On Sept. 28, 2011, plaintiffs’ decedent Carlos Amezcua, 46, an experienced tree trimmer with Davey Tree Surgery Co., was in the bucket of an aerial lift, trimming trees for line clearance for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. While he was doing so, the leveling chain within the boom broke, causing the bucket to tip. As a result, Amezcua fell headfirst out of the bucket and landed approximately 30 feet below. He died at the scene. The decedent’s wife (Maria Amezcua), adult children (Elizabeth Amezcua, Jose Amezcua and Carlos Amezcua) and minor child (Rigoberto Amezcua) sued the decedent’s employer, Davey Tree Surgery Co.; Davey Tree’s parent company and owner of the subject truck and boom, the Davey Tree Expert Co.; the designer and builder of the boom, Hydra-Tech Inc.; the company that sold the subject chain to Hydra-Tech, Hitachi Maxco, Ltd.; the predecessor entities to Hydra-Tech, Altec Industries Inc. and Altec Inc.; the maintainer of the hydraulic system on the truck and boom, Bay Hydraulics Inc.; the supplier of parts for the truck and boom, Specialty Truck Parts Inc.; and the company that performed yearly inspections of Davey Tree booms and trucks, including the one on which the decedent was killed, All Cal Equipment Services Inc. The decedent’s family also sued the company that hired Davey Tree to trim the trees, Pacific Gas and Electric; as well as other individuals and entities, including Jane Dutra, Jane Dutra’s Service, Karen Dutra, Karen Dutra’s Service, Jonathan Dutra, Jonathan Dutra’s Service, Elite Auto Network of the Bay Area, Klein Tools, Lift-All Inc., and Premiere Solutions. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the leveling chain within the boom was undersized and that the designer/manufacturer of the boom, Hydra-Tech, failed to adequately take into account the numerous forces that would be applied to the chain over time. Counsel also contended that the failings, coupled with inattentiveness to maintenance, caused the chain to fail. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that Hydra-Tech bore liability for manufacturing a boom with an unreliable chain, for failing to design a fail-safe mechanism that would have prevented the bucket from tipping if the chain failed, and for failing to recommend sufficient maintenance requirements to the decedent’s employer. Plaintiffs’ counsel was prepared to present deposition testimony by the boom designer, who allegedly admitted that the design team never envisioned a chain failure that would turn the bucket upside down and never considered implementing a fail-safe device. The decedent’s family settled with or dismissed several of the defendants. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial only against the company that was supposed to perform yearly inspections of the subject boom and truck, All Cal Equipment Services Inc. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that All Cal performed an inadequate inspection of the subject boom and truck and that it should have discovered that the chain inside of the boom was in poor condition. Counsel also argued that All Cal should have recommended to Davey Tree Surgery that it perform maintenance on, or replace, the chain. All Cal’s counsel contended that All Cal’s inspections were adequate and that there was insufficient evidence to the contrary. Counsel also denied that All Cal was liable for the accident and argued that the decedent’s failure to wear his safety harness caused his death., Carlos Amezcua sustained multiple traumatic after falling approximately 30 feet from the bucket. He was subsequently rushed to a hospital’s emergency room, where he was pronounced dead. Amezcua, 46, was a devoted father, husband and grandfather, in addition to being his family’s primary breadwinner, earning approximately $60,000 a year at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, Maria Amezcua; his adult daughter, Elizabeth Amezcua; his adult sons, Jose Amezcua and Carlos Amezcua Jr.; and his minor son, Rigoberto Amezcua. He was also survived by five grandchildren. Thus, the decedent’s wife and children sought recovery of wrongful death damages.