On May 17, 2013, plaintiff Mary Kate Lancaster, 60, a Delta flight attendant, was operating her vehicle on eastbound Calle Mayor in Torrance. As she turned left to go onto northbound Pacific Coast Highway, her vehicle was struck by a vehicle operated by William Paro, who was southbound on Pacific Coast Highway. Lancaster sustained to her right shoulder. Lancaster sued Paro and Paro’s employer, Cerium Networks Inc. Lancaster alleged that Paro was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that Cerium Networks was liable for Paro’s actions while in the course and scope of his employment. Paro admitted fault for the accident. Cerium Networks denied Paro was in the course and scope of his employment. Specifically, it claimed that Paro was driving his own vehicle on his way home from a personal errand at the time of the accident. In response, Lancaster claimed that Paro’s alleged personal errand was combined with a work-related customer service duty., After the collision, Lancaster was taken by ambulance to Torrance Memorial Medical Center, in Torrance, where she was treated in the emergency room and released. Lancaster sustained a tear of the right, dominant shoulder’s rotator cuff. She subsequently underwent a repair surgery on Sept. 19, 2013. She then developed a frozen shoulder/adhesive capsulitis, a known risk of shoulder surgery. As a result, Lancaster underwent a second surgery on Jan. 29, 2014. Starting the day of the accident, Lancaster took time off from work. She claimed that she continues to suffer residual restriction in her right shoulder, affecting the shoulder’s range of motion and significantly impacting her day-to-day activities. She claimed that as a result, she can no longer work as a flight attendant. The plaintiff’s treating orthopedic surgeon testified that all of Lancaster’s were related to the subject collision. The surgeon also opined that Lancaster is disabled from returning to work as a flight attendant. The defense’s expert orthopedic surgeon opined that Lancaster was 100 percent better and could return to work.
