Facts

On Dec. 23, 2009, plaintiff Maryjane Thompson, age 62, went to visit friends at their apartment complex in Reseda. Her friend informed her that the pedestrian gate was not working properly and that she should enter through the garage gate. When she arrived, her friend's son came downstairs to greet her and opened the garage gate for her with a remote control. Plaintiff was recovering from a recent knee replacement surgery and was using a walker. The electric sliding gate unexpectedly reversed and plaintiff was knocked down as she tried to enter the apartment complex. Plaintiff fell backward and struck her head on the concrete, suffering a neck injury.

On Dec. 26, plaintiff felt such weakness in her hands that she could not even open a water bottle. She called 911 and was taken to Kaiser Hospital.

On Dec. 30, she underwent a surgical procedure for C5-7 laminectomy, C5-T1 posterior fusion with instrumentation. After the surgery, she received physical therapy and was making positive progress. She suffered a set back in her recovery and was taken back to Kaiser for further treatment. When she was finally discharged, she required assistance with the basic needs of keeping up her home.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that as the owner of the apartment complex, Charles Yao should have made sure that all aspects of the property were safe for both the tenants and visitors. Yao was made aware on several occasions that the garage gate needed to be fixed, and yet he did not make these repairs.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Yao claimed that he maintained the property to the best of his ability. He did the maintenance himself and when it was something that he could not handle, he called a company to take care of if for him. Yao also claimed that it was plaintiff's friend's son that caused the gate to reverse by clicking the remote control twice.

The gate operator manufacturer contended that there was no malfunction or other alleged defect that was explanatory of the "sudden reversal" claimed by plaintiff. On inspection the gate operator functioned properly. The gate and gate operator had been in use for at least 13 years prior to plaintiff's injuries. The manufacturer contended that Yao did not follow the manufacturer's safety recommendations nor did he have a qualified repair service regularly maintain the gate. Additionally, Yao gave plaintiff permission to use what was designed as a vehicle only gate entry as a pedestrian because two other pedestrian gates servicing the apartment building were in a state of disrepair and could not be used by plaintiff who was using a walker at the time of her injuries.

Result

The case settled for $267,500 following a mediation with Martin Kotowski, Esq. Chamberlain paid $5,000 in settlement to plaintiff prior to the mediation.