$500,000 Offered in Suit Over Traffic Light’s Timing

A Los Angeles finance committee on Tuesday agreed to offer $500,00O to settle a lawsuit alleging that a traffic light at a Chatsworth intersection was improperly timed and caused an automobile accident that left a woman with a limp and other disabilities.

The settlement offer will be presented to the City Council next month for final approval, officials said. The suit was filed on behalf of physical therapist Jane Czech, 40, who suffered a skull fracture and internal injuries after her car was hit by another vehicle at De Soto Avenue and Parthenia Street on May 26, 1986.

Czech’s attorney argued that the traffic signal had a history of mechanical problems and should have been timed to flash yellow for at least 3 1/2 seconds instead of three seconds.