On Dec. 3, 2006, plaintiffs’ decedent Matteo Enoch Wright, 5, was visiting an airplane hangar at McClellan Business Park, operated by The Aerospace Museum of California. Matteo was brought to the airplane hangar by his father, museum volunteer John Gill Wright, in order to work on an exhibit that Wright was building for The Aerospace Museum of California. While there, Matteo’s father placed the child in a makeshift harness and attached it to the hook of a heavy duty gantry crane. Wright then raised Matteo 20 feet into the air by using the crane’s electrical control panel. When Matteo’s father failed to stop the crane after it reached its maximum height, the winch cable at the top snapped and Matteo fell to the concrete floor, along with the winch hook. Matteo sustained massive from the incident and died several days later. Matteo’s mother, Flora Tassone, who was acting individually and as successor-in-interest of her deceased son, sued The Aerospace Museum of California Foundation Inc., McClellan Business Park, LLC, and John Gill Wright. Tassone alleged that the museum and the business complex where the museum was located were both liable for the negligent maintenance of the gantry crane. She also alleged that Wright’s actions constituted gross negligence. Wright, acting individually and as successor-in-interest of his deceased son, then filed a negligent maintenance claim against The Aerospace Museum of California Foundation Inc. and McClellan Business Park, LLC. The two cases were ultimately consolidated. Prior to trial, McClellan Business Park and The Aerospace Museum of California Foundation settled with Tassone for $600,000 based on the negligent maintenance claims. (For a complete report of the action against McClellan Business Park and The Aerospace Museum of California Foundation, and the subsequent settlement on Sept. 25, 2008, please see VerdictSearch California, volume 8, issue 4.) A motion for summary judgment by McClellan Business Park and The Aerospace Museum of California Foundation, as to Wright’s claims, was granted. The matter then proceeded to a bench trial on the gross negligence claim against Wright. The trial of this matter commenced on Jan. 15, 2013. Tassone’s counsel contended that Wright was grossly negligent by attaching his 5-year-old son to a harness, operating equipment that he was not supposed to use and lifting his son into the air by the crane. Counsel further contended that Wright’s negligent behavior ultimately caused Matteo’s death. Tassone’s counsel moved for a directed verdict against Wright on the issue of liability (negligence), and it was granted., Matteo fell 20 feet to the concrete floor, along with the crane’s winch hook, and sustained multiple traumatic , including a fractured skull and a cerebral hematoma. His father then drove him to an emergency room, where Matteo was stabilized before being rushed by ambulance to another facility for brain surgery. Matteo was placed on life support while doctors tried to treat the cerebral hematoma and shattered skull. Several days after the accident, Matteo was taken off life support and he died. He was 5 years old. Counsel for Tassone, Matteo’s mother, sought compensation for Matteo’s past medical costs and conscious pain and suffering before he died. Counsel also sought compensation for Tassone’s personal losses. Tassone, a geneticist in her early 40s, claimed she lost her only son and was unlikely to ever conceive a child again, given her age. She also claimed the connection between Matteo and her was exceptional, and the death was a devastating loss for her.