Products Liability Law Reporter

Laura Rubin, who was in her mid-60s, suffered a cervical spinal fracture when she fell after knee replacement surgery. Her injuries necessitated that she use a walker and a wheelchair, and she bought a Harmar Sierra inclined stair platform lift from Gregory Joneson and his company, Love Handles. Joneson attempted to install the wheelchair lift in Rubin’s condominium but encountered problems. The installation company Dockmasters then assisted with the installation.

While Rubin was descending her stairs one day, the wheelchair lift stopped abruptly, causing her to fall from the lift’s platform onto the staircase with her 300-pound wheelchair strapped to her back. As a result, she suffered a nondisplaced heel fracture and aggravation of her cervical spinal problems, among other injuries. She underwent several surgeries, including spinal fusion surgery, and incurred medical expenses exceeding $149,100. She suffers from additional pain since the incident and is mostly confined to her wheelchair.

Rubin sued Joneson and Love Handles, alleging strict liability and negligence. The plaintiff asserted that the lift did not perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would have expected it to and that the lift’s design was defective in that the bolt holding the aluminum alloy bracket to the wall was too small to hold the bracket considering the forces of the lift. The plaintiff charged that the lift required a bolt that was two and a half times larger and made from steel. Additionally, suit charged that the angle of the ramp located at both ends of the lift platform was 45, not 90, degrees, which allowed the wheelchair to go off the platform and onto the ramp.

The plaintiff also sued Dockmasters. Suit alleged that this defendant failed to correct Joneson’s incorrect installation and failed to warn of the existence of obvious problems with the installation.

The court awarded more than $1.18 million, apportioning liability at 67% to Joneson and Love Handles, and 33% to Dockmasters.

Citation: Rubin v. Level World, Inc., No. BC570895 (Cal. Super. Ct. Los Angeles Cnty. Feb. 4, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members John F. Denove, Shane Hapuarachy, and John D. Rowell, all of Los Angeles.