CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Dan Kramer delivering his opening statement
Long Beach, CA - A California state court jury heard opening statements Wednesday in a premises liability lawsuit filed by an assistant high school principal claiming a fall on an uneven concrete surface outside a new student services building left her with serious knee and wrist fractures, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Nora Garcia sued defendant PCL Construction Inc. following a fall in 2023 that her attorney Dan Kramer of Kramer Trial Lawyers told a Los Angeles County jury would leave her in pain for the rest of her life. Garcia, who worked as a special education assistant principal at Orange High School, claims school officials informed PCL about an uneven concrete lip outside the newly constructed student services building, but the contractor took no action until after the accident.
Kramer told jurors Garcia’s damages will reach into the “millions,” but PCL argues the school had an obligation to take immediate action to warn pedestrians about the potential tripping hazard. However two subcontractors hired by PCL accused the company of failing to take corrective action in a timely manner while maintaining they completed the concrete work as instructed.
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Kramer told jurors that Garcia, who he described as an “avid” runner and hiker, required operations on her knee and wrist following the fall, describing how she will always live with some degree of pain and decreased mobility.
“She’s going to deal with these injuries for the rest of her life,” he said.
He argued her fall could have been avoided, noting that school officials took issue specifically with the concrete surface outside the new building, and that PCL concurred that it needed repair.
“PCL agreed that shouldn’t look like that,” Kramer emphasized. “They agreed to fix it.”
He explained school officials convened a meeting with PCL and subcontractor representatives to discuss various outstanding issues related to the new building, and Kramer said notes from that meeting confirm the parties discussed the concrete, which as a tripping hazard he said should have received priority attention.
Representing PCL, defense attorney Jade Tran of Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP told jurors that when the school district presented PCL with a list of outstanding construction issues, they consisted solely of “punch list” items - an industry term referring to projects that don’t require immediate or urgent attention.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Jade Tran delivering her opening statement
Tran also referenced the meeting with school officials, PCL and subcontractor representatives, but she said as the property owner the school had a responsibility to take immediate action to mitigate a tripping hazard.
She noted that shortly after Garcia’s fall the school put a carpet over the curb and roped off the area, steps she argued could easily have been taken at any time prior to Garcia’s fall.
“The school district, which had its student in and out of the building, its staff in an out of the building, did nothing to safeguard the area until after Ms. Garcia was injured,” Tran emphasized.
She argued security footage of the fall supposedly shows Garcia looking to the side and waving to a colleague, which Garcia told jurors differentiates her from an undistracted pedestrian.
Representing subcontractor J&M Concrete, defense attorney Phillip Baker told jurors they came in to do a “one day job” for PCL and completed the engagement with no indication of any problems with the work.
“PCL inspected it. They paid them, and they never heard from PCL again,” he explained.
Jordon Pistol, an attorney for Dean Visosky Contractors Inc., similarly argued their work was carried out as per PCL’s specifications.
The trial is taking place before Judge Michael P. Vicencia, and CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Nora Garcia v. PCL Construction Inc., case number 25LBCV00290 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
