Facts

Maurice Smith worked for Recology Sunset Scavenger as a refuse collector. On April 11, 2018, at about 6:25 in the morning, he was driving the Recology trash truck in the St. Francis Wood residential area of San Francisco when a large, dead tree branch broke from the tree above the truck, causing the driver's side window to shatter. On March 7, 2019, Smith and his wife, Jamielee, filed a complaint for negligence, premises liability, loss of consortium, and dangerous condition of public property in San Francisco Superior against St. Francis Home Association, the City and County of San Francisco and others.

PLAINTIFFS’ CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendants knew, or at least, should have known, that the tree was decayed, and their failure to remove the tree or address the issue of its dangerous condition was negligent. As a result, he was severely injured.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendant contended that plaintiff was lying about the incident, his symptoms, and injuries.

Settlement Discussions

Section 998 demand: $1.5 million; Section 998 offer: $301,000; during trial, defendant offered $500,000.

Injuries

According to plaintiff, he suffered the following Injuries: concussion, torn rotator cuff, cognitive deficits due to post-concussive syndrome, clinical depression, clinical anxiety, and PTSD.

Result

The case went to trial and plaintiff was awarded $4.3 million from St. Francis Homes Association, which was offset by a settlement of $625,000 by Northern Trees Tree Service, the arborists hired by the Association. With that offset, plaintiff recovered $3.675 million. The jury found defendant St. Francis Homes Association negligent which was a substantial factor in causing plaintiff's injury. They did not find Northern Trees negligent. The jury broke down the damages accordingly: $3.5 million for lost earning capacity plus $100,000 each for noneconomic damages, past and future: physical pain, mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and physical impairment, totaling another $800,000.

Deliberation

5 hours

Length

13 days