Hickman v. Hard Rock Cafe

Summary

Plaintiff Brittany Hickman alleged that she was nearly paralyzed in 2012 when DJ Steve Aoki leapt from above the stage onto an inflatable raft held up by fans in the audience, trapping her underneath and knocking her unconscious. Hickman, who was in her mid-20s at the time of the incident, sued Aoki and Hard Rock in 2013, claiming Aokis impact left her with a concussion and a herniated disc that eventually required spinal fusion surgery to repair.

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Outcome

Verdict for the defense

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Hickman, Britanny
Defense: Hard Rock Cafe International

Judge: Joel Pressman
Jurisdiction: Superior Court of California, San Diego County
Court: Central Courthouse

Case Number: 37-2013-00064985-CU-PO-CTL
Industry: Hospitality
Practice Area: Negligence

Plaintiff

Hickman, Britanny

Defense

Hard Rock Cafe International

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Openings

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	Opening Statement	Lowe, Jeremiah
00:29:40	Break
00:31:20	Opening Statement	Gramling, Kevin
00:54:36	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Bouvet, Jeremy	In Person
01:39:54	Break
01:58:24	General Case Activities
01:59:21	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Boeh, James	In Person
02:17:42	Witness Cross Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Boeh, James	In Person
02:23:52	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Boeh, James	In Person
02:24:49	Break
02:31:37	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Golden, Joshua	In Person
03:13:12	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Courtney, Minor	In Person
00:26:26	Witness Cross Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Courtney, Minor	In Person
00:39:15	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Courtney, Minor	In Person
00:45:12	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Lubrano, Christy	Video Recording
01:14:41	Break
01:36:37	General Case Activities	Gomez, John
01:37:17	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Melendez, Diego	Transcript Reading
02:47:09	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Grooms, Sam	In Person
00:55:35	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Grooms, Sam	In Person
01:35:40	Break
01:55:10	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Grooms, Sam	In Person
02:01:39	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Grooms, Sam	In Person
02:08:10	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Lawson, John	Video Recording
03:00:44	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Hersch, Andy	Video Recording
00:42:28	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Aoki, Steve	Video Recording
01:26:07	Break
01:43:35	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Aoki, Steve	Video Recording
01:55:33	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Marciano, Dr. Frederick M.D.	Video Recording
02:35:58	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Marciano, Dr. Frederick M.D.	Transcript Reading
02:38:56	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
02:54:21	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Ghosh, Dr. Sanjay M.D.	In Person
01:18:14	Break
01:33:13	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Ghosh, Dr. Sanjay M.D.	In Person
02:41:12	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Ghosh, Dr. Sanjay M.D.	In Person
02:44:47	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Ghosh, Dr. Sanjay M.D.	In Person
02:46:17	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Schwartzberg, Dr. Ross M.D.	In Person
00:40:33	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Schwartz, Dr. Ross MD	In Person
01:20:20	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Schwartz, Dr. Ross MD	In Person
01:28:15	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Schwartz, Dr. Ross MD	In Person
01:29:59	Break
01:46:54	Witness Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Lobatz, Dr. Michael M.D.	In Person
02:24:08	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Lobatz, Dr. Michael M.D.	In Person
00:39:20	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Lobatz, Dr. Michael M.D.	In Person
01:24:49	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Lobatz, Dr. Michael M.D.	In Person
01:31:31	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Lobatz, Dr. Michael M.D.	In Person
01:32:51	Break
01:53:31	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Markel, Dr. Nancy Ph.D.	In Person
02:52:33	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Markel, Dr. Nancy Ph.D.	In Person
03:14:07	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Hickman, Kayla	In Person
00:25:53	Witness Cross Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Hickman, Kayla	In Person
00:51:06	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Hickman, Kayla	In Person
00:52:26	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
01:33:51	Break
01:52:22	Witness Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
02:37:40	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
02:46:29	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
00:53:12	Break
01:18:15	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
01:27:30	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gomez, John	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
01:44:43	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Hickman, Britanny	In Person
01:45:05	Witness Direct Examination	Worden, Allison	Gray, Steven	Video Recording
02:30:45	Witness Direct Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Aoki, Steve	Video Recording
02:38:03	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Video Recording
02:54:07	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Schleimer, Dr. Jonathan M.D.	In Person
00:52:12	Witness Cross Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Schleimer, Dr. Jonathan M.D.	In Person
01:34:23	Break
01:48:42	Witness Cross Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Schleimer, Dr. Jonathan M.D.	In Person
02:07:27	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Schleimer, Dr. Jonathan M.D.	In Person
02:11:12	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Schleimer, Dr. Jonathan M.D.	In Person
02:13:29	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Video Recording
02:49:07	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

11 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Greenfield, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
00:44:09	Witness Cross Examination	Gomez, John	Greenfield, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
00:56:36	Break
00:58:10	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Dorros, Dr. Stephen M.D.	In Person
01:22:27	Break
01:42:35	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Dorros, Dr. Stephen M.D.	In Person
02:23:35	Witness Cross Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Dorros, Dr. Stephen M.D.	In Person
02:47:50	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Dorros, Dr. Stephen M.D.	In Person
02:49:23	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lowe, Jeremiah	Dorros, Dr. Stephen M.D.	In Person
02:52:25	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Video Recording
03:06:53	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
01:33:53	Break
01:51:30	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
02:12:30	Witness Cross Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
02:43:30	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

16 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
00:30:23	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
00:39:10	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
00:41:39	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
00:42:19	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Purisch, Dr. Arnold Ph.D.	In Person
00:42:35	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Video Recording
01:12:17	Break
01:26:45	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	In Person
01:34:40	Witness Direct Examination	Sizemore, Jessica	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Transcript Reading
01:37:25	General Case Activities
01:39:10	Witness Direct Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Boeh, James	In Person
01:41:21	Witness Cross Examination	Gomez, John	Boeh, James	In Person
01:45:11	Witness Cross Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Torres, Dr. Monica M.D.	Video Recording
02:45:05	Witness Direct Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Hersch, Andy	Transcript Reading
02:49:15	Witness Direct Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Cottrell, Christopher	Transcript Reading
03:05:27	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:52	Witness Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Ostrup, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
01:35:11	Witness Cross Examination	Gomez, John	Ostrup, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
01:54:37	Break
02:07:24	Witness Cross Examination	Gomez, John	Ostrup, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
02:16:35	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Weiss, Ernie	Ostrup, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
02:18:08	Witness Direct Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Cottrell, Christopher	Transcript Reading
02:28:10	Witness Direct Examination	Gramling, Kevin	Colon, Matthew	Video Recording
02:50:59	End of Session

PM Session

Closings

8 Chapters

AUG

PM Session

Verdict

2 Chapters

AUG

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Hickman v. Hard Rock Cafe

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:29:17	Closing Statement	Gomez, John
01:50:33	Break
02:07:42	Closing Statement	Weiss, Ernie
02:43:36	Closing Statement	Gramling, Kevin
03:12:38	Closing Statement	Gomez, John
03:19:22	General Case Activities
03:30:05	End of Session