In June 2008, plaintiff Glenn Bugler, 53, owner of Bugler Construction, and his employees, plaintiffs Elvie Hukill, 52, her brother Mark Hukill, 55, Oscar Villasenor, 33, and Jose Hernandez, 46, began work at a construction site in Kern County. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) had hired Bugler Construction, a public-works contractor, for the project, which would expand a culvert on a state right-of-way near Route 33. By early July, all the plaintiffs were diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis pneumonia, an incurable disease caused by the Coccidioides immitis fungus and commonly known as “Valley Fever.” Several others working at the site also came down with the disease, including a Caltrans inspector. The plaintiffs claimed that until they had been diagnosed with Valley Fever, which often has flu-like symptoms, they had no knowledge of the fungus, nor did they know that the area where they were working could be infected. Bugler, Elvie Hukill, Mark Hukill, Villasenor, and Hernandez sued the State of California and Caltrans, alleging that the property was infected by the dangerous fungus, which caused them to develop Valley Fever. Specifically, the suit contended that the site constituted a dangerous condition of public property (in violation of Cal. Gov. Code, Section 835) and that Caltrans had notice of the condition but failed to warn them. Moreover, Caltrans’ employees deceptively withheld facts which would have put the plaintiffs on notice of the hazardous fungus in the soil (Cal. Gov. Code, Section 815.2; Civil Code, Sections 1708 and 1710). At trial, the plaintiffs established that Caltrans knew before contracting with Bugler Construction that the site was in the San Joaquin Valley, an area endemic for the Coccidioides immitis fungus, and that site was in an area that posed the “highest risk” of developing Valley Fever to people engaged in soil-moving activities. Moreover, Caltrans’ health and safety officer and the construction-safety coordinator for the project site had received training from the Kern County Department of Public Health about the hazardous nature of the fungus and steps to prevent or mitigate exposure. As part of that training, the Caltrans employees had received a map which identified areas where the fungus had been isolated in the soil, including the area where the plaintiffs were to work. Caltrans had received reports of its employees and contractors’ employees becoming ill with Valley Fever while working at construction sites in the San Joaquin Valley. Moreover, Caltrans had warned all of its Kern County employees who had email accounts about the risk of exposure to the Coccidioides immitis fungus during excavation or other soil-disturbing work, and informed them how to prevent or mitigate exposure. The plaintiffs claimed that Caltrans had sent an email to all of its employees in Caltrans’ District 6, which includes Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, and Madera counties. The email indicated that there were no 100 percent effective preventative measures and that employees who felt flu-like symptoms should see a doctor to test for Valley Fever. The plaintiffs claimed that Caltrans, however, did not inform Bugler Construction or its employees of the risk in the contract for the construction project, in a pre-construction safety meeting prior to the start of work, or during work at the construction site. The defense counsel argued there was evidence that Glenn Bugler had knowledge of the fungus prior to working at the project and that Bugler Construction’s superintendent knew of the fungus prior to Bugler Construction submitting its bid on the project, but still worked at the project site without applying water to control dust and not wearing a protective mask. Bugler Construction’s superintendent also contracted Valley Fever. The defense further claimed that a single Caltrans employee received a map which indicated that the fungus location was based on soil-isolation tests, but the testimony was that the areas indicated on the map as containing the fungus were not necessarily based on specific soil isolation tests, but were rather generic areas in Kern County. Additionally, the map did not indicate the location of the construction site. The defense noted that this testimony was only admitted for purposes of notice and not to establish that any other people ever got Valley Fever from working at a construction site. The defense contended the construction contract provided that it was the contractor’s responsibility to be aware of the local conditions and assume all risk on the contract. The defense denied there had been no “pre-construction safety meeting” involving the plaintiffs prior to the project. Caltrans conducts bi-weekly “safety meetings” for Caltrans employees, and contractors like Bugler Construction are supposed to conduct their own “safety meetings” for the contractor’s employees. The defense claimed there was a “pre-construction meeting” prior to the contract which was attended by Glenn Bugler. The purpose of that meeting was not to address health-safety issues, since it is Bugler Construction’s responsibility to have its own health-safety plan, which Bugler Construction did not have for this project. Caltrans contended that there was no evidence to prove that the fungus was in the soil excavated at the construction site. Caltrans further claimed that even if the plaintiffs were exposed to dust containing the fungus while at the construction site area, Caltrans did not have notice that it was there; that Caltrans did not have a responsibility to warn the employees of an independent contractor; and that Bugler Construction should have known of the hazard of the fungus in the soil and what precautions needed to be taken. Caltrans contended its employees did not have a duty to warn plaintiffs, that plaintiffs knew or should have known of the hazardous fungus and failed to take precautions, and that Caltrans’ employees did not intentionally conceal facts., Elvie Hukill, a bridge builder, pile driver, and welder, was diagnosed with severe Valley Fever pneumonia in July 2008. Her included a 30 percent permanent loss in lung function, a reduced life expectancy (exact number of years unknown), and a 60 percent risk that the fungus had spread undetected to other body organs. She also suffered a psychological injury. She is disabled from work. Mark Hukill, a carpenter and pile driver, was diagnosed with severe Valley Fever pneumonia in July 2008. He was hospitalized for three days. His included reduced lung function, reduced life expectancy (exact number of years unknown), and a 40 percent risk that the fungus had spread undetected to other body organs. He is disabled from work. Hernandez, a heavy-equipment operator, was diagnosed with severe Valley Fever pneumonia in July 2008. He was hospitalized for five days. His included reduced lung function, reduced life expectancy (exact number of years unknown), and an 80 percent risk that the fungus had spread undetected to other body organs. He was disabled from work from July 2008 through April 2009. Since April 2009, he has been working in a position that does not require manual labor. Villasenor, a laborer, was diagnosed with severe Valley Fever pneumonia in July 2008. His included reduced lung function, reduced life expectancy (exact number of years unknown), and a 60 percent risk that the fungus had spread undetected to other body organs. He was disabled from work from July 2008 through April 2009. Since April 2009, he has been working in a position that does not require manual labor. Glenn Bugler was diagnosed with a limited Valley Fever infection in July 2008. His include nodules in his lungs and a minimal risk that the fungus had spread undetected to other body organs. Bugler has returned to work without restrictions and missed no work from the illness. The defense counsel contended that Hernandez and Villasenor both returned to their previous work within nine months after becoming ill. Hernandez, as an equipment operator, was not performing heavy manual labor before or after he became ill. Villasenor returned to a job which required heavy manual labor and within the last year had been promoted to a supervisory position which requires less manual labor. There was no evidence that either of them were partially disabled. The defense also disputed the percentages of the likelihood that the fever spread to other parts of the body, called “dissemination.” There was no clinical evidence that the fungus had disseminated to other body parts in any of the plaintiffs. However, there was expert testimony that people with a certain level of the fungus in their blood when they are ill have a risk of the fungus disseminating to other body parts. Once the fungus is no longer in the blood, as was the case for each of the plaintiffs, and the fungus has not already disseminated to other body parts, there is virtually no risk of dissemination to other body parts in the future. The defense contended that Mark Hukill was disabled from work as a result of alcohol and methamphetamine addiction, not from Valley Fever. For Bugler, the defense noted, the testimony was conclusive that the fungus had not spread to other body organs. The plaintiffs requested that the jury award a total of $48 million, including $39.12 million for non-economic damages, with $7.72 million to Elvie Hukill, $6.5 million to Mark Hukill, $8.02 million to Hernandez, $10.22 million to Villasenor, and $6.66 million to Bugler.