This is Personal Injury Court Good day everyone. This is the matter of McGuire v, Brooks It’s, my understanding, Ms McGuire, that you are suing for injuries you received when a nail gun shot a nail through your head. Yes, audience gasping, You’re suing, Mr Brooks for those injuries, And you have 300 000 in medical expenses, 200, 000 for future medical expenses and 1 500 000 for pain and suffering. You want this court to award you 2 000 000 against Mr Brooks. Is that, correct Yes, Your Honor Mr Brooks, it, 39, s your position. Today, that had Ms McGuire waited. For? You? And not, been. In the wrong. Place at the wrong time this, would 39, ve never. Happened. And. Thus this! Is not! Your fault – True: Yes, Your Honor. Now let’s get into the legal sauce. Now Ms McGuire tell me uh: how did you come to even hire? Mr Brooks? Yes, Your Honor, So I am a musician Judge, Brogdon. Okay, I play the bass guitar and the ukulele for my indie rock band, Judge Brogdon. I fool with the sax every once in a while Ms McGuire, And maybe you could join our band one day Uh. So I was headed on a three month: tour around the country visiting different bars. We had some sold out um areas sold out concerts And I hired Mr Brooks to build a recording studio in my home. On the second floor. After the three months uh had passed, I was really excited to see the work that Mr Brooks had done on our recording studio. Did you think it was gon na be done in three months Uh? I was told that it was going to be near done when I got back. Judge Brogdon And Mr Brooks tell me about your company. How long have you been doing construction? Well, Your Honor, I’ve been in business for about 25 years, Judge Brogdon Long time, And basically Yes, Yes, Your Honor And basically for the last five of those years. I ran my own business, A Bag of Bricks Remodeling as a remodeling contractor Judge Brogdon. How long does something like this normally take? Well, it depends on the extravagancy of uh the project Uh. She wanted a state of the art studio put in so basically Judge Brogdon, Okay, She was gon na. Do it right Yeah she was gon na. Do it up. She was gon na, do it up, And so how long was it supposed to take? In your estimation? Well, in my estimation, we should’ve been done about three three and a half months. Four months tops So Ms McGuire take me to the day that uh this happened. What happened? Yes, Your Honor, So I arrived home um. I walked up the stairs in my house uh and walked through a plastic drape, And I immediately stubbed my toe Natural reaction. You know you bend down to make sure that everything -‘s – okay, Judge Brogdon, And where are you in your house? I’m on the second floor of my home, Okay, At the entrance of the studio, Ms McGuire, At the entrance of the studio. Yes, Your Honor, So then what happened So then I stood back up. I turned my head and I immediately bumped into something I didn’t know what it was, but immediately it was just this excruciating pain in the right side of my head. It felt like a bomb had exploded inside my head. I thought I was having a stroke. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Somehow I was able to pull my phone out of my pocket and dial 911 Um, and the next thing that I remember I woke up in the hospital And that’s. When the doctor told me that there was a three inch nail that had pierced my skull audience gasping, So this is the actual nail that pierced my skull. It went in uh right here in my temple behind my eye and then it pierced up through my optic nerve and into my brain And in You must’ve been scared. Out of your wits. I was scared to death And now I’m completely blind in my right eye: audience: Aw Sheriff Matt. Could you get the nail? Let me see it So this nail went into your eye, Ms McGuire. Yes, Your Honor. This was sticking in your head. That was what the surgeon pulled out of my skull Judge Brogdon, That’s your head, Ms McGuire, Ms McGuire. Yes, Your Honor Judge, Brogdon Uh! Mr Brooks! What do you call this kind of nail, Mr Brooks Well that’s a galvanized nail? Okay, It’s an industrial nail: isn’t it. Yes, sir, So you had an industrial nail sticking in your head, while you’re trying to make a call. Ms McGuire. Yes, Your Honor, I believe it was shock, So I was able to call 911 Um and I actually did bring a recording of that tape. Your Honor Judge Brogdon. Well let’s hear that You’ve submitted it to the court. Let’s hear the 911 call female 911 responder speaking Ms McGuire speaking female 911 responder speaking. So when this cuts off what happens Uh I blacked out. Apparently there was blood everywhere. Ms McGuire, is that your blood? Yes, Your Honor Judge Brogdon. So, Mr Brooks tell me how you knew something: bad had gone on. Well, Your Honor. Basically, I pulled up and saw Ms McGuire going into her home and uh. I yelled out to her and she continued to go into the entrance of her home, And