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SANTA MONICA (CNS) - A lawsuit has been filed against the city of Beverly Hills on behalf of a Newport Beach girl who fell on a shallow light post at the Beverly Canon Gardens in 2022, leaving a gash in her chin.
The Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit also names as a defendant the Maybourne Beverly Hills Operator LLC, identified in the complaint as the company that manages and oversees the Beverly Canon Gardens. The suit alleges negligence/premises liability and dangerous condition of public property and seeks compensatory damages as well as reimbursement of medical expenses.
The lighting fixture had several spikes on top, creating a "potential skewering hazard" and an unreasonable risk of harm at the garden that was likely to be overlooked by a visitor who would find it difficult to see the lighting fixture due to its low height, according to the suit, which also calls the fixture a "dangerous trap."
A Beverly Hills spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Sept. 5.
The plaintiff, now 8 years old, was 6 when she was hurt on Aug. 14, 2022. Photos of the injured girl and of the lighting fixture are included in the lawsuit pleadings.
"As (the plaintiff) was walking in the garden in the area near the fountain ... (she) fell into the short (spiky) light fixture, causing severe injuries to her face," the suit states.
The fixture was located in a planter next to the garden's central fountain and the defendants knew that the attention of visitors entering the patio area, including small children, would be drawn to the fountain, making it all the more imperative to keep the area free from hazards, the suit states.
The defendants allowed the allegedly dangerous condition to exist for years and failed to either remove the fixture or put some kind of barricade around it with a warning, the suit states.
The girl continues to have medical, hospital, nursing, attendant and related expenses as well as a "diminution of her time and income," according to the suit.