On Oct. 22, 2010, plaintiff Chad Hurlbut, 27, a journeyman painter, was working on a painting project at the office headquarters of The Sobrato Organization in Cupertino. Sobrato Construction Corp. hired Hurlbut’s employer, A&E Painting Inc., to paint the steel framework on the interior of the building’s three-story tall glass atrium lobby. A&E subsequently rented a bucket lift so that its painters could reach and paint the steel beams. On the date in question, Hurlbut was working alone and painting an area of the ceiling over an exposed elevator shaft while the building was occupied for normal business. At approximately 10:45 a.m., Hurlbut was in the hoistway when a Sobrato employee called the elevator to the third floor, which pushed Hurlbut’s bucket lift upward toward the ceiling. Hurlbut claimed he was crushed into the steel beams he was painting and was pinned there until he maneuvered the bucket out of the hoistway with his free hand. As a result, he claimed pain to his neck and head. Hurlbut sued Sobrato Construction Corp., Sobrato Development Companies LLC, Sobrato Development Company #940, and The Sobrato Organization. Hurlbut alleged that the defendants were negligent for failing to provide a safe working environment and creating a dangerous condition. Sobrato Construction Corp., Sobrato Development Companies LLC, and Sobrato Development Company #940 were ultimately dismissed from the case in exchange for a waiver of costs. Thus, the matter continued against The Sobrato Organization only. Hurlbut claimed that when he began work on the date of loss, he did not turn off the subject elevator or ask anyone else to turn the elevator off because he relied on a paper sign he saw earlier that morning taped to the elevator doors that stated, “Elevator Out of Order Please Use Stairs.” However, he claimed a Sobrato employee removed the sign approximately an hour before the incident. Hurlbut also claimed he thought his employer told him the elevator was turned off, but his employer denied doing so. However, A&E claimed that it had planned to do the work in the elevator shaft over the weekend when the building was unoccupied, but that it could not remember whether this was ever communicated to Hurlbut. Counsel for The Sobrato Organization contended that Hurlbut was rushing to finish work on the date in question, a Friday, so that Hurlbut could go hunting over the weekend. Counsel also contended that it was Hurlbut’s coworkers who had posted the sign on the elevator doors in order to reserve the elevator for moving equipment and that the sign was an inadequate substitute for locking and tagging out the elevator. Thus, counsel asserted that Hurlbut and his employer violated California Division of Occupational Safety and Health regulations by failing to ensure the elevator was de-energized before working in the hoistway. The Sobrato Organization’s building manager claimed that she had thought the painting work had been completed and that she saw the elevator being used on the date in question. She further claimed that nobody had notified her that the painters would be working in the elevator. The building manager claimed that as a result, she removed the sign posted on the elevator doors after Hurlbut’s coworkers had left with their equipment. Thus, counsel for The Sobrato Organization asserted that Hurlbut was negligent for placing himself above an operating elevator and that A&E was negligent for failing to shut down the elevator or prevent its employee from acting in an unsafe manner., On the day of the accident, Hurlbut was taken to a medical clinic with reports of neck pain. He had a red mark on his head, but no bruising or bumps. Hurlbut was ultimately diagnosed with a neck sprain and discharged. He returned to light duty at work the following Monday, but A&E testified that it was jointly decided that Hurlbut would apply for worker’s compensation because there was no light duty work to be done. Hurlbut claimed that in addition to his neck sprain, he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder from the accident, which precludes him from working from heights or around elevators. He also claimed his pain symptoms did not resolve with conservative treatment, which consisted of physical therapy and pain medications. Three and a half years after the accident, Hurlbut was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, and in early 2013, he attended a functional restoration program for chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. He was discharged with instructions to follow up as necessary. Hurlbut claimed that he could not return to work as a painter and that he would only be able to work in a sedentary position on a part-time basis after receiving psychiatric treatment. He also claimed he would need surgery for his thoracic outlet syndrome, as well as continuing psychiatric or psychological treatment. Hurlbut further claimed he is limited in certain activities, in that he can no longer actively hunt like he used to. Hurlbut made a Code of Civil Procedure § 998 demand to The Sobrato Organization for $1.75 million in total damages for his pain and suffering, past and future medical costs, and lost earnings. His wife, Kimberly Hurlbut, made a C.C.P. § 998 demand to The Sobrato Organization for $100,000 in damages for her loss of consortium claim. (Mr. Hurlbut also made a $200,000 C.C.P. § 998 demand to dismissed defendant Sobrato Construction Corp., and Mrs. Hurlbut made a $25,000 C.C.P. § 998 demand to the same defendant.) The State Compensation Insurance Fund intervened, seeking reimbursement of a workers’ compensation lien pursuant to the Labor Code. Thus, it sought recovery of $122,334.68 for its worker’s compensation lien. Counsel for The Sobrato Organization contended that Mr. Hurlbut could not have been pinned against the steel beams, as Mr. Hurlbut described, in light of the height of the space between the top of the elevator cab and the ceiling. Counsel also claimed that Mr. Hurlbut’s chronic pain was not as severe as reported and was attributed to an unrelated carpal tunnel syndrome.