Plaintiff claims negligence after deputy assisting her caused a fence plank to hit her in face. Defense verdict. San Diego County.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  On August 23, 2019, San Diego County sheriff's deputies responded “Code 3” with their lights and sirens on to a domestic violence call in rural Escondido involving a known and violent perpetrator. Plaintiff was living in a trailer on a large rural property and the owner of the property was her close friend.

  The call came from a neighbor who believed there was ongoing domestic violence occurring when he called 911, and knowing plaintiff was living on the property, was concerned for her safety. When deputies arrived, they discovered plaintiff behind a fence that was locked from the outside. Plaintiff was unsure if the perpetrator and victim of the domestic violence were at the residence on the property but told deputies she was scared and was trying to assist them in opening the gate. Plaintiff had previously been assaulted by the perpetrator about a week prior.

  Deputy Steinmeyer arrived on scene a few minutes after the other deputies. He was also familiar with the perpetrator as he had been in a car pursuit with him a few weeks prior. Plaintiff was telling deputies that she was scared and was assisting deputies in trying to unlock the gate to the property, but they had been unsuccessful. Consequently, Deputy Steinmeyer decided to kick in the fence to allow plaintiff a way out and allow deputies to enter the property to investigate the domestic violence call. Before kicking the fence, Deputy Steinmeyer asked plaintiff if she was scared; she said “yes.” Deputy Steinmeyer then told plaintiff to stand back and kicked in two of the fence posts. Deputy Steinmeyer went to remove the post from the bottom cross beam, and when it did, the post cracked unexpectedly, slipped out of Deputy Steinmeyer’s hands, and struck plaintiff above her eye, causing her to bleed. After plaintiff was struck, she was treated by paramedics and went to the emergency room where she received stitches to her wound.

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  Plaintiff claimed that Deputy Steinmeyer was negligent in kicking the fence and failing to find another entry to the property.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  Defendants alleged that Deputy Steinmeyer was not negligent. Rather, he acted like a reasonably prudent law enforcement officer in similar emergency circumstances. Defendants’ expert stated that the scar could be treated with two treatments of micro-needling, costing approximately $700 dollars and did not believe that plaintiff had any nerve damage in her forehead. Although plaintiff testified that she received an injection from her expert, there was no evidence that she received any treatment for the injury other than what was provided in the emergency room.