SAN FRANCISCO BAY – Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. (QPWB) San Francisco Bay Partner Fanya Young and Associate Trevor Daugherty successfully reduced an $11 million premises liability demand to a $950,000 settlement for their clients. In a high-exposure action involving an elderly plaintiff who sustained severe facial, shoulder, and spinal injuries following a trip-and-fall, the defense team dismantled an expansive $1.83 million life-care plan and isolated pre-existing medical comorbidities to resolve the dispute at a fraction of the initial demand.
Overview of the Case
The litigation arose from a premises liability and trip-and-fall lawsuit involving an elderly tenant of a residential property in California. The plaintiff alleged that she tripped over an approximate 3/8-inch sidewalk deviation while walking her dog, sustaining significant physical injuries and requiring numerous surgical interventions.
Key Difference-Makers
Administrative Support
- Stephanie Ochoa – Legal Assistant
- Todd Smayda – Deputy General Counsel
Claims Made Against Our Client
Opposing counsel asserted causes of action for premises liability, alleging that QPWB’s clients negligently owned, maintained, managed, inspected, and repaired the property walkway, thereby permitting an unreasonable hazard and dangerous condition to exist. Seeking $11 million in combined economic and non-economic damages, the plaintiff’s presentation attempted to attribute her entire post-incident health profile directly and exclusively to this single fall. Highlighting the severity of the physical trauma, opposing counsel presented the incident as a life-altering event and sought substantial recovery for a dislocated shoulder with anticipated future surgeries, orbital-floor and nasal fractures, a claimed traumatic brain injury with associated cognitive deficits, cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, and continuous pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life.
To substantiate this eight-figure demand, plaintiff’s retained experts presented an expansive $1.83 million life-care plan projecting continuous future medical interventions, ongoing orthopedic care, home-health services, transportation, housekeeping, case management, and long-term attendant support.
Defense Strategy
To counter this inflated exposure, the California Trial team adopted a methodical strategy focused on separating the severity of the plaintiff’s physical injuries from the legal elements of a dangerous condition, causation, and recoverable damages. Rather than attempting to defend against the $11 million figure as a single, overwhelming claim, the team systematically deconstructed the plaintiff’s theory step-by-step.
First, the team evaluated the physical condition itself, establishing that the alleged defect was a minor 3/8-inch sidewalk deviation along a route the plaintiff traveled regularly, thereby challenging whether the walkway legally constituted an unreasonable hazard. Second, the defense developed comprehensive comparative-causation evidence from the plaintiff’s pre-incident medical history, highlighting prior falls, documented dizziness, vertigo, musculoskeletal complaints, and medication usage that directly impacted balance and mobility. Third, defense counsel audited the methodology of opposing expert witnesses, demonstrating where their opinions relied on omitted pre-existing medical evidence, subjective reporting, and unverified assumptions. Fourth, the team deconstructed the damages model by separating physician-recommended treatment from life-care planner assumptions, exposing that the $1.83 million projection relied on unweighted contingent procedures and high-end charge data. Finally, at mediation, the defense maintained a disciplined negotiation strategy, refusing to negotiate against an inflated $11 million demand and instead establishing a concrete valuation rooted in objective, provable evidence.
Impact on Final Outcome
By establishing a $600,001 offer under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 based on concrete evidentiary value, the defense shifted the mediation focus from policy limits and initial demands to actual provable exposure.
Faced with detailed medical chronologies, expert admissions, and exposure of unvetted future damages, opposing counsel conceded that the $11 million demand could not be sustained at trial. The parties agreed to resolve the matter for a $950,000 settlement, protecting the client from catastrophic financial exposure while avoiding a lengthy trial.
Unique Aspects of the Case
The central challenge of this action was addressing objectively serious injuries, including facial fractures and a dislocated shoulder, that resulted from an objectively minor 3/8-inch sidewalk deviation. Rather than attempting to minimize the plaintiff’s physical harm, the defense team successfully separated human sympathy from legal liability, requiring strict proof across duty, dangerous condition, causation, and future care necessity.
Predicting the Future
This result demonstrates QPWB’s ability to defend high-exposure premises liability claims where severe injuries create heavy settlement pressure despite disputed liability and causation. By combining detailed medical chronologies, disciplined expert cross-examination, and probability-based scrutiny of life-care plans, the defense established a repeatable roadmap. For future clients, this outcome proves that serious injuries do not require automatic capitulation to eight-figure demands. A defense team can acknowledge the human consequences of an accident while still requiring rigorous proof at every link in the chain to materially reduce client exposure.
Key Actions in This Case
- Life-Care Plan Deconstruction: Methodically analyzed a $1.83 million life-care plan to separate contingent medical assumptions from reasonably certain future damages.
- Comparative Causation Analysis: Developed medical record evidence of pre-existing dizziness, vertigo, and prior falls to challenge sole causation.
- Section 998 Negotiation Strategy: Utilized a $600,001 statutory offer to anchor settlement discussions around objective evidentiary value rather than initial demands.
About QPWB
Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. is one of the fastest growing law firms in the United States providing a different focus on what it means to provide responsive service to clients and team members. With a national presence of 60 offices and a comprehensive scope of over 130 practice areas, QPWB delivers legal representation in litigation, regulatory, and corporate matters to a diverse range of industries. This scope and rapid expansion has attracted unique legal talent from all different backgrounds and experiences which has made them the largest minority-owned law firm in the country.
Case results reported by Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.. Legal strategy led by Fanya Young and Trevor Daugherty.