San Diego has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of James Wadsworth, a 60-year-old UC San Diego Health neurophysiology specialist who died after hitting a pothole while riding his personal electric scooter in Sorrento Valley in January 2023. The San Diego City Council is expected to give final approval to the payout on Tuesday, a move that would officially end the family's lawsuit against the city.
Wadsworth was riding southbound on Roselle Street, less than a quarter mile from the Sorrento Valley Coaster station, when he struck a large pothole and was thrown from his scooter, according to the Times of San Diego. Passersby found him unconscious and not breathing about seven feet from the pothole around 5:45 p.m. and began CPR until medics arrived, as reported by CBS 8. He was taken to the hospital with severe facial fractures and later died from his injuries.
Family Sued Over Street Maintenance Failures
Wadsworth was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Under California Vehicle Code § 21235(c), adult e-scooter riders 18 and older are not legally required to wear one — state lawmakers repealed the mandatory adult helmet rule in 2019 — which limits the city's ability to shift primary fault onto Wadsworth on regulatory grounds.
Wadsworth's wife and family sued the city in September 2023, alleging San Diego was responsible for his death because it failed to maintain its streets and sidewalks, the report notes. The San Diego City Council agreed to settle the lawsuit in closed session in July, ahead of Tuesday's expected final vote.
A Street With a Documented Pothole History
Roselle Street in Sorrento Valley had already been the subject of multiple pothole service requests filed through the city's Get It Done app and had required temporary storm-related closures due to severe asphalt deterioration and flooding, according to the City of San Diego Open Data Portal. City records show open and closed pothole work orders along the 10800 to 10900 blocks of the same street where Wadsworth crashed.
That history matters under California Government Code § 835, which holds a municipality liable for injuries from a dangerous road condition only if a plaintiff proves the hazard posed a foreseeable risk and that the city had actual or constructive notice long enough to fix it, per Gammill Law. Notice of that kind is typically established through prior municipal work orders or citizen complaints filed before a crash — exactly the type of record that existed on Roselle Street.
Part of a Much Larger Citywide Backlog
Wadsworth's case is unfolding against the backdrop of a much larger road-maintenance crisis. Between January 2025 and April 2026, San Diego residents submitted tens of thousands of pothole repair requests through Get It Done, with neighborhoods like Mira Mesa and Clairemont Mesa each logging more than 2,000 complaints, according to inewsource. The city manages nearly 3,000 miles of streets and alleys through a Transportation Department the outlet describes as historically underfunded.
Mayor Todd Gloria has since allocated $17 million specifically for asphalt and pothole repairs in the city's budget, even as San Diego faced an overall $146 million shortfall, the same report notes. Between 2019 and 2024, the city paid out more than $193 million to resolve major legal claims and lawsuits, including over $38 million tied specifically to bicyclist and road-defect injuries, according to a report from 151 Farmers.
Other Costly Settlements Over Road and Sidewalk Hazards
Wadsworth's settlement is not an isolated payout. In April 2023, San Diego paid nearly $3 million to a Carlsbad cyclist who suffered a traumatic brain injury and permanent disability after hitting sunken asphalt on Santa Fe Street in Bay Ho, a case the San Diego Union-Tribune covered as a comparable example of injuries tied to unaddressed road surface depressions. In August 2022, a San Diego Superior Court jury awarded $4.5 million to a Pacific Beach resident who was seriously injured tripping over an unmaintained, raised section of city sidewalk.
More recently, a 70-year-old pedestrian filed a $35 million personal injury claim against the city in June after tripping over two-inch-high protruding parking meter bolts on a Hillcrest sidewalk, breaking his neck and back.
Alongside the $6.5 million Wadsworth settlement, the City Council is also expected to approve an additional $490,000 on Tuesday to resolve three separate trip-and-fall lawsuits, according to the Times of San Diego. Together, the payouts underscore how deferred street and sidewalk maintenance continues to translate into some of the city's largest legal liabilities.
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