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A California woman who was injured after falling on a public sidewalk was awarded $7.5 million in a case settled on Oct. 14Justine Gurrola, a special education teacher, fell on an uneven section of pathway while walking in the City of Whittier in 2018Gurrola’s attorney said she suffered multiple broken bones and a mild traumatic brain injury due to the incident, which he had argued was caused by the city’s negligence
A California woman has been awarded $7.5 million — seven years after she fell on a public sidewalk.
Justine Gurrola, a special education teacher, was walking in Whittier, a city in Los Angeles County, in February 2018 when she allegedly tripped on an uneven sidewalk and fell forward, according to a legal complaint obtained by PEOPLE that was filed by Gurrola in the Superior Court of California.
The city settled with Gurrola on Tuesday, Oct. 14, per Whittier Daily News.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Gurrola’s trial attorney, Nick Rowley, said that Gurrola broke her wrist, elbow and nose when she fell, as well as injured her knees, neck and back. He added that she suffered “a mild traumatic brain injury” and has been living in chronic pain since the incident.
Rowley said Gurrola’s trial lasted five weeks, and that the jury “returned a unanimous verdict against the City [of Whittier] assigning 100% fault against the city.”
“We settled the damages portion of the case for $7.5 million, which is the largest sidewalk defect trip-and-fall settlement in California State history,” he added.
In a separate statement to Whittier Daily News, Rowley claimed that the city had ignored complaints about upraised sidewalks caused by tree roots for years, and stated the city had not implemented adequate inspection protocols.
“Public safety isn’t just police and firefighters; it’s ensuring public right-of-ways are maintained to prevent injury or worse. Waiting until people are seriously hurt or killed before fixing long-standing dangerous conditions is wrong,” he told the outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to the City of Whittier and the State of California for comment on Thursday, Oct. 23, but did not receive immediate responses.
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While speaking to NBC 4, Gurrola said that for her, the lawsuit wasn’t just about money, but about preventing what happened to her from happening to someone else.
“Whittier is known for its trees. We have beautiful trees. […] But, unfortunately, sometimes that can be unsafe,” she said, adding, “The things I loved to do I could no longer [do]. It made me really sad.”
She added, “I think the biggest thing is that other people won’t suffer from this 1761482779.”