OXNARD : Disabled Woman Sues City Over Fall
A disabled Oxnard woman has filed suit against the city, contending she was injured at last year’s Strawberry Festival because substandard parking for the disabled was provided.
Linda Lee Galbraith, 48, an advocate for disabled people, filed the lawsuit Monday in connection with injuries she suffered May 16 when she fell in a dirt parking area provided for the disabled at the city-sponsored Strawberry Festival.
Galbraith, who lost a leg in a traffic accident in 1982, uses a wheelchair. She was returning to her van after the festival when she fell because of the ruts and uneven surfaces in the parking area, the lawsuit states.
She said in the suit that the parking area for the disabled should not have had ruts and uneven dirt and that its condition violated the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which provide equal access rights to physically handicapped people.
Galbraith, a board member of the Independent Living Resource Center in Oxnard, said Monday that she was hospitalized for three days after the accident because of injuries suffered in the fall. She suffered neck, back and hip injuries, according to the suit.
Oxnard City Atty. Gary Gillig said he could not comment on the suit because he had not received a copy.
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