On July 26, 2012, plaintiff Andrea Fuller, 47, a swing manager at McDonald’s, was in the tenant parking lot of an apartment building, where she lived in Van Nuys, attempting to dislodge her car door from an electric gate. The opening gate had struck her vehicle and became lodged on the car’s door. As Fuller was attempting to dislodge her door, she fell backward onto the pavement. Fuller claimed to her head and neck. Fuller sued the owners of the apartment building, Roy Shellow and Eva Shellow, the manager of the apartment building, Beaumont Property Management Co. Inc.; and the manufacturer and designer of the electric gate, Elite Access Systems Inc. Fuller alleged that the defendants failed to properly maintain the gate, creating a dangerous condition. Elite Access Systems was dismissed from the case. The Shellows and Beaumont Property Management admitted to their negligent ownership and/or maintenance of the property, in that the gate was defective and that the parking space assigned to Fuller was too close to the defective gate. However, they claimed that Fuller was comparatively negligent for attempting to dislodge her car door from the gate., Fuller sustained a closed skull fracture, a concussion, a head contusion, and several cervical spine , including multilevel cervical disc protrusions at the C3-4, C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7 levels. She was subsequently taken to Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center, in Panorama City, following the fall. She ultimately underwent a series of epidural injections to her cervical spine. Fuller claimed that she suffered a “complicated” mild traumatic brain injury, chronic post-concussive headaches, and vertigo as a result of her head . She also claimed that despite undergoing epidural injections to her cervical spine, she continues to suffer neck pain, resulting in pain radiating into her left, upper extremity. Fuller alleged that as a result, she suffers physical limitations related to her chronic and cervicogenic headaches, vertigo/balance disturbance, and her spinal . She has also remained off of work since 2014. Thus, her treating orthopedic surgery expert recommended that Fuller undergo surgery on the C3-4 and C4-5 levels, consisting of a left-sided, posterior laminoforaminotomy, a minimally invasive spinal surgery performed to alleviate pressure on a nerve root in the neck that is being compressed or otherwise irritated. Fuller sought recovery of past and future medical costs, lost wages, and damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Her husband, plaintiff Alphonse Fuller, initially presented a loss-of-consortium claim, but he later withdrew the claim. Defense counsel contested causation and the extent of Fuller’s . Counsel asserted that Fuller’s cervical disc bulges were degenerative and pre-existed the subject incident. Counsel also asserted that Fuller’s alleged mild traumatic brain injury resolved after a few months.