Partners Christopher J. Beeman and Andrew K. Murphy obtained a defense verdict after a contentious four-week trial in Northern San Diego County.  The high exposure personal injury case involved a gardener who came to the defendant's home to inspect a dripping water heater in her garage.  After walking through a puddle of water on the garage floor, the plaintiff fell from his work truck, landed on his head, and was knocked unconscious.  The plaintiff fractured his skull, underwent an emergency craniotomy and was in a coma for approximately three weeks.  He sustained a significant and verifiable traumatic brain injury which impacted his lifestyle drastically.

Plaintiff claimed that he was an employee of the homeowner defendant which required her to have workers' compensation insurance and would have shifted the burden of proof at trial.  Defendant's motion for summary adjudication on the issue was denied, as was the writ they filed against their trial judge only a few weeks before trial commenced.  Their motions in limine to bifurcate the issue of insurance from the injury aspect of the case were also denied.  Plaintiff also claimed that the homeowner's negligence caused him to fall and land on his head.  Chris and Andrew were able to demonstrate to the jury that the plaintiff unfortunately fell out of his own truck on his own volition.  Moreover, they showed that the work performed by the plaintiff did not require a license and make him an employee of the homeowner and, regardless, that she had the requisite workers' compensation insurance.  A motion for non-suit on breach of statutory duty was granted and the burden of proof did not shift to the defendants.