so she looked like she was in a bit of a hurry. I imagined that maybe she had to use the bathroom or something like that. Okay, Mr Brooks So I pulled in gathered my notes grabbed my folder and I went in to uh meet her upstairs uh to the top of the entrance And when I got up there and went through the plastic draping, What did you see? Ms McGuire sniffling That’s, when I saw That’s when I saw Mrs McGuire laying in a pool of blood, And So she’s lying on the floor, Mr Brooks She was laying there. She’s, got a nail in her head. She’s passed out and her blood’s all over the floor. Well, Your Honor, I don’t know what’s in her head. I just see her laying in a pool of blood And it just shocked me’cause. She just came in four five mins ago: Judge Brogdon. This had to freak you out too. Yes, sir, I was shocked, Judge Brogdon. This had to freak you out too, I mean so. I grab my phone and I called 911. Did you know what had happened at that point? I had no idea what had happened. I’m trying to figure out She just walked in the house, Judge Brogdon, But you called 911. Mr Brooks I called 911. Sir. Now, Mr Brooks you see, this is pretty bad stuff. This is a bad injury right. Oh yes, sir. I empathize with her Judge Brogdon And it was your nail gun Uh. Yes, sir, it was mine, Judge Brogdon Your nail Uh, yes, sir. Yes, sir Judge Brogdon Her injury, Uh, absolutely Your Honor, But you tell me today it’s. Not your fault. Tell me why! Well Your Honor, we had an agreement to meet at her garage Judge Brogdon. You did at 1, 30, Okay, Mr Brooks At 1 30, And that way I can safely navigate her into the home Judge, Brogdon. Okay. Now she never mentioned the time. How are you so sure? I have text messages here? Your Honor Judge Brogdon. Okay, Mr Brooks. I have text messages Sheriff Matt if you’ll get the text messages that we had this agreement, So you all had an agreement to meet at 1 30 To meet at 1 30 yeah And she actually showed up early Judge Brogdon. I’m looking at what you’ve submitted to this court, This text message that says, and I guess you’re in the blue – it says: Hey things are coming along. When are you coming home, Mr Brooks? Yes, sir, And then in the gray, Ms McGuire, it says My flight lands tomorrow at noon. I take it that’s, you You remember this right. Yes, Your Honor, Then in the blue. You, Mr Brooks you say, Perfect, Meet me in front of the garage at 1, 30 1, 30 Judge Brogdon And then Ms McGuire, you say Great See you there You understood y’all were going to meet at 1 30. Yes, Your Honor And that’s, where the text messages ended, Judge, Brogdon, And so So now had she followed your instructions. Take me through how this was going to happen. We’re gon na go over the notes. I’m gon na show her that we’ve made the changes that she we wanted to make and then we were gon na go into the construction area safely into so I can navigate her through. I know the hazards, I know the dangers. I know the phase that we’re at at that time. If she would have only waited. I see that you’ve submitted this uh text message. You know in courts. Often it is one word against another word. Yes, Judge Brogdon, It’s always important to have documents. Yes, sir, You remember you were supposed to be there at 1. 30 right. Yes, Your Honor Judge, Brogdon. You came a little early. I arrived. Maybe five minutes early And had you met him there at 1? 30, he could’ve guided you through the house. I didn’t know that I needed to be guided through the house That’s the point I’m trying to make It’s an active construction zone. He says Let me get through what I’m talking about. Mr Brooks. He told me to meet him there at 1 30. I get there. He is not at the garage I expect. Maybe he has already gone inside’Cause it’s, not 1 30, But But there was no car there right. His car wasn’t there. I don’t know what kind of car he drives. So you don’t take any responsibility for your injuries. I do not take any responsibility for my injuries. No, Your Honor Judge Brogdon. Okay. I know you’ve been through a lot. I know you’ve been through a lot, but you do understand that, had you come at 1 30 at least he would’ve been able to guide you through, But I was not made aware of any of the dangers of a construction area audience murmuring. Now you’re asking this court to award you 300 000 for past medical bills right. Yes, Your Honor Judge Brogdon And you’re also looking at 200 000 for future meds. What kind of future meds did you have In your idea? What’s gon na happen? I need therapy Uh. I need for this to completely heal, which I’m still going to have to go to multiple doctors check. Ups Judge Brogdon Still got a long road ahead of you. I’ve got a very long road ahead of me. Yes, Your Honor Judge Brogdon. Now you’re. You’re also asking this court for 1 500 000 for pain and suffering. Yes, Your Honor Judge, Brogdon. There are a couple of different kinds of pain in every