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Case 03 · Pure comparative negligence

Texting While Walking, Then Billing Taxpayers

A pedestrian found 50% responsible for his own injury still collected more than $3 million from the City of Los Angeles.

$3M+Collected from the City despite equal fault

At a glance

Case
Payman Heravi v. City of Los Angeles
Plaintiff share of fault
50%
City payment
More than $3M
A pedestrian crossing a street at dusk, the incident at the center of the Heravi case

What happened

A text message and an uneven sidewalk

The plaintiff was checking a text message instead of watching where he was walking when he tripped over an uneven sidewalk.

The jury found him 50% responsible for his own injury.

The liability rule

Equal fault did not bar recovery

Under California’s pure comparative negligence system, a plaintiff can recover substantial damages even when a jury finds that person directly responsible for the injury. There is no threshold at which the plaintiff’s share of fault becomes too great to recover.

Jury’s allocation of fault

50%50%
PlaintiffCity of Los Angeles

Taxpayer impact

More than $3 million from the City

Despite the finding that the plaintiff was equally at fault, he collected more than $3 million from the City of Los Angeles.

Why this matters

Texting while walking should not end with taxpayers picking up a multimillion-dollar tab.