On June 19, 2017, plaintiff Adam Hadjinian, 43, an executive, fell while he was descending a stairway that provided access to and from his workplace, an attic of a residence that was located at 2109 Bush St., in San Francisco. He suffered  of an ankle. Hadjinian sued the residence’s owners, Kiran Alvie and Nabeel Alvie. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants negligently created a dangerous condition that caused Hadjinian’s accident. Hadjinian claimed that his fall was a result of him having slipped off of one of the stairway’s steps. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the steps were too steep, too narrow, lacked sufficient traction and lacked a handrail. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that the stairway, which was constructed in 1996, violated the 1995 California Building Code and had not been inspected when the defendants purchased the residence in 2013 or when Hadjinian’s tenancy began, in 2016. The defendants claimed that they had offered to install a handrail, but that Hadjinian refused because he first wanted to use the stairway to move furniture into the attic. Defense counsel contended that the stairway was part of the residence’s original construction, dating to the late 1800s, and that it met all applicable codes. Defense counsel also contended that the stairway was reasonably safe when Hadjinian’s tenancy began. Defense counsel noted that Hadjinian put his office in the attic knowing that he would have to use the stairway multiple times a day and had not presented a safety concern prior to the accident, despite raising concerns about other aspects of the residence. Defense counsel further noted that Hadjinian had not expressed a safety concern during a walkthrough of the premises as part of the leasing process. Defense counsel also suggested that Hadjinian’s fall was not a result of a hazardous condition. According to a responding paramedic’s report, Hadjinian claimed that he planted his left foot upon one of the steps, heard a loud pop within the left ankle, experienced instant pain, braced himself on the stairway’s walls and fell onto his buttocks. The report did not reference a slip. Defense counsel argued that Hadjinian’s , which comprised a fracture, a dislocation and disruption of the ankle’s ligaments, were of a type that required forceful twisting of the ankle, trauma consistent with a plant-and-pop injury rather than a slip. Defense counsel also contended that a plant-and-pop injury could not have been prevented by a handrail. Defense counsel further noted that Hadjinian was descending the stairway while wearing socks and after having consumed Scotch, though Hadjinian claimed that he had not consumed much Scotch., Hadjinian suffered dislocation and a fracture of his left ankle. The fracture was deemed trimalleolar: involving the distal edge of a leg’s tibia and each of the corresponding ankle’s malleoli, which are the bony protuberances. Hadjinian also suffered disruption of the ankle’s syndesmosis: ligamentous tissue that binds the ankle’s primary bones. Hadjinian was retrieved by an ambulance, and he was transported to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, in San Francisco. He immediately underwent manual correction of his left ankle’s dislocation. Hadjinian later underwent open reduction and internal fixation of his left ankle’s fractured components. After some 12 months had passed, he underwent surgical removal of the ankle’s fixation hardware. Hadjinian claimed that he developed residual arthritis and residual thinning and tears of his left ankle’s cartilage. Hadjinian’s expert orthopedist opined that Hadjinian’s condition would likely deteriorate and cause increasing pain and limitations, though the expert conceded that his practice primarily focuses on of knees or shoulders and that he refers most ankle-surgery patients to another doctor, the defense’s expert orthopedist. The parties stipulated that Hadjinian’s past medical expenses totaled $86,770.47. Hadjinian sought recovery of that amount and damages for past and future pain and suffering. Plaintiff’s counsel requested a total of $2,435,925. The defense’s expert orthopedist challenged the contention that Hadjinian’s condition would significantly worsen. The expert opined that the damaged cartilage constituted a very small percentage of the weight-bearing portion of the ankle joint’s surface. The expert also contended that exercises could improve the ankle’s condition. Defense counsel suggested noneconomic damages in the amount of $145,000.