Plaintiffs struck in crosswalk during large event, blame sheriff's traffic control. $17.8M. Los Angeles County.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  At issue was whether the Sheriff's negligently mismanaged traffic arising from spontaneous street celebrations when Mexico beat the U.S. in soccer on July 7, 2019. At a pivotal intersection (Whittier & Arizona) thousands of fans congregated after the match, prompting sheriff deputies to take over control from the traffic lights. 10-15 minutes after they did, when plaintiffs used the north crosswalk, a car drove forward against a red light and ran into them.

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  Plaintiffs contended the Los Angeles County sheriffs were negligent when they failed to incorporate lessons from prior, similar operations; developed an operational plan last minute (despite having several days' notice) and did a poor job of briefing its personnel; that defendant's deputies arranged vehicles in the intersection in a way that blocked lines of sight instead of protecting pedestrians; that the deputies actively gave hand signals that contradicted the still-operational traffic lights.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  The Sheriff's department claimed they were doing the best they could given the challenging and unpredictable situation. Furthermore, one of their deputies testified that the car drove forward despite being directed to conduct a U-turn. (The driver of the vehicle died during COVID and before he was deposed, so his statements at the scene that law enforcement waved him forward against the red light were never admitted for the jury.)

  The defendant also contended that Melanie did not hit her head against the ground with enough force to cause a concussion, and that any post-crash issues she had were from issues she had that pre-dated the crash.