Screen Shot 2016-08-31 at 11.11.23 AM.png

This Google Earth image shows the residence of Melissa and Michael Sparks. A dark vehicle (seen here on light gray concrete) is parked off the street in front of their home in this undated photo.

A Troutdale woman is suing her neighbors for $543,000 after she says they blocked the sidewalk by parking their full-size pickup truck across it.

Loretta Caldwell says she was forced to walk around the pickup and into the street. In the process, she ended up tripping on the curb and fracturing her wrist, according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 18 in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

The suit states neighbors Melissa and Michael Sparks violated Troutdale city code and Oregon law by blocking the sidewalk with their truck. The suit says Caldwell lives two doors down, and as she walked toward her home she couldn't step immediately around the truck because it was parked up against some bushes and a bioswale filled with thick vegetation.

So Caldwell walked onto the street, and as she tried to step back onto the curb in front of her home she fell, the suit states. The incident happened after sunset, before 7 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2015, according to the suit.

The Sparks couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. A claims adjuster for their insurance company, Liberty Mutual, said he couldn't comment on the case because of the pending litigation.

Portland attorney Jennie Clark said the insurance company -- on behalf of the Sparks -- has denied liability.

Clark said city and state law forbids vehicles from blocking the sidewalk because it poses a serious danger to pedestrians.

"It could have been worse," said Clark, noting the potential for vehicle traffic to strike pedestrians in the street.

Caldwell underwent surgery on her broken wrist and had to miss a week of work as a medical consultant, the suit states. Caldwell seeks more than $40,000 in medical bills, $2,600 for lost wages and $500,000 for physical pain, mental suffering and interference with her ability to carry on with her past normal activities.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119