Facts

In 2008, Isaac Torres moved with his family into a rental apartment on Rice Lane in Larkspur, California, which was owned by Thomas Fleming. On Jan. 1, 2010, Torres slipped and fell down the back stairs of the property, and subsequently suffered symptoms of lumbar strain and disk injury. As a result, Torres filed suit against Fleming.

On the day of the incident, Torres experienced back pain but did not seek medical attention. He took a couple of days off of work and returned, working through the pain. On January 11, 2010, he went to his chiropractor, with whom he had been treating off and on for about 4 years prior to the accident for what he described as "health maintenance" and treatment for muscle spasms, strains and back stiffness. On January 16, 2010, Torres went to the ER at Kaiser with a diagnosis of lumbar strain and no neurological symptoms. About another week later Torres' doctors began to suspect a disc injury, a few weeks later on around February 23, 2011 (6 weeks post-fall) an MRI confirmed disc bulges at L4-5 and L5-S1 which appeared to impact the left fifth nerve root. There were also diagnoses of degenerative disc disease at multiple levels and no acute signs of trauma. Torres is not a surgical candidate.

Torres was born in Mexico City and came here at age 19. He married his wife Patricia in 1991. The Torres' have four children. Torres worked as a dishwasher and a maintenance person, and in 2000 found a job as a "houseman" for a prominent San Francisco family. A houseman is essentially an elite housekeeper but with heavy physical demands (lifting 50-100 lbs, on ladders cleaning chandeliers, stocking the home with supplies, driving, etc.). Torres was responsible for two floors (6,000 sq feet) of a 12,000 square foot mansion.

After 5 months of trying to work through the pain, Torres resigned on his doctor's recommendation to think about switching to a less physically demanding job. Fearful of their financial future, the Torres family moved back to Mexico to save money and recover. Torres testified at trial that his back was feeling much better now and that he was actively looking for work. At medical examinations in May 2011 by plaintiff and defense experts, Torres had no signs of neurological symptoms and negative straight leg raise tests.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that defendant did not clear the stairs of slippery algae and failed to install a handrail.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant claimed Torres intentionally misrepresented the extent of a prior back injury in 2006 which resulted in approximately 9 months of treatment. Defendant also contended that Torres' disc bulges pre-existing and degenerative in nature, relying on 2006 x-rays. Defendant claimed Torres' own negligence was the cause of his fall down a stairway he had used once per week for approximately one year prior to the fall, and that the stairway was not in a dangerous condition. Finally, defendant contended Torres' wage losses were minimal and were not caused by the alleged injuries.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiffs demanded $1,000,000 by CCP 998, later reduced to $300,000. Defendant offered $25,001 to Torres and $10,001 to Patricia. Patricia settled separate claims for trespass against defendants for $10,000 prior to closing argument.

Result

The jury awarded plaintiff $1,070,801, which was comprised of past medicals of $14,444, past wage loss of $106k, future loss of earning capacity of $850,000, past non-economic losses of $100k. The jury found Torres was also negligent, but that his negligence was not a substantial factor in causing his injuries, so Torres was not assessed with any comparative fault for the incident. The court has since added plaintiff's costs to the judgment, increasing it to $ 1,166,501. Plaintiff anticipates an additional $94,277 in pre-judgment interest pursuant to C.C.P. section 998 will be added, raising the total recovery to $1,260,778.

Deliberation

three hours

Poll

12-0 (liability)

Length

14 days