Anaheim to Settle Brain-Injury Suit for $1 Million : Liability: Youth contends that the city allowed unsafe traffic conditions on Imperial Highway, which fronts Canyon High School, where a pickup he was riding in was struck by another vehicle.

The city has agreed to pay $1 million to a 19-year-old man who suffered extensive brain damage in a car crash in front of Canyon High School almost two years ago, city officials said Wednesday.

Jose Luis Duarte contends in his lawsuit that the 1993 accident was a direct result of dangerous conditions, including “excessive traffic congestion and unsafe traffic control,” which the city permitted to exist on Imperial Highway, the street fronting the school.

In addition to the $1 million from the city, the financial agreement would also include an undisclosed sum from the city’s liability insurer. City Atty. Jack L. White declined to disclose the amount of the total proposed settlement before it is approved in Orange County Superior Court, but he said it would be “more than $1 million and less than $2 million.”

Duarte, who was in a coma after the accident, suffered a fractured skull, brain hemorrhages, a punctured lung, broken shoulder, broken leg and kidney injuries. He is permanently brain-injured and requires special care.

“It’s a sad story and a terrible thing to have happen,” White said. “There is a lot of sympathy for someone with this type of injury. Because of the severity of the injuries involved, the insurance carrier thought it was prudent to settle it.”

Duarte was on his way to school on May 27, 1993, when the pickup truck he and three other students were riding in collided with a car carrying four students at the school’s entrance.

Duarte, then 17, was one of two students who were thrown from the back of the truck. The eight students received serious to minor injuries in the accident.

Other lawsuits filed by the Duarte family and others involved in the accident have been resolved or dismissed. Details were not available. The other defendants in the Duarte suit included the Orange Unified School District, the driver and other passengers in the pickup truck, and the driver and passengers in the other car, according to court documents.

Duarte’s brother, Victor, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuits being settled by the city. The younger brother was riding in the truck but suffered less-severe injuries.

The accident occurred as the pickup truck, being driven by a student, was making a left turn into the school’s entrance. As it turned, a car traveling northbound on Imperial Highway struck the car on the right side, according to police statements made at the time.

The City Council approved the amount for a proposed financial settlement during a closed session early last month. The city has a $1-million deductible with its liability insurer, which is an insurance pool with other municipalities. The council decision had not previously been made public because the financial agreement still must be approved by a Superior Court judge, White said.

A hearing is scheduled March 16.

Duarte’s attorney, William J. Howard, could not be reached for comment.