Confidential
Settlement – $300,000Court
San Francisco Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Vernon P. Keller
(technical)
E. Ann Myers
(medical)
Steven D. Epcar
(technical)
James F. Zucherman
(medical)
Judy Silverman
(medical)
Defendant
Robert E. Smith
(technical)
John L. Chase
(medical)
Eugene A. Farnworth
(technical)
Marvin Lipton
(medical)
Jerome Blanc
(technical)
Facts
On Aug. 31, 1994, the plaintiff, a 74-year-old sole proprietor of a printing and mailing business, was a guest visiting one of the tenants in a four-story apartment building owned by the defendant owners. At the time of the accident, the defendant elevator company was reponsible for maintaining and servicing the elevator pursuant to a written agreement with the defendant owners. When the elevator in which the plaintiff was riding stopped, it failed to level with the floor of the hallway before the automatic inner door opened, stopping approximately four to five inches above the landing. The plaintiff had to manually push a second door outward before she could exit from the elevator. As she pushed open the door and began to walk through it, she fell onto and across the floor of the hall, ending up with her head against the opposite wall. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on negligence and premises liability theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made an initial settlement demand for $450,000. The defendant made an initial settlement offer of $100,000.
Specials in Evidence
$77,991.93 $6,815.75 $ _______ $ _______
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed she suffered severe spinal injuries, including a compression fracture at T-12, bulging and herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis with right side sciatic nerve impairment, requiring surgery, including a fusion at L3-4, and multi-level laminectomies and foraminectomies.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately one year and five months after the case was filed. A settlement conference was held on before attorney panelists of the court's Early Settlement Program. It did not resolve the matter.
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