On the night of April 3, 2010, plaintiff Alice Villavicencio, 50, a bookkeeper, was walking on a sidewalk in San Jose when she tripped and fell on a raised portion of a sidewalk located in front of a house. She claimed an injury to her left shoulder as result of the accident. Villavicencio sued the house’s owners, Gilbert Sias, Peter Sias and Margaret DeCarlo. She alleged that the defendants failed to properly maintain the sidewalk, creating a dangerous condition. Specifically, Villavicencio contended that the defendants left the sidewalk in an unsafe condition, and should have kept the sidewalk flat or attempted to fix it. Defense counsel noted that the city of San Jose had planted a tree near the sidewalk in question, pursuant to a city program, and as a result, the tree’s roots caused a portion of the sidewalk to lift. Thus, defense counsel argued that the city was at fault for the sidewalk’s unsafe condition., Approximately 2.5 weeks post-accident, Villavicencio presented to her treating orthopedic surgeon and underwent MRIs, which revealed a full thickness tear of the right, dominant shoulder’s rotator cuff. She had previously seen the orthopedic surgeon for complaints of left shoulder pain and underwent physical therapy on that shoulder. However, after the accident, Villavicencio underwent surgery on her right shoulder in the fall of 2010 in an attempt to repair that shoulder’s rotator cuff tear. The surgery allegedly failed. She then underwent another repair surgery in early 2011, but the tear was found to be unrepairable. Villavicencio returned to work following the incident, but stopped working permanently after the first surgery. She claimed a severe reduction in her right shoulder’s range of motion, as well as continued pain. Villavicencio currently treats her pain with over-the-counter medication, but she claimed that she was told that she would have to live with the injury or she could eventually have a right shoulder replacement. Defense counsel contended that Villavicencio did not seek insight into her right shoulder injury until over two weeks after the accident. Counsel also contended that medical records revealed that Villavicencio had some complaints in the same area of her right shoulder while she was seeing the orthopedic surgeon prior to the subject accident. Defense counsel further contended that the medical records indicated that when Villavicencio was treating for her left shoulder with physical therapy prior to the subject accident, she also complained of her right shoulder. In addition, defense counsel contended that the radiographical evidence made it clear that Villavicencio’s right shoulder injury was pre-existing and degenerative.