On the afternoon of Oct. 22, 2009, plaintiff Dina Kozlenko, 62, a retiree, went the West Buffet restaurant in Carlsbad. She claimed that after she sat down and adjusted her chair forward, her upper middle finger on her left hand became crushed between the base and seat of the chair. Kozlenko sued the restaurant owner, West Buffet Carlsbad Inc., and the former owner of West Buffet restaurant, C & Z Restaurant Inc. She alleged that the defendants negligently maintained its premises, creating a dangerous condition. It was ultimately determined that C & Z was the owner of the restaurant at the time of the accident, since it sold West Buffet in 2010. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against C & Z only. Kozlenko claimed that the seat of the chair was not firmly attached to the base because two of the four screws were missing. She alleged that this caused the seat to lift up when she adjusted her chair forward, causing her left, middle finger to become stuck between the seat and base. Thus, Kozlenko claimed that C & Z failed to reasonably inspect its property to make sure it was safe, and failed to fix or replace the defective chair. C & Z denied the accident ever occurred, claiming that there was no record of the incident at the restaurant even though Kozlenko claimed she reported the incident to restaurant staff after it happened and requested the records of who worked on the date of loss during discovery. Thus, C & Z informed Kozlenko that it did not know who was working on the date of loss and, furthermore, that it had no access to such records since it had not operated the restaurant in approximately two years., Kozlenko claimed she crushed the upper middle finger on her left hand between the base and seat of a chair. She alleged that after experiencing excruciating pain in her finger, she sought care from her primary care physician a week after the accident. Kozlenko was subsequently diagnosed with a finger fracture and had it splinted. Kozlenko claimed the fractured healed reasonably well, but that she now suffers from nerve damage and further pain symptoms. She alleged that as a result, she is restricted in certain activities involving the use of her left hand, including washing her hair and performing household chores. Thus, Kozlenko claimed that she will require a denervation to kill the nerve in her finger, and sought $10,000 in future medical costs. Kozlenko additionally sought $300,000 in damages for her past pain and suffering and $200,000 for her future pain and suffering. Defense counsel contended that Kozlenko was fully healed from her injury, did not suffer any nerve damage, and that its expert could not find the source of her alleged residual pain during an independent medical exam.