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Council committee approves $65,000 settlement in personal‑injury case tied to obstructed stop sign; staff note complaint‑driven maintenance
Summary
The committee authorized a $65,000 settlement for a personal‑injury claim alleging an obstructed stop sign. Metro law staff said prior complaints led to vegetation trimming, described the sign‑maintenance system as largely complaint‑driven, and raised comparative‑fault questions about private property where the tree trunk stood.
The Budget & Finance Committee approved a settlement to resolve the personal‑injury claim of Donald Stickrod against the Metropolitan Government in the amount of $65,000, to be paid from the self‑insured liability fund.
Andrew McClanahan, senior counsel with the Metro Department of Law, described the claims: plaintiffs alleged a stop sign was obstructed by overgrowth and that the intersection lacked sufficient traffic control. McClanahan said records included several prior complaints: a June complaint that led to Indot trimming vegetation before the November accident, another intersection study in December that recommended trimming for sight‑distance issues, and an April 2021 complaint about overgrowth.
McClanahan said Metro has defenses but recommended settlement given the facts and multiple fronts of alleged negligence. Committee members asked whether the obstructing vegetation was on private property; McClanahan said the trunk was on private property, and the government alleged comparative fault could be applied to the property owner though the plaintiff did not pursue that party in the suit.
An NDOT representative (in committee) described sign maintenance as largely complaint‑driven across the county’s roughly 2,200 miles of roadway and more than 100,000 signs. Council members urged a more proactive maintenance policy, noting that trimmed vegetation can regrow quickly during active growing seasons and that repeated complaints at one intersection suggest a need for sustained follow‑up.
The committee approved the settlement 11-0.
