An elderly businesswoman has won an $11 million settlement after suffering life-changing injuries when she was hit by a San Francisco cable car at a “confusing” intersection.
Ruth Owades, 79, was hit by the historic cable car on December 28, 2022 and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco transit agency.
She said she was “active and completely independent” before the incident, but the collision left her with several injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and spinal fractures. Her payment was first reported by the San Francisco Standard.
Ruth, widow of Joseph L. Owades, the inventor of light beer, was a successful businesswoman, but since the incident she has required 24-hour care and suffers from “severe cognitive deficits,” according to the lawsuit.
Ruth Owades, 78, was hit by a historic San Francisco cable car on December 28, 2022, leaving her with several injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and spinal fractures.
The elderly businesswoman was unexpectedly hit while passing through a marked crosswalk (pictured) that was “confusing, misleading and dangerous to pedestrians,” according to her lawsuit.
According to her court file, Owades was unexpectedly hit at 5:23 p.m. while passing through a marked crosswalk that was “confusing, misleading and dangerous for pedestrians.”
The lawsuit adds: “Pedestrians, drivers and cable car operators are confused by the crossing and crosswalk, as well as signs, markings and traffic controls at the scene of the collision.”
for KRON4 According to a report at the time, Owades, who lives in a $2.8 million home, was found on the street and rushed to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries.”
The 78-year-old woman was subsequently placed in a medically induced coma and intubated, and additional testing found she suffered fractures to her L1 spinal vertebra and scapula.
Her lawsuit notes that her injuries mean she “needs assistance with all activities of daily living, including dressing, walking, personal hygiene, shopping, and meal preparation.”
She also suffers from ongoing “cognitive deficits” and has balance problems that put her at risk of falling, which has also landed her in the emergency room at least once since she was hit by the cable car.
Ruth (pictured giving the 2013 commencement speech at Scripps College) was a successful businesswoman for decades, but required round-the-clock care after being hit by the cable car.
After a closed-door session this week, the San Francisco Standard reports that the San Francisco Transit Agency board of directors voted to approve an $11 million deal for Owades.
The same vote also approved a $5.5 million payment for a separate incident involving Mei Yu Lin. The details of that incident are unclear, with a presentation noting that it only “involved allegations of personal injury due to operator negligence.”
In a statement to SF Standard, a spokesperson for the City Attorney’s Office said, “We believe the proposed settlement is an appropriate resolution.”
While her late husband is recognized in the brewing industry as the “father of light beer,” Ruth’s successful business career has seen her “accomplishments taught in business schools across the country,” her lawsuit notes.
Ruth, a successful businesswoman in her own right, is the widow of Joseph L. Owades (pictured), the inventor of light beer.
She was profiled in a HuffPost Tribute to “Pioneer Women”where she was described as a serial entrepreneur who stood out for “changing the way we buy flowers.”
That achievement came during her time as CEO and president of Calyx & Carolla, the first online catalog for fresh flowers, which “reinvented the floral distribution chain,” the post said.
Her other ventures included gardening retailer Gardener’s Eden, which was purchased by Willaims-Sonoma, and she served as a director of Armstrong World Industries, Deckers Outdoor Corporation, J. Jill Group and Providian Financial.
He also served on the Harvard Business School Dean’s Board of Advisors.