Case details

Child swinging from table caused it to overturn: defense

SUMMARY

$0

Amount

Verdict-Defendant

Result type

Not present

Ruling
KEYWORDS
face, head, left foot, periorbital hematoma
FACTS
On Nov. 19, 2014, plaintiff Naomi Miranda, a 3.5-year-old child, was injured when a table overturned in the lobby of the County of Orange Social Services Agency, in Anaheim. Naomi sustained to her face, head, and left foot. Naomi, through her guardian ad litem, Lorrena Gallegos, sued the county of Orange, the Social Services Agency, Orange County Social Services, and CalWORKs. The matter ultimately continued against the county of Orange only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Naomi only touched the table lightly when it overturned and injured her. Counsel also contended that there was no documentation that the table was secured with screws and brackets to other tables in the agency lobby. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asserted that the table was not properly secured, causing it to be wobbly and unstable, that the table constituted a dangerous condition of public property. Defense counsel contended that the table was one of four tables grouped together and secured in June 2012 and that the table never separated thereafter. Counsel also noted that the table was in use for 2.5 years without any complaint or incident and that approximately 3,000 clients visit the agency office every month. Defense counsel asserted that Naomi was playing, swinging, and hanging from the table edge and that as a result, small screws and brackets popped off, causing the table to tip and then overturn. Thus, counsel asserted that the table did not constitute a dangerous condition of public property and that there was no notice that the table was unsafe or unfit for its purpose with the general public., Naomi sustained lacerations to the right temporal area of her head and to her left foot. She also sustained a periorbital hematoma, also known as a black eye or shiner. Naomi was subsequently taken by ambulance to Western Medical Center, in Santa Ana, where she received six stitches to the right temporal area of her head. The bruising around her eye lasted for a couple of weeks, but her ultimately resolved, except for a scar that was left in the area of her head. Defense counsel noted that Gallegos wanted Naomi to undergo scar revision and laser treatments at her current age, but that doing so would require a higher cost of treatment and hospitalization. Defense counsel asserted that if Naomi undergoes any of those elective procedures when she is a teenager, instead, those procedures could be done in-office and for a fraction of the cost.
COURT
Superior Court of Orange County, Orange, CA

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