Facts

Plaintiff John Doe, 81, fell off the deck of his daughter's recently purchased lake house in Copperopolis. The deck was missing a section of railing and there were decorative potted plants across the opening. Plaintiff was either pulling off or folding the cover of patio furniture on the deck at the time of his fall. There were no witnesses to the accident, although his wife found him shortly afterward.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff argued that based on the location on the deck where he was found, the missing section of railing led directly to the fall and that the deck was in violation of the California Building Code and constituted an unreasonably dangerous condition of property.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants argued that plaintiff had been to the house on numerous occasions in the past, was familiar with the layout of the deck and absence of a railing in one section, and should have taken more care before stepping backwards between the large decorative potted plants without looking. Defendant argued that had he done so, the accident would not have occurred.

Damages

Plaintiff was determined to have projected future life care costs of $1,268,579. Plaintiff's past medical special damages totaled $627,087. Plaintiff's wife claimed loss of consortium damages.

Injuries

Plaintiff was airlifted to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto where he underwent emergency decompression and repair of two levels of his cervical spine with placement of an external halo. Despite the surgery, he was rendered an incomplete quadriplegic at levels C1-C4, as a result of his injuries. He subsequently received critical care rehabilitation at the Veteran's Hospital in Palo Alto, where he was an in-patient for approximately 2.5 months. He was ultimately discharged home to the care of his family. He now requires full-time attendant care and his activities are limited.

Result

The case settled for $3,690,000.

Other Information

A mediation was held on Sept. 4, 2013. FILING DATE: March 6, 2013.