$4M for California Woman Whose Car Plunged into Sinkhole

Article

Los Angeles will pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who was injured when her car plunged into a sinkhole nearly three years ago.

The City Council agreed to the settlement on last week.

Stephanie Scott said in her lawsuit that she suffered “significant injuries, damages and losses” when the street suddenly opened up below her car in Studio City on Feb. 17, 2017.

Firefighters reported they arrived to find a vehicle upside down in a huge sinkhole full of rushing water. Scott was rescued with an extension ladder.

Scott sued the city, arguing that her injuries were a result of government negligence.

Her injuries included traumatic brain injury, post-concussive syndrome, and sight problems that involve double or blurred vision, according to her attorneys.

In a legal filing two years ago, city attorneys denied the allegations of negligence that Scott raised in her lawsuit, but provided few other details. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the settlement.

Shortly after the 2017 incident, the Department of Public Works said in a statement to reporters that the sinkhole “was probably caused by a combination of excessive rain and a possible sewer failure.”