L.A. to Pay $23.7M for Scientist's Death in San Pedro

The city of Los Angeles will have to pay millions of dollars -- a ¨significant judgment¨-- to the family of a Northrop Grummanscientist who died in a crash at a San Pedro intersection that attorneys said was improperly designed.

A jury awarded $23.7 million to the widow and young son of Thomas Guilmette, 59, who was killed in 2013 when his motorcycle struck a car at the corner of Summerland and Cabrillo avenues, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Jurors found that the city was 95 percent liable for Guilmette’s death, according to The Times.

“It’s a very significant judgment against the city,” the family’s attorney, Don Liddy, told the paper.

Liddy said residents in the San Pedro neighborhood had repeatedly complained about the blind corner at the intersection, forcing drivers trying to make a left turn to edge into oncoming traffic to see if they were clear to proceed.

Guilmette was riding a motorcycle to work on Feb. 23, 2013, when he struck a vehicle that had pulled into his path to make a turn. Liddy said city officials made plans in 2001 and 2009 to make improvements to the intersection, but took no action until after Guilmette’s death.

Rob Wilcox, spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, told The Times the verdict was “outrageous” and said the city would appeal.

–-City News Service, photo via Shutterstock