At around 10 a.m. on April 30, 2014, plaintiff Michael Schieschke, 51, chief operating officer of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik; his wife, plaintiff Kathrin Schieschke, 40, a homemaker and public relations/human resource manager at Zoom7; and their daughter, plaintiff Lilli Schieschke, 3, were on a vacation, having traveled from Germany to visit Disneyland. As they were walking through the parking lot of the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort (also known as the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Hotel) when a large gust of wind lifted a 100 pound tonneau cover off of the back of a Ford F150 pickup truck owned by Omar Cano, a contractor who was allegedly working on a remodel of the hotel. The cover struck Kathrin Schieschke in the head and right side of her body, knocking her unconscious. It also struck the stroller that held Lilli. Mr. Schieschke was not hit by the cover, but he witnessed it striking his wife and daughter. The Schieschkes sued Cano; Cano’s business, Prestige Building; a concrete subcontractor for the remodel who Cano allegedly worked for, Jaime Suarez; the general contractor on the remodel who hired Suarez, Evergreen Hospitality Services Inc.; the president of Evergreen Hospitality, Gregory Guerra; the manager of Evergreen Hospitality, Richard Kelly; the project manager for the remodel, Strategic Hospitality Group, LLC; Strategic Hospitality’s owner, Steve Crowder; the operator of Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort, OHI Resort Hotels, LLC; the managing partner of the hotel, Pacific Hospitality Group, LLC; and the driver of Cano’s truck, Vicente Romulo-Bello. Cano, OHI Resort Hotels and Pacific Hospitality settled out before trial. Evergreen Hospitality also went bankrupt around the time of the incident and its employees (Guerra and Kelly) couldn’t be found, so no one from Evergreen Hospitality was available at trial. In addition, several other defendants were dismissed before trial. The matter only continued against Suarez and Strategic Hospitality. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Cano was delivering cement in his truck and that he was in the course and scope of his employment with Suarez when the incident occurred. Counsel argued that Cano was negligent for not properly securing his truck’s tonneau cover before the incident, thus allowing the strong wind at the construction site to lift it off of the truck. Plaintiffs’ counsel also contended that Strategic Hospitality was hired by the hotel to make the construction site safe for guests. Counsel argued that Strategic Hospitality was negligent for not constructing a secure unloading area that was separated from pedestrian traffic. Cano testified that he was working for Suarez at the time of the incident, but that following the incident, Suarez asked him to lie about his employment status so that Suarez could avoid responsibility for the incident. Suarez testified that although Cano had previously worked for him on the hotel remodel, Cano was not working for him on the day of the incident. Suarez claimed that he was not getting paid by the general contractor, Evergreen Hospitality, so he severed his ties to the project and, therefore, had stopped working on the job one month before the incident. Thus, he claimed that the reason that Cano went back to the project on the day of the incident was so that Cano could solicit pick up work directly from the general contractor, Evergreen Hospitality. (However, Evergreen’s records were not available to show who Cano was or wasn’t working for on the day of the incident.) Strategic Hospitality’s counsel argued that safety for the construction site rested with the general contractor, Evergreen Hospitality, and that Strategic Hospitality had no responsibility for protecting pedestrians, such as the Schieschkes, from an incident such as the one that had occurred., Kathrin Schieschke sustained a mild traumatic brain injury, which was confirmed by all treating doctors and experts for all sides. She was knocked unconscious when her head was struck by the 100-pound tonneau cover and subsequently taken to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, in Orange, where she was diagnosed with a concussion, medicated and released later that day. However, Ms. Schieschke returned to UCI Medical Center the next day with complaints of nausea, dizziness and post-concussion symptoms. The Schieschkes cut their vacation short and returned to Germany, where Ms. Schieschke continues to treat with a number of physicians for post-concussion migraines, which she claimed occurs four times a month and are completely debilitating for days. She also claimed that as a result of the migraines, she has been unable to hold down a full time job, perform household chores, interact with friends, go on vacation or do numerous other things that she once did before the incident. All treating doctors and experts agreed that Ms. Schieschke’s migraines were caused by the incident and that Ms. Schieschke would have them for the next 10 to 20 years. However, they opined that Ms. Schieschke could take medication to help control the outbreak and severity of her migraines. Thus, Ms. Schieschke sought recovery of $177,381 in past lost earnings, $1,165,153 in her future loss of earning capacity, $239,000 in general damages for her past pain and suffering, $1,195,000 in general damages for her future pain and suffering. (She waived her claims for past and future medical costs.) Lilli Schieschke sustained scrapes, cuts and bruises. She was subsequently treated at UCI Medical Center on the day of the incident. Her abrasions and contusions resolved within weeks of the incident, but her psychological of nightmares, fears and anxiety allegedly lingered for years. However, the Schieschkes alleged that Lilli’s psychological have now resolved. Thus, Lilli sought recovery of $47,000 in past general damages for her pain and suffering. (She waived her claim for past medical costs.) Mr. Schieschke sought compensation for his alleged emotional distress as a result of witnessing the event and for his loss of consortium. Specifically, he sought recovery of $40,000 in past general damages and $200,000 in future general damages.