On February 14, 2025, at approximately 11:20 AM, Sandra Okafor (age 48, registered nurse at UC Davis Medical Center) was shopping at Sunrise Grocery, a privately owned supermarket at 4120 Freeport Blvd, Sacramento, California. While walking through the produce section, Okafor slipped on a wet floor near the banana display and fell hard, landing on her right knee. She suffered a complete tear of her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), requiring reconstructive surgery. Medical costs totaled $62,400; she was unable to work for 4 months (lost wages: $31,200 at her RN hourly rate). Okafor filed suit under California Civil Code §1714 and CACI Jury Instruction 1000 (Negligence — Essential Factual Elements) alleging Sunrise Grocery failed to maintain safe premises for business invitees. The store's defense: (1) a yellow "Wet Floor" warning cone was placed at the spot by stock clerk Dmitri Volkov approximately 8 minutes before the fall; (2) Sandra was looking at her phone when she fell; (3) the wet condition arose from a customer inadvertently crushing a bunch of bananas — Sunrise had no actual or constructive notice of the hazard. Crucially, the surveillance camera covering the exact fall location recorded on a 72-hour loop that was not preserved; the footage was overwritten three days after the incident, before Okafor's attorney sent a litigation hold letter.
Surveillance footage — store entrance and front registers (preserved)
Two cameras covering the store entrance and front registers were preserved on a separate 30-day retention loop. Footage shows Sandra entering at 11:04 AM, shopping cart in hand, moving methodically through aisles. At 11:19:43 AM she is visible in the frame for the last time before turning into the produce aisle (out of camera range). She is not visibly looking at her phone at 11:19:43. Note: the camera covering the produce section / banana display recorded on a separate 72-hour loop that was overwritten before preservation.
Incident report filed by store manager Kevin Park
Filed at 11:47 AM on February 14, 2025. Documents: "Customer fell near banana display, produce section. Stock clerk Dmitri Volkov reports he placed Wet Floor cone approx. 8 min prior due to water near banana peel." The report does not mention any customer observation of Sandra using a phone. Plaintiff notes: the report was filed 27 minutes after the fall — sufficient time for the narrative to be shaped. The cone is mentioned by name, but no photo of its placement was taken before or immediately after the fall.
Medical records — ACL injury and treatment
UC Davis Medical Center ER record (February 14, 2025): right knee trauma, Grade III ACL tear confirmed by MRI. Orthopedic surgery (February 28, 2025): ACL reconstruction, total billed $58,200 (paid $47,600 after insurance adjustment). Physical therapy: 18 sessions, $4,800. Total out-of-pocket and insurer-paid medical expenses: $62,400. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Amara Patel (plaintiff's treating physician) notes the injury is consistent with a high-impact slip-and-fall on a hard surface and is incompatible with a low-speed stumble.
Sandra Okafor's phone records (defense exhibit)
AT&T call and data log for Sandra's iPhone (subpoenaed by defense): shows an iMessage thread with her daughter was active between 11:17 AM and 11:23 AM on February 14, with messages sent at 11:17:02, 11:18:44, and 11:22:31 (after the fall). Defense argues the 11:18:44 message — sent approximately 90 seconds before the fall — proves she was actively texting while walking. Plaintiff responds: sending a message 90 seconds prior does not prove phone use at the moment of the fall; the phone could have been pocketed after sending.
Store maintenance log — produce section
Sunrise Grocery daily inspection logs for February 14, 2025. Most recent produce section inspection recorded: 9:05 AM. No inspection record between 9:05 AM and the 11:47 AM incident report. Standard store policy calls for produce section walk-throughs every 45–60 minutes. Plaintiff argues the 2-hour 15-minute inspection gap establishes constructive notice. Defense argues the wet condition was caused by a customer crushing bananas — a sudden, unpredictable event Sunrise could not have detected in a reasonable inspection cycle.
Biomechanics expert report (plaintiff's expert)
Dr. James Thornton, Ph.D. biomechanics (University of California, Davis; 22 publications): "Based on the documented injury pattern (right-knee ACL rupture with lateral tibial plateau contusion), the mechanism is consistent with a sudden uncontrolled forward slip on a low-friction surface. The forces required to produce a complete ACL tear in a 48-year-old with no prior knee injury require a fall velocity inconsistent with a slow distracted walk — the surface friction coefficient must have been extremely low (below 0.2). A standard wet grocery floor without anti-slip matting or an adequate barrier can reach this friction level within minutes of liquid contact." Defense motion to exclude under FRE 702 (Daubert): argues Dr. Thornton did not physically inspect the floor and his friction coefficient estimate is speculative.
Dmitri Volkov (stock clerk, defense witness)
Sunrise Grocery stock clerk for 3 years; assigned to produce section on February 14; placed the alleged warning cone
I noticed water near the banana display around 11:12 — probably from a customer handling the bananas. I went straight to the back and got the yellow cone. I set it right in the middle of the wet area before I went back to restocking. When the lady fell I was maybe 15 feet away restocking the berry section. I saw her come around the corner looking at her phone — she walked right into the cone and slipped. The cone was there. I put it there.
Grace Mendoza (shopper, plaintiff's witness)
Sunrise Grocery customer; was in the produce section at the time of the fall; does not know Sandra Okafor
I was picking out apples maybe 10 feet from where she fell. There was no cone. I walked through that exact area maybe two minutes before she did — I would have noticed a bright yellow cone right in the middle of the aisle. She came around the corner at a normal walking speed, her phone was in her hand but down at her side, and then her feet just went out from under her on the wet floor. She hit the ground hard.
Dr. James Thornton (biomechanics expert, plaintiff's witness)
Ph.D. biomechanics, UC Davis; 22 peer-reviewed publications on slip-and-fall mechanics; has testified in 14 premises liability cases
The injury is physically inconsistent with a slow distracted walk into a stationary object. The ACL tear requires a sudden, high-velocity forward slip. A phone in hand does not cause an ACL tear — a dangerously low-friction floor surface does. If a proper anti-slip mat had been placed over the wet area, or if the cone had been close enough to create a physical barrier, the slip would not have generated sufficient force for this injury.
Premises Liability — Slip and Fall, Sacramento, CA
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