On April 27, 2017, plaintiff Laureann Friedell, 27, a caregiver, was in standing in an empty parking space next to her vehicle, looking for a cigarette she had left on the ground outside of a convenience store, near a police substation on West Steele Lane, in Santa Rosa. As she bent over near the side of her vehicle to look under her car, a pickup truck operated by Santa Rosa police detective Michael Spediacci entered the parking lot and pulled into the parking spot next to Friedell’s vehicle. Friedell was knocked down, and her right foot, left ankle and left knee were run over by Spediacci’s vehicle. Friedell sued Spediacci and his employer, the city of Santa Rosa. Friedell alleged that Spediacci was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that the city was liable for Spediacci’s actions. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Spediacci failed to confirm that the parking space was not occupied by pedestrians before he pulled in to it. Counsel also contended that Spediacci was acting in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident. Defense counsel asserted that Friedell was negligent for not being attentive to vehicles that might be approaching. Although the defense’s expert animator’s deposition found that Spediacci would have been able to see Friedell, at least briefly, if she were bent over at the waist, defense counsel questioned whether Friedell was actually bent over or whether she was kneeling or prone. Counsel asserted that Friedell would have been much more difficult to see in those positions., Friedell sustained degloving and crush of her right foot and toes, as well as of her left ankle and left knee. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and she underwent acute emergency care to clean up and debride the extensive wounds. She was required to wear a knee immobilizer and had to remain non-weight bearing for an extended period of time while the wounds healed. Friedell also received extensive wound-care services from various providers and once the wounds actually closed, she attempted physical therapy. She claimed that she was unable to immediately participate in physical therapy because of hypersensitivity. Friedell was ultimately able to commence physical therapy approximately nine months post-accident, but she claimed that her progress was slow and painful. She continues to treat with physical therapy and acupuncture. Friedell’s right foot and toes have healed but with moderate scarring. She claimed that her left ankle and knee have residual hypersensitivity with scarring. She also claimed that she has nerve problems, primarily in the left ankle and left knee, and that, as a result, she has been unable to regain full range of motion due to the shortening of ligaments, tendons and muscles associated with the time that she had been non-weight bearing. Friedell further claimed that she is unable to consistently get her left heel to the ground when she walks or tries to run due to the shortening of the tendons, ligaments and muscles as a result of the extended period of non-weight bearing while the wounds were healing. She claimed that, as a result, she has difficulty ambulating more than a block or so without pain and that she has difficulty with running, squatting, jumping and any type of high impact exercise. She was still able to complete massage therapy school, with accommodation. Friedell’s treating orthopedist believes that Friedell may eventually require a lengthening procedure to the Achilles tendon, if she still has nerve pain in the left ankle and knee. The podiatrist working with Friedell, and the defense’s physical medicine and rehabilitation examiner who evaluated and tested Friedell, both believed that complex regional pain syndrome, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy or causalgia, a chronic pain condition, may explain Friedell’s hypersensitivity to contact.