San Diego paying out $1.7M for Segway injury on La Jolla street

June 08--A woman who suffered a shattered pelvis in a Segway crash on a La Jolla street three years ago will receive $1.7 million from San Diego under the terms of a negotiated settlement.

The settlement, which the City Council is scheduled to approve on Tuesday, includes $1.5 million for Regina Capobianco and $200,000 for her husband, Christopher Capobianco, because her injuries damaged their marriage.

A Segway is a two-wheeled motorized vehicle that carries one person standing upright.

The new payout comes a little over a year after San Diego paid nearly $5 million to a bicyclist who suffered severe head injuries after being launched several feet by a damaged sidewalk in Del Cerro.

And this March, the city paid $1 million to settle a lawsuit over injuries caused by a damaged sidewalk in University Heights.

The payouts highlight the city's lack of adequate infrastructure to accommodate a surge in people traveling by bicycle or motorized devices like scooters and Segways.

Regina Copabianco was injured when she drove a Segway over a large area of broken and damaged street on Camino de la Costa at Winamar Avenue in July 2015.

Her shattered pelvis needed immediate surgery that required doctors to screw in metal plates. She was rushed from the scene to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa.

Copabianco's lawsuit, filed in July 2016 after the city rejected a claim for damages in April 2016, said she needs intense physical therapy and relies "predominantly" on a wheelchair to get around.

In addition to money for medical expenses and to cover pain and suffering, her lawsuit sought compensation for lost wages because Capobianco can no longer perform the undisclosed full-time job she had before the Segway crash.

Christopher Capobianco was included in the lawsuit because his wife's injuries damaged the marriage, including loss of companionship and something called "loss of consortium," which usually means the couple no longer has sex.

The crash took place in a residential part of La Jolla one block from the ocean.

The city initially defended itself, contending in court filings that the Capobiancos were careless and negligent and should have seen the damaged pavement if they were exercising due care.

Attorneys for the city also filed a cross complaint against We Love Tourists, the Segway tour guide business that provided Capobianco her vehicle.

The complaint argued the tour company was partly responsible for the crash and should cover a percentage of any settlement.

Michael Giorgino, a spokesman for City Attorney Mara Elliott, said by email on Friday that the tour company didn't contribute to the settlement because it didn't have liability insurance at the time of the accident and the company's owner had limited assets.

Elliott is working with city staff on an ordinance that would require tour operators that utilize Segways and other electric personal mobility devices to carry liability insurance and adhere to other safety regulations, Giorgino said.

The council approved the settlement 8-1 during a May 22 session closed to the public, with Councilwoman Lorie Zapf voting "no." City rules require settlements to be approved a second time, in open session.

Another incident involving a Segway has prompted a separate lawsuit against the city.

The family of Jeff Hassett filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in February blaming protruding sidewalk in Old Town for his eventual death.

The suit, filed by Hassett's four siblings, claims Hassett struck a 3-inch to 4-inch concrete stub in the sidewalk while riding a Segway in March 2016. The stub was created by the removal of a light pole on Taylor Street near Congress Street, the suit says.

Hassett suffered broken ribs, a toe injury that required amputation and damage to an internal heart defibrillator. The heart issue and an infection eventually caused his death in May 2016, the suit says.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick

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