Frédérique Saphores-Baudin, of Nice, France, has filed a claim against the city of Sedona seeking $425,000 for injuries and damages in compensation after she injured her hand on the median barrier along State Route 89A in Uptown.

Saphores-Baudin and Frédéric Baudin were celebrating their second honeymoon in Sedona on Aug. 15, 2022. Upon leaving a restaurant in Uptown at 8 p.m., Baudin went ahead to get their vehicle and stopped it on the opposite side of the median from the restaurant. Saphores-Baudin went up to the vehicle to hand a bag across the median to her husband so she would not have to carry it 400 feet down the street to the crosswalk.

“Frédérique is right-hand dominant and was carrying the shopping bag in her right hand,” Saphores-Baudin’s claim states. “She lifted the bag up with her right hand to pass it to her husband on the other side of the fence … Frédérique recessed her left hand on the top of the decorative fence. As she did so, and in the same moment that she handed the bag to her husband, Frédérique felt a sharp prick from where her left hand made contact with the top of the fence.The resulting wound was superficial, but it startled [her].”

Saphores-Baudin lost her balance and clutched at the cutout portion of the median, which her claim alleges was sharp enough that it cut through her tendons and almost severed her fingers. Her attorney, Jason Bliss, stated that she had not consumed any alcohol that day and was not trying to circumvent the barrier.

The Sedona Fire District transported Saphores-Baudin to the Verde Valley Medical Center.

The staff there determined she required transport to Phoenix to be evaluated for hand surgery, and the operation was performed the following day by Dr. Vimala Ramachandran of OrthoArizona at the emergency department at Abarzo’s West Campus in Phoenix.

Mark Cannon of Augspurger Komm Engineering subsequently conducted an inspection of the fence in February 2023 at the request of Bliss’ firm AWD Law. Cannon concluded that the sharp edges and burrs in the metal panel  are a safety hazard and that Saphores-Baudin’s injury was preventable because they should have been removed when the panel was installed. He also pointed out that Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require that sharp edges be removed if a hand might come in contact with them. Saphores-Baudin and Augspurger Kommn both also argued that the configuration of the fence in the median is confusing because breaks in the curb to allow for drainage “may be mistaken for gates,” according to Cannon’s report.

Saphores-Baudin claimed that she has had to upend a large part of her life and has had difficulty with basic tasks such as typing, brushing her hair and entering and exiting buildings, and that she had to sell her standard transmission vehicle for a vehicle with an automatic transmission and specialized work equipment.

“Frédérique has been in rehabilitative physical therapy in France since October attending sessions twice a week,” the notice of claim states. “Her hand doctor in France has told her that she will never recover much dexterity in her right hand. Frédérique is attempting to reestablish some degree of range of motion in her fingers, but thus far she finds it difficult and some days she feels hopeless.”

Bliss said that the city of Sedona does not view the median as a hazard because no one else has been injured on the fence and because the city assumes that pedestrians should not be in that area, and therefore has not taken any corrective actions. While Bliss doesn’t believe that the entire barrier needs to come down, he wants to see the metal cutouts within the median deburred or otherwise dulled.

“We are getting ready to file a suit [in a week or two],” Bliss said. “It’s our understanding that the city hasn’t done anything to address what we think is a dangerous situation … Frédérique [is] concerned that this is going to happen to somebody else. She thinks that the city should do something about it. We hope no one else gets hurt.” 

Sedona City Attorney Kurt Christianson did not reply to questions regarding the suit and claimed that “the city does not provide statements on pending claims or lawsuits.”