Lawyers Prosecuting City, County And Government Liability In California
City, county, state, and federal government employees and agencies are all required to act reasonably. When someone is hurt or killed as a result of public employee negligence or a dangerous condition of public property, the responsible public entity or city, county or state agency can be liable for damages. This is true whether the dangerous condition or negligent conduct is traced to a state employee, a city, a county, a school district, water district, a hospital board or other public entity.
Walkup Melodia Has Experienced Public Liability Attorneys
In the past 50 years, the California injury specialists at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger have concluded more than 250 cases against public entities, including the United States government, the city and county of San Francisco, San Mateo County, Marin County, Alameda County, Sonoma County, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, BART, the Golden Gate Bridge Transit District, the State of California, SamTrans, UC Hospitals, Caltrans, Caltrain, the San Francisco Water Department, the California Highway Patrol, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, the city of Oakland, Alameda County, Napa County, the U.S. Postal Service, and a host of water districts, hospital districts and school districts, sheriff’s departments and police departments.
Our California public entity liability specialists have developed expertise in the preparation and trial of cases involving public buildings, structures, and property; we handle cases involving dangerous roadways, buildings, bridges and other structures. Dangerous condition liability arises in many circumstances:
- Road resurfacing, striping, site distance, and design
- Poorly designed bridge abutments, guardrails, and median dividers
- Negligently managed construction zones, including those that do not have proper or visible signage
- Inadequate lighting at road resurfacing or construction projects, rendering pedestrians, other vehicles and landmarks difficult or impossible to see
- Bad road design, including lanes that are too narrow or turns that are improperly banked and railroad crossings that are mismarked or not guarded
- Surface defects, including potholes, loose gravel and other pavement hazards that cause vehicles to go out of control
All California citizens and motorists are entitled to walk on public sidewalks and drive on public roadways that have been properly built and maintained. Where improper maintenance or design results in death, the law firm of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger is ready to step in and help. Californians trust state highway maintenance engineers to make certain that our highways are safe.
The public entity wrongful death specialists at Walkup Melodia also have extensive experience representing citizens who have been injured through the negligence of public transportation systems, including the San Francisco Municipal Railway, SamTrans, Golden Gate Trans buses, Golden Gate Transit ferries, San Francisco Municipal Railway cable cars, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain.
Examples Of Successful Representation In Vehicle Collision Cases
Brain Injury — Dangerous Crosswalk — $12.2 Million Jury Verdict
Bicyclist Paralyzed By Dangerous Condition Of Public Property — $9.5 Million Settlement
High School Sexual Assault – Multi-million-Dollar Settlement
Runaway Cable Car – $4 Million Settlement
Streetcar Hits Pedestrian On Embarcadero – $3.25 Million Recovery
Lifeguard Negligence – $2.25 Million Public Pool Drowning
Police Misconduct/Dog Bite – $1.5 Million Settlement
Dangerous Public Park – $1 Million Settlement For Visitor Killed By Falling Tree
Dangerous Roadway – $1 Million City Settlement
*Click on the individual result to see details regarding the case.
Bay Area Public Entity/Government Liability Lawyers
Northern California citizens are killed each year as a result of public transportation errors and negligence. Under California law, public transportation systems are known as “common carriers,” which means they are required to operate with the highest degree of care possible to ensure the safety of their passengers. When negligent and dangerous operation results in death, public entities are liable. Additionally, public entities are required to maintain their vehicles in a manner that is safe and fit, consistent with the “highest degree of care” to avoid serious or fatal injury to their passengers.
Our California public entity lawsuit attorneys have been the most successful in Northern California, obtaining millions of dollars for injured passengers and the survivors of deceased clients killed by public transportation negligence. If a member of your family or a loved one has been fatally injured by the act or omission of a public employee, contact us today. Call us at (415) 981-7210 or contact the Walkup firm online to set up a free and confidential consultation.