On June 18, 2013, plaintiff Michael Williams, 64, an artist/architect, was going for a morning walk when he tripped on an elevated gap in the sidewalk at 147 1/2 West 52nd Street, in Long Beach. Williams was two houses away from his home, were he resided for over 15 years, at the time of his fall. He claimed to his left knee. Williams sued the maintainer of the sidewalk, the city of Long Beach. He alleged that the city failed to timely repair and/or maintain the sidewalk, creating a dangerous condition of public property. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the deviation in the sidewalk was over 0.5 inches that the gap was just high enough to pose a tripping hazard, but not so high that it would be readily apparent. The plaintiff’s safety expert opined that since there had been previous visits by the city’s employees to the street regarding other issues, the city should have had sufficient notice of the dangerous condition. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel argued that the city’s inspection system was inadequate and that if the city had an adequate inspection system in place, the deviation would have been discovered. Counsel also argued that the city’s employees — such as tree trimmers, who had been out on the block to deal with tree hazards in the previous three years — should have been trained to spot potential hazards and that a tabulation system should have been in place to keep track of the number of calls for any given block to see how to best allocate resources. Plaintiff’s counsel further argued that if the city’s employees had been adequately trained, the amount of times the city had responded to other calls on the block, both sidewalk- and non-sidewalk-related, during the three years before the incident, should have put the city on notice. In addition, counsel argued that the city had actual notice of the sidewalk’s condition because the deviation appeared on a 2000 survey done by the city. Defense counsel contended that the deviation was trivial and that thousands of people, including Williams, had likely walked over that same deviation in the past decade without ever tripping. Counsel pointed to the fact that there were no requests for service at the location of the deviation until after Williams fell. Counsel also argued that due to the contrast of the deviation, as well as the fact that there were no shadows or other distractions, Williams would not have fallen if he had been watching where he was going. Defense counsel contended that the city’s inspection system was reasonable, as very few cities have active inspection systems, and that the one’s that do, are not the size of Long Beach. Counsel also contended that the city’s employees were adequately trained and that there was simply no time or budget to implement the kind of plan that plaintiff’s counsel proposed. Defense counsel opined that such a plan would be cost-prohibitive given the amount of sidewalk surface area in the city and the need to allocate resources to the most heavily traversed areas, which posed the greatest threat to the community. Thus, counsel contended that since Williams lived on a cul-de-sac in a residential part of town, as opposed to a busy thoroughfare, it was lower on the list of priorities than higher traffic areas. In addition, defense counsel contended that after a thorough review, the city denied the deviation was present on the sidewalk during the 2000 survey., Williams sustained a fracture of his left knee’s patella. As a result, a friend took him immediately to a hospital, where wires were placed in the knee a few days after the incident to help it heal. Williams then underwent physical therapy at the Veterans Health Administration for a few months. Williams claimed that his knee injury impeded his life and activities because he could no longer climb stairs like he used to or do active recreational activities, such as hiking, without pain. Thus, Williams sought recovery of $15,189.56 for the agreed-upon past medical costs under Howell and $5,000 for his future medical costs. He also sought recovery of damages for his past and future pain and suffering. (There was no loss of earnings claim.) Defense counsel contended that Williams’ injury was a simple, uncomplicated fracture that should have healed within six months. Thus, counsel argued that any pain Williams was experiencing after six months was the result of Williams’ age and degenerative changes in his body.