Facts

Leticia Coral lived in an apartment building located at 3416 26th Street in San Francisco. She was walking down the stairs in a hallway on May 20, 2007, when she slipped and fell. Coral filed suit against Tricia Arvedi, who owned the building, and Mullins and Co., which managed the property.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged that Defendants did not correctly maintain the stairs, which caused a dangerous condition. She alleged that there was mail and other debris on the stairs, and that Defendants should have kept the stairs free of such items. Further, she alleged that Defendant knew about the mail left on the stairs, but did not take care of the situation soon enough.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants argued that Coral was liable for the accident because any mail left on the stairs would be obviously noticeable and Plaintiff could have stepped around it. In addition, Mullins claimed that it was not required to check the apartment building to ensure that no mail was left on the stairs.

Damages

Plaintiff's physician concluded that she would need a knee replacement costing $105,000.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered an ankle fracture, bimalleolar variant. She discovered two years later when her meniscus was torn fleeing a fire that she had previously tore her ACL in the trip and fall. Five years later her doctor said she would need a complete knee replacement in 10-20 years.

Result

The jury awarded Plaintiff $728,531.