Facts

Plaintiff Stephen Roberts, a 66-year-old long haul truck driver claimed that he injured his knee and back while manually offloading a tractor-trailer rig in Fresno. Swift Transportation Company employed Plaintiff. Swift Transportation Company was in turn hired by Dollar Tree Stores to deliver merchandise to its various retail stores.

As part of his job duties, Plaintiff was trained by his employer on how to manually unload merchandise at Dollar Tree Stores. In that regard, Plaintiff was trained to unload individual cartons of merchandise from the inside of the trailer, to place those cartons on a metal roller rack and to push the cartons along the metal rollers to Dollar Tree Stores employees who were positioned outside of the trailer. It was during this process on of manually unloading his trailer that Plaintiff claims that he injured his left knee and back.

Plaintiff did not report this injury to anyone but continued working for at least two weeks before reporting his purported injury to his supervisors at Swift transportation Company.

Plaintiff thereafter commenced a workers' compensation action seeking compensation from his employer for his injuries. Not satisfied with that process, Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against Dollar Tree Stores for general negligence and premises liability claiming that the unloading of individual boxes, as opposed to unloading a group of boxes stacked on a pallet with a pallet jack, caused his injuries.

Swift Transportation Company was named as a cross-defendant under the Transportation Agreement then in place between Dollar Tree Stores and Swift. The cross-complaint sought reimbursement for costs of defense and indemnity.

DEFENDANT CONTENTIONS:
Defendant claimed that this was a blind lawsuit in which Dollar Tree Stores only learned of the incident when served with the complaint. In discovery, it was learned that not only did Plaintiff not report the accident to any Dollar Tree Stores employee, but that he could not recall the date of the accident or the location of the store where he claims to have been injured. While Plaintiff believed the accident occurred on June 15, 2009, company records established that Swift Transportation Company made no deliveries on that day to any Fresno Dollar Tree Store.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff did not make a settlement demand. Defendant offered a waiver of costs at mediation.

Specials in Evidence

Plaintiff could not articulate the amount of his medical damages as they were all paid by Workers' Compensation. It was estimated that the cost of the medical treatment (which consisted of diagnostic studies and physical therapy) was in the $10,000 to $12,000 range. $66,886 in lost wages based on his monthly salary of $2,787.

Injuries

Plaintiff alleged injuries to his lower back and left knee with pain in his back allegedly radiating down his left lower extremity. Additionally there is pain and swelling in the left knee that causes his knee to give out at times.

Result

Voluntary dismissal of the entire action, with prejudice. The cross-complaint was dismissed for a waiver of costs.

Other Information

Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment based upon Privette and its progeny. Plaintiff in advance of the hearing on that motion voluntarily dismissed the case. FILING DATE: June 15, 2011.