Case details
Plaintiff’s inattention caused fall over concrete bollard: defense
SUMMARY
$13000
Amount
Verdict-Plaintiff
Result type
Not present
Ruling
KEYWORDS
bruise, dental, face, finger, hand, knee, nose, wrist
FACTS
On Jan. 15, 2015, plaintiff Rita Jurin, 90, was walking in the parking lot of Piedmont Grocery Co., in Oakland, when she tripped and fell. She subsequently landed on her face, hands, and knees. Jurin claimed to her mouth, knees, and wrists. Jurin sued Piedmont Grocery Co., alleging that it failed to repair and/or maintain the parking lot’s dangerous condition. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Piedmont’s parking lot contained concrete bollards, which were short concrete posts with metal rails at different intervals that formed a fence around the post. Counsel argued that sometime before the subject accident, an unknown truck driver knocked out the top two rails, leaving only one rail in the portion of the structure. Counsel argued that as a result the parking lot being left in a dangerous condition, Jurin tripped over the remaining rail and fell. Defense counsel contended that Piedmont wanted a structure people would have to walk around because customers were tripping over the wheel stops. Counsel contended that as a result, the grocery store installed the bollards and painted the rails bright yellow. Thus, defense counsel argued that although the top two rails were knocked out, the remaining rail was open and obvious. Counsel also argued that Jurin should have seen the rail, but that she was being inattentive, looking straight ahead and not where she was stepping, while she was walking. In addition, defense counsel argued that Jurin should not have been traveling in the path of the rail in the first place., Jurin claimed that she bruised her face and had at least one, if not several, dental implants knocked out of her mouth during the fall. Her right knee also swelled, and she complained of weakness and pain in her right knee and right wrist. She was subsequently taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was treated and released. Jurin then underwent treatment with her regular dentist, who placed the implant(s) back in her mouth. She also underwent physical therapy for her wrist at a Kaiser location, and she was given a cane and walker to help ambulate. Jurin claimed facial bruising had healed, but that she has mobility issues with her knees and wrists. She alleged that as a result, she has limitations in her activities of daily living, including how long she can walk without tiring. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award $100,000 for Jurin’s . Defense counsel argued that with the exception of the dental work, Jurin only sustained soft tissue from her fall. Counsel contended that the Kaiser medical records noted that Jurin had weakness in her body for several years before the incident and argued that Jurin’s current limitations were due to her aging, advanced age, and degenerative changes, and were not linked to the subject fall. Defense counsel argued that although Jurin had complaints that she had been compromised in some way due to her , there was no records or testimony from her treaters that Jurin required further treatment. Counsel also argued that after her physical therapy, Jurin’s only visits were to her primary care provider for regular checkups, during which she talked about her knee and wrist, but that her non-retained, primary care physician could not say whether Jurin’s alleged knee and wrist complaints were due to the subject fall. In addition, defense counsel noted that Jurin’s own family claimed that Jurin never used a cane or walker, and had no mobility issues.
COURT
Superior Court of Alameda County, Oakland, CA
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INJURIES:
- anxiety
- brain
- brain damage
- brain injury
- cognition
- depression
- epidural
- extradural hematoma
- face
- facial bone
- fracture
- head
- headaches
- hearing
- impairment
- insomnia
- loss of
- mental
- nose
- psychological
- scapula
- sensory
- shoulder
- skull
- speech
- subdural hematoma
- tinnitus
- traumatic brain injury
- vision
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