A San Francisco resident is taking legal action against the city and county, alleging negligence after a severe accident. On August 26, 2024, Sarah Rachal filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, against the City and County of San Francisco.
According to the court documents, Rachal sustained permanent and severe injuries on June 19, 2023, when she fell into a large hole at the intersection of King Street and 4th Street in San Francisco. The plaintiff asserts that the City and County of San Francisco were responsible for maintaining this public property but failed to do so adequately. As a result, Rachal suffered significant harm. "The claims set forth herein arise from the permanent and severe injuries sustained by Plaintiff SARAH RACHAL," states the complaint.
Rachal alleges that the defendants were negligent in their duty to maintain safe conditions on public roadways. She claims that they owned, controlled, managed, maintained, operated, supervised, repaired, and possessed the intersection where her accident occurred. The lawsuit highlights several points of alleged negligence: failure to repair the large hole or provide adequate warnings such as barricades or signs; improper maintenance and inspection; and failure to warn pedestrians about unsafe conditions.
In compliance with Government Code §910, Rachal presented her claims to both the City and County of San Francisco on December 5, 2023. These claims were rejected on March 25, 2024. Therefore, this legal action was filed within the allowable time frame under Gov. Code §945.6.
The plaintiff's factual allegations include that on June 19, 2023, while crossing King Street at its intersection with 4th Street in San Francisco, she fell into a large hole in the street resulting in quadriplegia among other severe injuries. She contends that these injuries were foreseeable due to what she describes as dangerous conditions created by defective planning and inadequate maintenance by city officials.
Rachal seeks general damages exceeding jurisdictional limits for her pain and suffering as well as special damages including loss of earnings capacity and medical expenses incurred due to her injuries. Additionally, she requests prejudgment interest calculated from when her cause of action arose until judgment is rendered.
The case is being handled by attorney Matthew P. Donahue from Donahue Law Professional Corporation representing Sarah Rachal. The case ID is CGC-24-617545.