Rai Fink Ebner trial attorney Darren Ebner defended a general contractor client in a one-month jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in Van Nuys, California. The trial involved a bodily injury claim by a 29-year-old male who was permanently injured when a step gave way on an outdoor staircase that was part of a construction project at an apartment complex in Calabasas, California. As a result of the incident, Plaintiff had a three-level lumbar laminectomy, a two-level cervical fusion and the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator.

During jury deliberations, Plaintiff settled for $3 million based on his fear that Mr. Ebner was going to obtain a defense verdict for his client. This $3 million settlement was agreed to in spite of Plaintiff’s counsel requesting the jury award Plaintiff $23.8 million in his closing argument. Prior to trial, Plaintiff made a “policy-limits” settlement demand of $11 million that was not accepted.