On the same day that the Pima County Board of Supervisors will consider sweeping monies intended for road maintenance back into the General Fund, they will consider settling a $6 million lawsuit related to a road rut damage claim.
The lawsuit, Willet, et al. v. Pima County, Pima County Superior Court Case No. C20141595, is on the Board’s April 14, Executive Meeting Agenda.
Willet worked for the County for the past 27 years, and he and Huckelberry are close friends. Willett returned to his spot as the second-highest-ranking official under Huckelberry after the incident.
Willet is being represented by his wife’s law firm McEvoy, Daniels, and Darcy, PC., which filed a Notice of Claim with the County on December 18, 2013 for $5 million for his injuries as well as $1 million for the suffering of his wife, Sally.
Willet claims he was seriously injured, and his wife incurred damages when the front wheel of his bike “became lodged in a drainage gap” on the Dodge Boulevard Bridge.
Willet claims that he turned to look behind him and swerved into the small gap. However, the gap is not within the bike path but along the sidewalk. While Willett is claiming negligence on the part of the County, he would have had to be off the marked bike path to have hit the drainage gap. His bike would have had to be less than ½” from the sidewalk to come in contact with the gap.
Willett shattered a number of bones in his back, which required nine surgeries.
Attendees at the State of the State event this past year, were surprised to learn that Willet, who appeared to be having a pleasant time, was at the same time claiming that his “associated pain is constant, unrelenting and permanent.”
Four of the five County supervisors will likely vote to settle Willet’s claim.