$100M for repairing San Diego sidewalks as injuries mount

San Diego will spend $100 million over the next decade to repair 80,000 city sidewalks to stem a recent tide of injury payouts. Because repairing sidewalks is the legal responsibility of adjacent property owners, officials had previously considered property liens and education campaigns to encourage more effort by homeowners. But after being forced to pay more than $11 million for injury lawsuits, the city decided it would make the repairs. In one notable suit, a jury awarded Cynthia Hedgecock — the wife of former Mayor Roger Hedgecock — nearly $85,000 for ruptured breast implants she suffered during a sidewalk fall.