At around 7:30 p.m. on March 1, 2014, plaintiff Sylvia Strauss, 58, a disc jockey, was a guest at a birthday party held at the residence of Billie Jean Dearman, in San Francisco. The downstairs family room contained a bar for the party, and the middle of the room was cleared out to create an area for dancing. One of the walls had a recess with the bottom ledge about six feet off the ground. Within the wall recess, Dearman had placed a stereo speaker on top of which was placed a wooden, African, fertility figurine that weighed about 1.5 pounds. During the party, Strauss was sitting on a bar stool underneath the wall recess while loud music and dancing were going on. Strauss claimed that the figurine located above her fell, without any warning, onto her right shoulder, causing an injury. Strauss sued Dearman, alleging that the placement of the figurine created a dangerous condition. Strauss claimed that the loud music and dancing had vibrated the speaker, causing the figurine to fall. Strauss claimed that she reported the incident to a “cook” at the party, who notified Dearman about the incident. Strauss’ friend testified that he was dancing in the family room, where the music was playing very loudly, when he heard Strauss scream. He claimed that after Strauss told him that she was injured when the small figurine fell on her, he immediately left the party with Strauss. The plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert testified that, based upon the figurine’s mass and the speed from the distance it allegedly travelled, Strauss sustained approximately 70 pounds of force on her shoulder. The expert also testified that the vibrations of the dancing or music might have caused the figurine to fall and that if Dearman had removed the figurines, or put earthquake putty or tape on the bottom of the figurines, the incident would not have occurred. However, defense counsel noted that the plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert never tested the speakers. Dearman testified that Strauss had denied that she had sustained any injury and that Strauss had stayed until the party ended. Dearman also claimed that she looked at the figurine after the report of the incident that evening, but that she did not see any damage to it. The defense’s accident reconstruction expert testified that the speaker vibrations did not cause the figurine to move and fall off. In addition, the expert presented to the jury a video of the figurine on top of the speaker with music playing to show that the figurine would not move., Strauss claimed that she suffered an injury to her right, dominant shoulder, including a torn rotator cuff and a shoulder impingement. She first sought medical attention at St. Matthews Surgery Center, in San Mateo, about three weeks after the incident. Strauss ultimately required surgery that included a labral debridement and subacromial decompression. Strauss claimed that her right shoulder was asymptomatic prior to the figurine falling on it, but that the accident led to her requiring surgery on her shoulder. The plaintiff’s treating orthopedic surgery expert, who performed the surgery on Strauss’s right shoulder, admitted that Strauss had degeneration and arthritis in her shoulder. However, the expert testified that because Strauss had been asymptomatic prior to the incident and felt pain in her shoulder after the incident, he believed that the incident was the cause of Strauss’s shoulder injury. Strauss claimed that she was unable to use her right, dominant arm for self-care, chores, or work as a DJ as a result of her shoulder injury. She also claimed that she could no longer assist in the care of her adult son, who is disabled and confined to a wheelchair, even though she was his primary caretaker. Thus, Strauss sought recovery of approximately $120,000 in past medical costs related to the surgery and other medical treatment, and over $250,000 in general damages for her pain and suffering. The defense’s biomechanical expert testified that the force on the shoulder would have been only approximately 19 pounds. Thus, the expert opined that the figurine could not have caused the rotator cuff tear, but it could have aggravated Strauss’ degenerative condition. The defense’s expert radiologist opined that the 1.5-pound statute would not have caused a torn rotator cuff or an impingement in the shoulder. However, the expert also admitted that Strauss could have aggravated her degenerative shoulder condition from the alleged impact.