On June 6, 2009, plaintiff Welma Kolbe, 50, a nurse, completed her shift at Good Samaritan Hospital in Santa Clara and was on a sidewalk adjacent to a picnic area on the hospital’s premises. The sidewalk was constructed in 2004 as part of a larger project that was completed in early 2006. While Kolbe was on the sidewalk, she mis-stepped, causing her left foot to hit the paver, and she fell face down. She sustained to her left ankle. Kolbe sued Good Samaritan Hospital of Santa Clara Valley; Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC; Balfour Beatty LLC; Balfour-Beatty; Flora Terra Landscape Management; Landrgo; and Granite Construction Co. It was ultimately determined Balfour Beatty’s predecessor-in-interest, Centex Rodgers Inc., was the general contractor on the hospital’s construction project and Granite Construction was the subcontractor who had created the sidewalk. After the project was completed, Balfour Beatty Construction purchased Centex Rodgers, its assets and its liabilities. It was also determined that Good Samaritan could not be sued in California due to Labor Code immunity. In addition, Flora Terra Landscape Management and Landrgo were let out of the case, as were Balfour Beatty LLC and Balfour-Beatty. Thus, the matter only continued against Balfour Beatty Construction, as the successor-in-interest to Centex Rodgers, and Granite Construction. Kolbe claimed that she was unaware of the change in elevation of the walk surface from the sidewalk to the picnic area and that as a result, she mis-stepped and fell. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction were responsible for the pouring and creation of the sidewalk during the construction project, which resulted in an approximate 8- to 12-inch vertical drop to the adjacent picnic area. Counsel also contended that Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction created, and were aware of, the dangerous condition and that they violated the Uniform Building Code, which did not allow for a drop off where there was a single step that exceeded 7 inches. Defense counsel contended that construction records disclosed that Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction had recognized that the condition created a trip hazard and had requested direction from the architect, who recommended the installation of an earthen fill slope from the edge of the sidewalk to the picnic area floor. Counsel subsequent presented documentary evidence that the corrective work was performed in February 2005, but that later aerial photographs taken during the construction project showed no earthen fill slope. Thus, the parties stipulated that when Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction left the project in late 2005, or early 2006, there was no fill slope in place adjacent to the subject sidewalk. Counsel for Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction argued that the fill slope was removed by, or at the direction of, the hospital. Counsel also argued that there was a change in elevation at the subject location, that the drop off was open and obvious, and that Kolbe appreciated the drop off before she stepped down. Counsel further argued that Kolbe’s employer, Good Samaritan, should have been aware of the step down since the work performed by Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction was completed 3.5 years earlier and that the hospital had safety personnel who would walk the premises to evaluate it for safety. Thus, counsel for Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction argued that Good Samaritan was negligent for not repairing the condition before the incident., Kolbe sustained a trimalleolar fracture of the left ankle. She was subsequently treated at the scene and then brought to the hospital’s emergency room. During the next year, she underwent approximately six months of physical therapy, on-and-off. Kolbe claimed that she now suffers from complex regional pain syndrome, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy or causalgia, a chronic pain condition. As a result, she claimed she could not return to work as a bedside nurse, and continues to undergo physical therapy and take prescription medicine. Thus, Kolbe sought recovery of damages for her past and future medical expenses, and past and future pain and suffering. Her husband, George Kolbe, presented a derivative claim, seeking recovery of damages for his loss of consortium. Counsel for Balfour Beatty Construction and Granite Construction argued that Mrs. Kolbe did not have CRPS, but that instead Mrs. Kolbe suffered an injury to her sural nerve (a sensory nerve in the leg made up of collateral branches off of the common tibial and common fibular nerve), which could have been repaired by surgery. As a result, counsel argued Mrs. Kolbe’s treating physicians committed malpractice, and Judge Joseph Huber allowed some of those physicians’ names to appear on the verdict form.