The families of two boys who were severely injured\nwhen they were struck by a Jeep as they walked with their families to a July 4\nfireworks display in 2016 in California will receive a $30 million settlement\nfrom the city of Morgan Hill, where the accident occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Patton, who was 13 at the time\nof the crash, and his cousin, Mateo Cervantes, who was 6, were struck\non Monterey Road<\/a> as they were crossing eastbound at Fourth Street just before\na fireworks show on July 4, 2016, according to an Oct. 21 story by SanJoseInside.com<\/em>.\nPatton was dragged about 60 feet before the Jeep stopped, while Cervantes was\nlaunched at least 30 feet through the air due to the impact, the story reported.\nThe children were traveling with about a dozen members of their families and friends.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patton was on his bicycle and\nCervantes was on a scooter as they headed to the fireworks show about 9:10 p.m.\nand were traveling slightly ahead of the group, according to the plaintiff’s lawsuit.\nWhen the boys reached the crosswalk at Monterey Road and Fourth Street, they\nwaited for permission to cross and began to proceed when a white Jeep being\ndriven by Jacquelyn Fontaine struck them. Fontaine said she had not seen the children\ncrossing and did not apply the brakes before colliding with them, according to\nthe lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The intersection was dangerously\nunlit and surrounded by hazards that blocked visibility for pedestrians and\nmotorists, the lawsuit continued, including a temporary red-mesh barrier on the\nMonterey Road median, which the city had installed for an Independence Day\nparade that morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Just days before the\naccident, city crews removed two speed bumps on both sides of Monterey Road,\nwhich had long been in place to slow down vehicle traffic approaching the\nFourth Street intersection,” the story reported. “The bumps were\nreinstalled the next day, but city staff said at the time that this was not in\nresponse to the accident.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fontaine, who was named as a\ndefendant along with the city, “was unable to see the children or a ‘yield\nto pedestrians’ sign due to the visibility hazards,” the lawsuit continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patton was trapped under the Jeep\nafter he was struck and was convulsing in repeated seizures before being extricated\nfrom under the vehicle by emergency crews. Fontaine stayed at the scene and\ncooperated with authorities after the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patton suffered a traumatic brain\ninjury as a result of the crash and will require special medical care and\neducational support for the rest of his life, the story reported. Cervantes\nsuffered numerous injuries, including compound fractures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the settlement, the city\nagreed to pay $30 million without admitting fault. Most of the settlement\namount is covered by the city\u2019s insurance policies through ABAG PLAN Corp. The\ncity will have to pay $100,000 of the settlement amount on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The children\u2019s families also\nsettled with Fontaine for a separate $1.5 million payout, according to the\nstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the 2016 collision, the\ncity has installed other safety measures on downtown streets, including more\nlighting at crosswalks and a button signal for pedestrians at Third Street, as\nwell as re-striping and narrower vehicle lanes on Monterey Road, the story\ncontinued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legal cases like this one occur around the\nnation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases\nthat MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for\nour own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively\nworking on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other\nrelevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations\npeople find themselves in every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you need a car accident\ninjury attorney<\/a>,\nwe here at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> stand ready to assist you with your\nlegal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of\nvehicle crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or wrongful death in\nPhiladelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you\nand your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal\nrepresentation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which\nworks hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage\naward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We represent the families of victims who die\nin such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of\ndamages that they are eligible to receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney\nat MyPhillyLawyer<\/em><\/a> by calling 215-227-2727 or\ntoll-free at 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced,\ncompassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for\nyou and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the\nlegal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n