Facts

On June 19, 2012, plaintiff Steven Micciche allegedly suffered a 120-volt electrical shock after touching the showerhead in his master bathroom. After the event, plaintiff contacted defendant Southern California Edison Co. to evaluate the condition. SCE dispatched what it calls a "troubleman" to check electrical service to the home in an attempt to determine whether the problem was caused by a utility or home wiring defect. SCE inspected the SCE service line feeding the home and determined that it was functioning as designed. SCE was informed at the scene that recent electrical work at the home had been performed by private electrical contractors and plaintiff's wife received a shock the day before under similar circumstances.

While SCE investigated the problem, it was determined that the showerhead would become energized with 120 volts whenever the bathroom light switch was in the "on" position. Outlets, switches and plumbing fixtures were checked throughout the home to determine whether any problems existed outside of the bathroom. SCE concluded that the sole cause of the showerhead condition was an electrical short between the bathroom light switch and the showerhead. As a result, SCE informed the plaintiff that he should contact his electrician to check for an internal short.

The day after the incident, the SCE troubleman was again dispatched to the home at the request of plaintiff. The troubleman was informed by plaintiff that he had contacted an electrician through his insurance company and that the problem could not be duplicated. The electrician reportedly could not determine what caused the shock event, but did note some problems with how the home was grounded and concluded that this could have been a cause of the event. The troubleman concluded that if the problem was no longer present, that the short may have been temporarily cured when the electricians were evaluating the condition.

While at the home, the troubleman also noticed that the SCE service connection points at the home had temporary, as opposed to permanent, connectors in place. The troubleman replaced the temporary neutral connection, making it permanent. He left the two hot connections as they were and advised plaintiff to have defendant City of Monrovia inspect the home and inform SCE if the home had been inspected and was safe to make all connections permanent. Plaintiff replaced the main electrical panel in 1998 under permit with the City of Monrovia. Plaintiff believed that the temporary service connections had been in place since that time. It was contested whether the City of Monrovia ever released to service to SCE to make the connections permanent after the 1998 home renovation.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Voltage appeared on the showerhead because the connections home service connections to the utility service conductors were in a "temporary" condition. Plaintiff alleged that he last performed electrical work in 1998 and that his contractor pulled the proper permits and requested the proper inspections in order to obtain a permanent connection. Plaintiff alleged the City of Monrovia failed to send the proper paperwork to Southern California Edison to authorize making the connection permanent. The plaintiff argued that after SCE made the neutral connection permanent the problem was cured.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
SCE changed the temporary neutral connection to a permanent one, as a precaution against future fault conditions on the SCE system. SCE did not find any abnormalities with the SCE neutral conductor and determined that it had nothing to do with the shock event.

Defendants contended the shock incident was caused by defective home wiring and grounding. Defendants also presented evidence of another shock event involving the same shower more than a year after the incident. As such, the temporary neutral connection could not have been the cause. Moreover, there were no prior home electrical problems consistent with a defect at the neutral connection, and the problem was isolated to one room.

Damages

Plaintiff requested $149,000 in lost earnings and $1 million for pain and suffering past and future.

Injuries

Plaintiff allegedly suffered an electrical burn on one of his fingers, permanent left shoulder and lower back injuries. Plaintiff underwent spinal fusion surgery at L4-5. Plaintiff claimed to have suffered nerve damage to his left shoulder and underwent back surgery as the result of the shock incident. Plaintiff also alleged loss of employment and a permanent disability. Defendants argued that plaintiff's back issue was the result of preexisting congenital spinal stenosis and that his treating physicians had anticipated that he would need future surgery dating back to 1985. Defendants also contended that plaintiff had left shoulder issues prior to the incident.

Result

The jury found in favor of defendants SCE and the City of Monrovia.

Other Information

Plaintiffs filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied on Oct. 7. Monrovia brought two motions for nonsuit during trial, which were both denied by the court. FILING DATE: May 6, 2013.

Deliberation

1.5 hours

Length

12 days