first onto the concrete.

While unconscious from the fall, Sammartino had a seizure and was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital, where doctors discovered that his brain was bleeding from the impact. He stayed in the intensive care unit for five days before being admitted to an in-patient rehabilitation facility.

Nearly one year after the fall, Sammartino is suing the City of San Diego for neglecting public property.

Sammartino's attorneys claim that Sammartino "exercised due care" by riding in the bicycle lane and was riding "below the posted speed limit and was following all other safety precautions including using bicycle safety equipment and wearable protection, including a helmet."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Yet, while Sammartino used caution during his ride, it was the city, says the lawsuit, that failed to protect the public.

According to the complaint, the "pothole is visible on images on the Internet, including satellite images and from street-view images taken months before the accident." Its visibility and the sheer size leads Sammartino's attorneys to believe that the city was most likely aware of the pothole for some time before the accident.

"The City of San Diego likely had actual notice of the condition, such as by observation or citizen complaints, but at very least had constructive notice of the dangerous condition sufficient in time to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition....

"As a direct and proximate result of the injuries, [Sammartino] has been unable to perform the duties of a husband in that [he] can no longer assist in the same ways that he used to be able to with housework, cooking, have sexual intercourse, participate in family, recreational, or social activities with [his wife], or contribute to the household income," reads the complaint.

"Due to the nature of the injuries...and the severe physical and psychological strains they cause him, [Sammartino] is no longer able to provide [his wife] with love, companionship, affection, society, moral support, and solace."

The lawsuit is one of many filed in recent years by cyclists and pedestrians who have allegedly been injured as a result of San Diego's crumbling infrastructure. In 2014, as reported by the Reader, a cyclist sued the city after running into a crumbling sidewalk during a ride in Carmel Valley. The case is ongoing. In June 2014, the city filed a counter-claim against a construction company for construction defects.

In another lawsuit filed in 2013, a cyclist sued the city for failing to maintain the streets and create bike lanes after she was hit by a car near Pacific Beach. In April 2015, the city council settled the case out of court for $225,000 for Martinez.

A hearing in San Diego Superior Court is scheduled for September 30, 2016.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
Next Article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader