At around 3 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2014, plaintiff Tina Cortez, 37, an assessment coordinator at a skilled nursing center, tripped and fell on a 1-inch sidewalk displacement located on the sidewalk adjacent to 3401 Cedar Avenue, in Long Beach. As a result, Cortez claimed to the ring finger of her dominant hand. Cortez sued the owner and maintainer of the sidewalk, the city of Long Beach. Cortez alleged that the city failed to repair or properly maintain the sidewalk, creating a dangerous condition of public property. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that the subject sidewalk was previously patched in response to a complaint one year before Cortez’s incident. Counsel contended that as a result, most of the displacement was left cured with only an inch or so protruding outward due to wear on the patch and additional tree root growth. Plaintiff’s counsel also contended that just prior to the incident, in June 2014, the city returned to the location to look at the sidewalk and respond to a request for a sidewalk cutout. While at the site, a city employee allegedly confirmed that the sidewalk was on the sidewalk replacement program and that it would be replaced the following year. The employee’s notes from the visit included a reference to the sidewalks being “lifted.” Thus, plaintiff’s counsel argued that the sidewalk displacement amounted to a dangerous condition of public property. The plaintiff’s technical expert opined that the uplifted portion of the sidewalk constituted a dangerous condition. The expert also opined that the city created the dangerous condition by not having a system in place to verify that patches placed on sidewalks months or years before were still functioning to make the pavement level. Defense counsel argued that the displacement was not dangerous and that the sole cause of the incident was Cortez’s inattention. Counsel also noted that there were no prior claims filed anywhere on the subject street, no reported incidents anywhere around the subject location, and no evidence of any prior falls as a result of the subject displacement. The defense did not have a liability expert, but relied on the testimony of a person most qualified. However, plaintiff’s counsel noted that the defense’s person most qualified acknowledged that the city did not have a system to verify that asphalt patching was still effective months or years after patching., Cortez fractured the ring finger on her dominant hand. After attempting to go to work for a few hours, she ultimately presented to a Kaiser Permanente hospital, where she was treated with a splint and cast with the expectation that the bone would heal on its own. However, when the fractured bone healed, it was crooked, leaving a malunion. As a result, Cortez complained of pain, stiffness, tightness, and a visible deformity. She was ultimately recommended for an osteotomy with hardware installation. After numerous visits complaining about her symptoms, a Kaiser surgeon cut the bone and installed hardware on Jan. 28, 2015. The hardware remained in Cortez’s hand through trial. Cortez claimed that she currently suffers from soft-tissue pain around the metal plate, which would be remedied by a removal of the hardware. However, she claimed that she did not wish to have another surgery due to the uncertainty of the result. As a result, Cortez claimed that she still has hand cramping and occasional muscle spasms, which make picking up and playing with her two young sons difficult. The plaintiff’s expert orthopedic surgeon who specialized in hand surgery opined that Cortez would need a hardware removal surgery to reduce the pain she was having in her finger and hand. Thus, Cortez sought recovery of $12,465 in past medical costs, $13,889 in past loss of earnings, $17,500 in future medical costs for the hardware removal, $200,000 in past general damages, and $250,000 in future general damages. (An agreement was made so that the intervenor lien would be honored and its claim would be dismissed.) The parties agreed that Cortez’s past medical care was reasonable and necessary. The defense’s medical experts also agreed that Cortez would benefit from a hardware removal surgery.