Accident Victim Gets $11-Million Settlement

The City Council approved the largest legal settlement in city history Friday, awarding a victim of a traffic accident $11 million.

After a closed session, the council voted 11 to 0 without comment to approve the costly settlement.

Pedro Espinoza, 52, was crossing 6th Street at the corner of Burlington Avenue when he was hit by a car driven by a Los Angeles police officer. Espinoza, a former trophy-winning salsa dancer and an assistant printer, is partially paralyzed, unable to speak but conscious and able to feel pain.

The city attorney’s office had recommended last month that the council reject an offer by Espinoza’s attorneys for a nearly $13-million settlement.

Talks between the city and Espinoza’s attorneys were mediated by retired Superior Court Judge Maurice Hogan, who said he expected a settlement in the case to run about $12 million to $13 million.

F.X. Sean O’Doherty, Espinoza’s attorney, said the settlement is a fair one, but he added that he believes Espinoza could have received substantially more if he had won a jury trial. But O’Doherty said he did not believe Espinoza could withstand a trial.

The officer, who was not in pursuit of suspects at the time of the October 1997 accident, did not see Espinoza as he crossed the street, according to a report prepared for the council. The officer swerved and attempted to brake but Espinoza was hit and flew about 30 feet in the air, the report said.

He remains in a rehabilitation hospital, where his bills are about $32,000 a month.