Ex-Officer Awarded Nearly $8 Million

A former Los Angeles police officer, left a paraplegic after a traffic accident while responding to a bomb scare three years ago, will receive nearly $8 million in settlements from lawsuits he filed after the accident, city officials said.

Brian D. Matthews, who had been a police officer for 19 years, was en route from Palmdale to San Pedro about 10:30 p.m. to handle a call about a suspicious briefcase. As he was driving on the San Diego Freeway in Granada Hills, the tread suddenly separated from a tire on his Chevrolet Suburban bomb squad vehicle. Matthews lost control and the vehicle bounced off the center divider, slid sideways into several sand-filled barrels and flipped several times, ejecting him from the vehicle.

Matthews filed suits against the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., alleging a defective tire, and against General Motors, alleging a faulty seat belt. He also sued Brutoco Engineering & Construction and the state of California, alleging an unsafe freeway condition. The city intervened in the lawsuit, seeking damages of $846,000 from workers’ compensation benefits paid to the former officer as a result of the accident, and nearly $754,000, the difference between the disability pension he is being paid and the regular service pension he could have taken.

The City Council agreed after a closed session Wednesday to accept a $146,250 settlement.

Because Matthews will purchase his own insurance for future health coverage, city attorneys estimate the city will save about $1.6 million. A Los Angeles Superior Court mediator recommended the settlement and city attorneys agreed it was in the city’s best interest.

Matthews will receive more than $7.9 million from the various co-defendants.