San Diego has agreed to pay a man nearly $5 million for severe injuries he suffered when he and his bicycle were launched 28 feet by tree-damaged sidewalk in Del Cerro in 2014.

Clifford Brown tore spinal cord ligaments, lost several teeth and suffered a possible stroke after skidding another 10 feet and landing on his head, according to court documents.

The San Diego City Council is scheduled on Tuesday to approve a $4.85 million settlement with Brown, who filed a lawsuit in 2015. The council gave the agreement a preliminary approval in a session closed to the public in October, but three of its nine members have been replaced since then.

The settlement is much larger than what the city typically pays in cases involving injuries related to bicycling accidents or damaged sidewalks. The last three such settlements have been for $75,000, $98,000 and $235,000.


The settlement is smaller, however, than $7.6 million that a jury awarded in 2012 to a Mission Hills man who was paralyzed when a 60-foot-tall queen palm tree fell on him during a storm in 2010, crushing his legs.

In that case, Michael Burke argued the city was liable because it had slashed funding for tree maintenance and inspection as part of budget cuts during the Great Recession.

City officials said they expect to receive an insurance reimbursement of at least $1.85 million of the $4.85 million settlement because the amount exceeds the city’s “self-insured retention and reimbursable expenses.”

When government agencies settle litigation before trial, it typically indicates agency officials perceive there is risk that a jury could end up awarding the plaintiff a larger amount than the settlement amount. A trial in Brown’s case had been scheduled to begin Feb. 3.


By comparison, the city has paid just over $1 million total in settlements to women who sued the city claiming they were sexually harassed or assaulted by former Mayor Bob Filner.

Brown’s lawsuit says the city should have taken “corrective measures” to eliminate the 7-inch sidewalk ramp that a tree root had created on the east side of College Avenue just south of Eldergardens Street.

The suit also notes that the city didn’t post a warning sign or any other indication to bicyclists and pedestrians that they were approaching a dangerous situation.

Brown’s suit says he was riding northbound to a friend’s house about 1 p.m. when the raised curb, which the suit calls a “launching ramp,” threw him 28 feet. He then skidded another 10 feet and landed on his head, leaving a small pool of blood.


He was then taken by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa, where he stayed nearly a month. He then spent two months in a skilled nursing facility and has had home health care since then.

The city’s initial response to the lawsuit contended that the danger would have been apparent to a person exercising “due care.” The response also called the danger “minor, trivial and insignificant.”

After the litigation was filed, lawyers for the city tried to bring into the case Brown’s mental health history, but a judge ruled against that. The judge, however, allowed Brown’s alleged substance abuse problems to be part of the case.

Brown initially also sued the owners of the property adjacent to the damaged sidewalk, but they were ruled not liable because the city controls the sidewalk.


Brown’s attorney, William Berman, said on Wednesday he couldn’t comment on the case until the council approves the settlement next Tuesday.

A spokesman for City Attorney Mara Elliott said the size of the settlement was “appropriate” based on Brown’s medical bills, his need for future medical care and the possibility he won’t be able to work again.

City spokeswoman Katie Keach said the settlement won’t worsen projected budget deficits for the current fiscal year and the fiscal year that begins July 1 because the city sets aside millions each year in a “public liability operating fund” created to cover such settlements and other litigation costs.


david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick