At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2009, plaintiff Sophie Ismail, 21 months old, was sitting in a highchair in the kitchen of her family’s Modesto home when her mother left the kitchen to help her son with a video game. Since the safety restraint was not engaged, Sophie climbed out of the highchair and onto the countertop. She then made her way to the cooktop and turned on a burner, which ignited her clothing. Sophie subsequently sustained second- and third-degree burns to her chest, abdomen, arms and hands. Sophie’s parents, John and Diana Ismail, acting as the guardians ad litem for their daughter, sued the manufacturer of the cooktop, General Electric Co., and the company that sold them the home, Meritage Homes of California Inc. They alleged that GE defectively designed the cooktop, creating a dangerous condition. Meritage Homes was ultimately dismissed from the case prior to trial. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the gas cooktop was defective because it did not include a lock-out knob, which would have prevented ignition of a burner even when the knob is turned to the ignition position. Counsel noted that GE first introduced lock-out knobs as an optional feature for gas cooktops in 2005; the year after the subject cooktop was manufactured. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that the lock-out knob was necessary for a safe design and would have prevented the accident. GE contended that the cooktop was not defectively designed and that Sophie was injured while misusing the cooktop in a way that was not reasonably foreseeable. It also noted that Sophie’s mother contributed to the accident by leaving her infant daughter alone in her highchair without the safety restraint engaged., Sophie was taken by ambulance to Modesto Hospital and then transferred to Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento. She sustained second- and third-degree burns to approximately 18 percent of her body, including her chest, abdomen, arms and hands. Sophie’s burns resulted in 32 days of hospitalization and she required two in-patient skin grafting surgeries, as well as a third out-patient surgery to address a scar contracture on her left hand. Sophie was left with residual scars to her chest, abdomen, arms and hands, as well as scarring at the donor sites on her back and thighs. Her medical experts opined that Sophie may require additional surgeries to address scar contracture and/or cosmetic issues. Plaintiffs’ counsel originally claimed that Sophie’s past medical costs amounted to roughly $590,000, but that trial rulings limited recovery to $26,000. Counsel also asked the jury to award Sophie at least $500,000 in damages for her past pain and suffering and at least $1 million in damages for her future pain and suffering.