On Aug. 28, 2013, plaintiff Lucinda Faraldo, 49, an actress, was lunching at a dining table with her visiting five-year-old daughter and other patrons of an Ayurvedic spa, located in Pacific Palisades, when a decorative wooden Buddhist shutter, weighing approximately 30 pounds, fell from a ledge in the spa dining room and struck Faraldo on the head. At the time of the incident, the subject shutter was placed on the mantle such that it was leaning back against a chimney. The shutter had been placed in that position for approximately three to five years, but was not bolted, screwed, or secured by any other means. It is unknown what caused the subject shutter to fall and strike Faraldo. Faraldo sued Roger Soffer, who co-owned and operated the spa with his wife, and Eva Maria Kadiev and Petko Kadiev, who owned the property. The Kadievs settled out of the case, and the matter continued against Soffer only. Faraldo’s counsel asserted that Soffer had a duty to inspect and make safe the premises, which was open to the public for business, and that Soffer breached that duty by failing to secure the subject shutter that fell and struck Faraldo. Soffer stipulated to liability., Faraldo claimed she sustained a traumatic brain injury in the form of a concussion. She alleged that as a result, she suffered from concussion symptoms, post-concussion syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, short-term memory recall, concentration issues, trouble with focused attention, word substitutions, and paresthesia. She also alleged that she suffered from general forgetfulness, such as forgetting events and appointments, and from a word-finding anomaly, such as misusing words in speech. In addition, she alleged she suffered from nightmares, nosebleeds, uncontrollable crying, headaches, a cracked tooth, vision problems, and pain due to a neck strain. Faraldo admitted that over 10 years of pre-accident medical records included some of the same types of neurological complaints, but she claimed that the subject trauma had made those problems worse. She also claimed that following the incident, she attempted to stand up after falling to the floor, but that her legs refused to work. She also claimed she felt a contusion and bleeding on the upper-left side of her head and that her pain was an eight out of 10. Faraldo further claimed that she was dizzy, unable to focus, unable to walk. However, shortly after the incident, Faraldo was able to drive herself and her young daughter home. Her husband then took her to a hospital, where she underwent a CT scan, which was negative. Faraldo’s residual complaints consisted of an intermittent black bar in the left eye, migraines that became worse after the accident, sleeplessness, anxiety every three days (much better than before), occasional dizziness, vertigo, tooth pain once every two weeks, neck pain, and word loss/confusion. She alleged that as a result of the accident, she was unable to watch movies, meditate regularly, write for more than one hour, or work as she had prior to the incident. After the accident, Faraldo was able to return to work. Thus, she did not make a lost-income claim. However, she claimed that as an actress and voice over TV show actress, she was experiencing difficulty performing her duties. She also claimed that she lost the draft of her second book that she was authoring and that she could not recall the manuscript as a result of the accident. (Her first book sold for six figures.) The plaintiff’s expert neurologist opined that Faraldo’s neurological abnormalities were related to the subject accident and that Faraldo will require future neurological and psychological treatment. The plaintiff’s expert neuropsychologist testified that the cognitive deficits were secondary to the traumatic brain injury, including multiple post-concussive symptoms, extensive migraines, problems with word-finding issues, and emotional components. The expert determined that the subject accident caused Faraldo’s psychological and cognitive complaints, and found that Faraldo’s complaints were consistent with post-concussive syndrome from trauma. The plaintiff’s safety expert testified that the shutter falling and striking Faraldo’s head was sufficient to cause brain damage. Thus, Faraldo sought recovery of $750,000 to $1 million in total damages, including $36,000 in future medical costs for neurological treatment. Faraldo allegedly incurred over $46,000 in past medical expenses for the diagnosis and treatment, including the emergency room visit, orthopedic care, imaging exams, and psychological care, but plaintiff’s counsel did not introduce the medical bills into evidence and Faraldo waived her prior medical expenses. Defense counsel denied that the fallen shutter could have caused the extent of damage and injury complained of by Faraldo. Defense counsel also introduced into evidence Faraldo’s prior medical records from over 10 years preceding the accident, which included the same complaints she claimed to have sustained in this case, most notably, migraines, crying episodes, and depression/anxiety. The defense’s accident reconstruction and biomechanical engineering expert testified that the falling shutter lacked enough force to cause any brain injury. The defense’s expert neuropsychologist performed an independent medical examination of Faraldo and opined that Faraldo had mild difficulty in recalling certain subjects, but was basically excellent in her neurocognitive function and exhibited no signs consistent with an anomaly. The expert also opined that Faraldo’s psychiatric condition was likely at the root of her symptoms and that there was no evidence to indicate that Faraldo suffered a brain injury due to the shutter striking her on the head. The defense’s neurology expert testified that Faraldo’s mental status examination revealed that she was able to remember two out of three items after five minutes, made one mistake when performing serial seven subtractions, and exhibited no dysnomia. Thus, the expert testified that Faraldo’s mini mental state exam score was 29 out of 30. The expert neurologist further opined that Faraldo sustained a mild cerebral concussion with post-concussion syndrome and that Faraldo had multiple pre-existing psychological complaints and had a history of intermittent dizziness compatible with benign positional vertigo that existed prior to the subject accident. The defense’s expert neuroradiologist testified that the MRI and CT scan of Faraldo’s brain found no evidence of an injury, brain trauma, or microscopic hemorrhage within the brain. He also testified that the X-rays of Faraldo’s cervical spine showed degenerative disc changes.