Facts

On March 30, 2015, plaintiff Joseph Chaidez was working for the City of Bakersfield on a project to extend an underground sewer line at an outdoor sports complex. The City of Bakersfield retained defendant Gilliam & Sons, Inc. to perform the trench digging in order for plaintiff and other City employees to install the sewer line. One GSI employee in particular, defendant Jeff Johnson dug the trench with an excavator. Johnson was supposed to install a trench shield in the process but failed. As Johnson was trying to connect the trench shield to the excavator, plaintiff went inside the trench without authorization. The trench caved while plaintiff was inside. Plaintiff was dug out in time but suffered severe injuries as a result of the trench caving in. Subsequently, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants Gilliam & Sons, Inc. and Jeff Johnson for negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant GSI was negligent in failing to properly train Johnson with respect to using a trench shield. Plaintiff contended that defendant GSI made false misrepresentations to the City of Bakersfield regarding GSI's expertise with trench shields. Plaintiff also contended that defendant Johnson committed OSHA violations based on the Johnson's procedure in digging the trench.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants contended that plaintiff assumed the risk of his injuries because plaintiff knowingly went inside the trench before a trench shield. Defendants contended that the City of Bakersfield was instead liable for failing to properly supervise plaintiff. Defendants also contended that plaintiff was also negligent for failing to properly follow his safety training.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff's pretrial demand was $15 million, and defense offered $1.5 million to settle.

Result

The case was bifurcated and tried on liability only. The jury rendered a total defense verdict finding that defendants GSI and Johnson were not negligent. The jury found that the City of Bakersfield was 100 percent liable for plaintiff's injuries. Defendants were entitled to recover costs and expert fees approximately in the amount of $228,370.04.

Deliberation

2.5 hours