San Diego paying out $225,000 to woman injured in trip over Loma Portal water meter cover

San Diego is paying out $225,000 to a woman whose arm was severely injured when she tripped on a city water meter cover in Loma Portal.

The payout, which the City Council is scheduled to approve Tuesday, will settle a lawsuit filed last year that contends the water meter cover was unstable and defective and constituted a “trap” for pedestrians.

The woman, Melinda Moore, suffered an injury to her right arm that required a surgical implant, the suit says.

Water meter covers fill small gaps in the sidewalk created so that city workers can read water meters below the sidewalk level.

The suit says Moore tripped and fell when she stepped on a cover that tilted under her foot on Willow Street between Russell and Quimby streets in September 2021.

City officials are blamed in the lawsuit for not having an adequate inspection system to determine when water meter covers are hazardous. The suit also blames the city for not posting warning signs near the damaged cover.

The settlement, which the council approved in closed session Feb. 6, will allow Superior Court Judge Richard Whitney to cancel a civil trial he had scheduled for Aug. 4.

San Diego faces many lawsuits each year related to deteriorating infrastructure, including sidewalks and water meter covers.

The city recently paid out nearly $3 million to a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was thrown off his bicycle by sunken asphalt on a Bay Ho street and $300,000 to a woman who tripped and fell over a drainage outlet on Mount Soledad.

A 2020 city audit found the city could significantly reduce the nearly $25 million a year it spends on lawsuit payouts by fixing damaged sidewalks and concrete in key areas and revamping dangerous intersections.

Auditors also recommended proactive measures such as better employee training and deeper analyses of risks.