Personal Injury

David Melton and Kayla Cox received a defense verdict for Placer County in the Superior Court of California on a slip and fall case for a Retailer.  Plaintiff claimed that her fall from slipping on a grape in the produce department fractured her right shoulder.  She underwent an open reduction and internal fixation to repair the fracture. The Retailer provided evidence that there was nothing on the floor in the area of the incident, and even if there was, its employees conducted reasonable inspections of the premises.  Resultingly, the Retailer did not have notice of a dangerous condition.  Plaintiff asked the jury for a six-figure damage award. The jury deliberated for less than two hours and found that the Retailer was not negligent.

David Melton and his co-counsel obtained a defense verdict after 2 ½ weeks in a jury trial in Merced County.  The firm represented the Winton Cemetery District, a small governmental entity responsible for running a public cemetery.  Plaintiffs were a husband and his second wife who were visiting the husband’s first wife’s grave.  The husband stumbled and tripped into the grave’s headstone which fell on top of his wife and crushed her leg.  The headstone weighed 500 pounds.  The wife was in the hospital and rehabilitation facility for 6 months following the accident and had 5 operations to her right leg.  Her attorneys argued that she suffered an exacerbation of other pre-accident conditions, that she would need a future total knee replacement and long term attendant care.  Plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury to award $10 million for the injured wife and $1 million for the husband’s loss of consortium claim.

Plaintiffs argued that the District stole the plaintiff’s golden years, knew that headstones were becoming unglued at the cemetery, failed to protect the public, and failed to properly inspect for loose headstones.   The District argued that the headstone was not a dangerous condition at the time of the accident, stumbling into the headstone was not a foreseeable use of the headstone, the headstone was at least partially glued, and the District had a reasonable inspection process to find loose headstones.

The jury defensed the case 12-0 finding that the headstone was not a dangerous condition at the time of the accident.  The jury deliberated for about an hour.

David A. Melton and Kayla K. Cox won summary judgment on behalf of a multinational retail corporation. A customer claimed that she was injured while shopping at one of the retail corporation’s stores. The customer sued the retail corporation based on a premises liability cause of action. In response, the retail corporation filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that as a matter of law it was not liable for plaintiff’s alleged injuries because plaintiff’s alleged injuries were not foreseeable. In support of its motion for summary judgment, the retail corporation presented evidence showing that in recent years, there were no incidents at the subject store that were similar to the incident involving plaintiff and that resulted in injuries similar to the plaintiff’s. The Sacramento Superior Court agreed that the plaintiff’s injuries were not foreseeable and, consequently, the retail corporation was not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries and entered judgment in favor of the retail corporation.

David Melton and Taylor Rhoan received a defense verdict in the Superior Court of California, County of Yolo on a slip and fall case for a retailer.  Plaintiff claimed that he slipped inside the restroom after it had been mopped and injured his neck resulting in a 3-level discectomy and fusion surgery.  The retailer argued that plaintiff had notice of the wet floor and proceeded into the restroom despite several warnings.  Plaintiff asked the jury for a high six-figure damage award.  The jury deliberated for 90 minutes and found that the retailer was not negligent.

A jury trial was just completed in the Humboldt County Superior Court, in Eureka, CA.  Plaintiff was rear-ended in a motor vehicle accident by an employee of a large retailer.  Plaintiff complained of chronic neck pain and occipital neuralgia for over 4 years since the accident.  Defendants admitted liability and course and scope at trial.  Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award plaintiff damages for a lifetime of chronic, debilitating, and excruciating pain and asked for an award in the high six-figures.  The jury agreed with Defense and did not award plaintiff for a lifetime of pain and suffering.  They returned a verdict for a total of only $35,000.