Eighty-year-old Santa Clarita Valley resident Delsa Krasny-Latvala was performing her civic duty at Higher Vision Church on The Old Road around 11 a.m. Election Day in 2022, when tragedy struck.
It had been raining that morning, and as she walked through the church’s concrete foyer, “which had a solitary mat directly adjacent to the threshold of the doorway and no warning signs,” according to the complaint filed by her family, she slipped and fell on “slippery” flooring.
“As a result of the fall, (Krasny-Latvala) suffered fractures to her right leg,” according to a lawsuit filed by her estate. “However, in the two months after the fall, her health rapidly and unexpected(ly) declined as a result of complications from the leg fractures, which caused her to pass away on Jan. 22, 2023.”
Now family members who represent Krasny-Latvala’s estate are seeking damages in excess of $25,000, claiming dangerous conditions existed that resulted in a wrongful death.
A representative of Higher Vision Church at 28776 The Old Road did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. L.A. County Superior Court records available online indicate a response has not yet been filed by attorneys for the church.
A claim was filed against the city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County by Nicholas Latvala on behalf of the family’s estate back in March, according to the lawsuit.
Under California law, a complaint must be filed before such a lawsuit can proceed. According to the lawsuit, the city and the county rejected the claims in April and May, respectively. The city, the county and the church are all listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 27, alleges “the dangerous condition of the church’s premises created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the injuries suffered by Delsa as a result of her having slipped and fallen.”
Higher Vision Church is a Christian church launched by Jared and Davette Ming in April 2005, according to the church’s website.