Brian Kelly v. Roberto Salazar, Kevin Wells, KAM Properties
Published: Sep. 16, 2003 | Result Date: Apr. 3, 2003 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: GIC774000 Arbitration – $0
Court
San Diego Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Paul W. Smigliani
(Intelink Law Group PC)
Experts
Plaintiff
Harry Depew
(medical)
Defendant
Raymond M. Vance M.D.
(medical)
Facts
In September 2000, plaintiff Brian Kelly, a 30-year-old unemployed man, was living in an apartment complex owned by defendant Kevin Wells and KAM Properties. The defendants hired Roberto Salazar, an unlicensed handyman, to replace a water heater. Salazar asked Kelly to help him move the water heater, which still had water in it when the men began to move it. The plaintiff injured his back while attempting to lift the water heater.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $90,000; the defendants' offer was $8,000.
Specials in Evidence
$23,000 (for the first surgery); $103,000 (for the second surgery)
Injuries
The plaintiff first presented to the UCSD Medical Center with complaints of lower back pain four days after the alleged injury. He had a herniated disc and underwent an emergency laminectomy. He had back surgery again in October 2002, claiming the subsequent surgery and $103,000 in medical bills were one-third related to the water heater incident. According to the defendants, plaintiff's medical records indicated he had injured his back in June 2002. On June 27, 2002, he went to the emergency department with complaints of "severe lower back pain starting 6/14 S/P moving container." The notes state plaintiff "presents after one week H/O exacerbation of acute back pain after moving laundry basket." A letter dated July 17, 2000, to plaintiff's primary physician from his orthopedist stated plaintiff had a "significant increase in pain while wheeling his wife in a wheelchair. . . about a month and a half ago." The discharge summary from plaintiff's second surgery stated that he was admitted for "lower back and leg pain secondary to recurrent disk at L4-5 and new herniated nucleas pulposus at L5-S-1."
Result
An arbitrator, retired Judge Alice D. Sullivan (neutral) found no negligence on the part of Salazar that could be attributable to the defendants. The arbitrator determined that the lack of a permit was not causally related to the injury.
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