- “She has traumatic brain injury leading to significant volume loss in her frontal and temporal lobes, which has, in turn, led to loss of executive function, emotional regulation, and memory capacity.” – Trial Lawyers for Justice
LOS ANGELES — The Trial Lawyers for Justice reports that, during a five-week jury trial, the City of Whittier agreed to pay $7.5 million to special education teacher Justine Gurrola after a jury found the city at fault for injuries she sustained from an uplifted sidewalk. The case highlighted Whittier’s longstanding failure to maintain public sidewalks despite repeated complaints about tree-root damage.
According to court records cited by the Trial Lawyers for Justice, on Feb. 25, 2018, Gurrola was walking with her nephew when she tripped on a section of sidewalk raised by tree roots 2⅛ inches. She fell forward, fracturing her wrist, elbow, and knees, and also sustained acute nasal fractures and a split lip. A CT scan revealed a scalp hematoma, later diagnosed as a mild traumatic brain injury.
Over the following seven years, Gurrola reportedly experienced lasting cognitive changes, including post-traumatic stress disorder, memory loss, and difficulties with emotional regulation.
The firm emphasized that the City of Whittier had no formal sidewalk inspection system at the time of the incident. According to testimony from Whittier Director of Human Resources and Risk Management Yolanda Martinez, complaints about tree roots causing sidewalk damage were the most common claims filed against the city. The city implemented an inspection program two years after the incident.
“The City of Whittier failed in its most basic duty to keep its residents safe and cared more about its trees than its people,” said Nick Rowley, nationally recognized trial attorney and co-founder of the Trial Lawyers for Justice. “For years, the City of Whittier ignored a known danger and did nothing to implement an inspection system, allowing complaints to pile up until it was too late and Justine Gurrola was seriously hurt.”
Under California Government Code § 830(c), liability for a dangerous condition depends on the public entity’s ownership or control of the property. The law holds that a public entity is responsible for injuries caused by a dangerous condition if the property was in that condition at the time of the injury, the injury was directly caused by it, the risk of harm was reasonably foreseeable, and either an employee’s negligence created the danger or the entity had notice of it with enough time to take protective measures. Gurrola’s case met all these criteria.
The Trial Lawyers for Justice noted that Whittier only created a sidewalk inspection system two years after Gurrola’s fall, when the city’s insurance group required it to renew coverage. The firm stated that Whittier had “no plans or protocols to perform and document any regular inspection of city-owned sidewalks,” despite knowing that “tree roots were a problem to contend with and required the city to replace the damaged elements.”
“Tree roots that cause sidewalk damage” were said to be the most prominent claim filed against the city, Martinez testified.
Since her fall, Gurrola has been treated by several doctors for long-term injuries. “She has traumatic brain injury leading to significant volume loss in her frontal and temporal lobes, which has, in turn, led to loss of executive function, emotional regulation, and memory capacity,” according to the Trial Lawyers for Justice.
The firm added that Gurrola also suffered “acute nasal bone fractures and fractures in her left wrist and elbow,” along with knee injuries requiring arthroscopic surgery. To this day, Gurrola continues to experience symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury, PTSD, memory loss, and cognitive changes.
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