On Sept. 19, 2008, at around 11 a.m., plaintiff Alvaro Gomez, 34, a tile installer, was at the house of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Serrano, in Cathedral City. Gomez came over to help Serrano remove some epoxy residue that was left on the cement floor in a bedroom. They found some acetone in an unmarked can left behind by Serrano’s ex-husband in the back shed of the house. Gomez and Serrano then borrowed a floor buffer from Juan Barron, Serrano’s father, and took it back to Serrano’s house. Gomez poured the acetone on the floor and began using the buffer, but the flooring caught fire. Gomez suffered burns to his legs, an arm, and face. Gomez sued Elizabeth Serrano; Juan Barron; the original owner of Ms. Serrano’s house, Michael Serrano; and Michael Serrano’ brother, who was conveyed the house; J. Reyes Serrano. Gomez alleged that the defendants’ were negligent and liable for the incident. Barron filed for bankruptcy, and Michael and J. Reyes Serrano were dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter continued to trial against Ms. Serrano only. In addition, only Gomez’s negligence claim continued to trial. Gomez contended that Ms. Serrano failed to warn him of the dangers of using the acetone and that Ms. Serrano had a duty to tell him what the acetone was and what to use it for. Ms. Serrano’s counsel contended that both Gomez and Ms. Serrano knew the unmarked can contained acetone. Ms. Serrano claimed Gomez would not let her use the buffer because it was too heavy and, thus, Gomez elected to use the buffer and acetone. She also claimed that she relied on Gomez’s perceived expertise, as she was ignorant as to how to remove the residue from the floor. Serrano further claimed that Gomez, as a tile installer, had, or should have had, greater experience with the chemicals and equipment used., Gomez was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, in San Bernardino. He suffered severe second and third degree burns to nine percent of his body. The burns were mainly to his legs, though his face and an arm were also burned. Gomez claimed the burns resulted in scarring and residual pain. He also claimed that he suffers pain whenever he walks for more than an hour and that he has to sit down to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. He further claimed that he suffers pain when the temperature gets below 40 degrees due to the nerve damage to his legs. Thus, Gomez alleged that he has to take daily painkillers and antibiotics. Thus, Gomez sought recovery of $80,000 in past medical costs and an unspecified amount of future medical costs. He also sought recovery of damages for his past and future pain and suffering.