Facts

Lauren De La Cruz, a 12-year-old student, was running down a sidewalk while playing with her friends. She slipped and fell on a broken portion of a low, brick retaining wall. The retaining wall was on a property that was occupied by tenants of their landlord, Hsi-Ping Chu.

De La Cruz's mother filed suit against Chu, alleging that she failed to maintain the retaining wall, creating a dangerous condition and was negligent per se by violating a municipal statute.

Chu argued that the wall was not a dangerous condition, and no one had been hurt previously by it.

Injuries

De La Cruz sustained a hematoma of the duodenum, a section of the small intestine, and a traumatic injury to the head of the pancreas.

Result

The jury determined that the plaintiffs' damages totaled $196,842. However, the jury determined that Chu was 80 percent liable and that De La Cruz was 20 percent liable. Thus, the award was reduced to $157,473.60.

Deliberation

one day

Length

five days