personal injury case. There’s the pain, you feel your body, your head, your eye And then what’s on your mind and in your heart Right, this is devastating. Like I was saying, this has been my dream, since I was seven years old, I’m having to cancel, shows I don’t get the money for cancelling the shows. This is my livelihood and it is being completely taken away from me. I will never be able to see out of my right eye again Judge Brogdon That’s, what your doctors are telling you. That is what my doctors have said. Will you have to wear a patch? I mean your eyeball is still there right. My eyeball is still there. I will have to wear a patch for a good amount of time. It is not a pretty sight. I’m gon na be honest. There’s a nasty scar, there Judge Brogdon. Now it’s an understatement to say Nail in the head. When this nail went into your head, It went through my skull and into the fluid that is surrounding your brain, So it was sticking in the compartment where your brain is Ms McGuire. Yes, it fractured my skull when it went into my head, Your Honor, So you do see Mr Brooks she’s been through a lot and still got a lot to go regardless of whose fault it is Absolutely Judge. Brogdon. Do you feel badly for this? I feel terrible. I hate this incident even happened. This must’ve broken you up too. Mr Brooks Never happened In 25 years. I’ve never had anything. To the extent happen, Never And really Your Honor. To really be honest. She really wasn’t properly dressed to go on to an active construction site. Well, I know I wear a robe to come in court. Is there something you’re supposed to wear Mr Brooks And you’re properly dressed Your Honor at a construction site? You’re properly dressed. She was not Judge Brogdon What’s proper dress. Well, when she came into the And we have pictures, I did bring a few pictures to show: Judge, Brogdon, Okay, Okay, now Tell me what we’re looking at here on the plasma. Mr Brooks Your Honor look here, But this is just coming up. This is just coming in Look at all the debris here. Look at all There’s, things There’s, hazards that you can trip, and she comes on the jobsite with flip flops on This is not a toe injury. It’s a head injury. Mr Brooks. I understand it.’s a head injury, Okay, But if you’re coming into a construction site, there’s all kinds of things around There:’s wood. There’s, nails, sticking up out of wood, Judge Brogdon, You’ve got to be prepared There’s. All You have to be prepared. You need a hard hat on Well. How would she get a hard hat, Mr Brooks, Because before you actually get up to the stairs here, there’s a bin at the entrance of the door when you come in that has all kind of personal protective equipment in it Judge Brogdon. Okay, Mr Brooks Hard hats, glasses, gloves anything you need to come in audience applauding And again we would’ve been able to put those things on. You can return to the podium. Sir. Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you so much. I appreciate you Uh. Ms McGuire, did you see this big bin of hard hats and glasses? No, I did not. I was looking for the defendant. Your Honor Judge, Brogdon. We keep talking about this. Yellow elephant in the room called the nail gun Is that the nail gun that shot that nail in your head? Yes, Your Honor Mr Brooks This is the nail gun, Your Honor: It’s, a nail gun, Judge, Brogdon Yeah. You can put it down there. I don’t want you to shoot my sheriff here. Oh, Oh, no, Your Honor audience laughing. What’s that do that helps you at a construction site? Well, basically, it’s a rapid fire, uh nail gun That way. You’re, not hammering hammering It’s old school, So basically it’s compressed with air, and you can press it down, Judge Brogdon, Okay and shoot it off. It will not shoot off if it’s not pressed down, Judge Brogdon. Okay, I want to learn more about how this gun functions, how you handle it. So this court uh hired an independent general contractor who knows a little something about construction sites. His name is Jeff Lupton Sheriff. Could you get Mr Lupton in here? Yes, Your Honor Judge Brogdon Mr Lupton come on in. Thank you, Your Honor For the record state, your name, please Uh. My name is Jeff Lupton, Mr Lupton. What do you do as a general contractor Uh? I do residential and commercial additions renovations, uh, build outs, Judge Brogdon. How long have you been in construction? I’ve been in business for 22 years, Mr Lupton, how dangerous are nail guns? You see this nail gun on the podium there Lupton? Yes, sir Judge Brogdon. How dangerous are they Uh, they’re, extremely dangerous Judge Brogdon. Why Basically uh the way a nail gun works is with a compressor Electric compressor that compresses air to 120 psi through that hose connected to the nail gun itself and through bursts of high pressure air. Basically, shoots uh shoots the nails out at a really really high velocity. I understand you brought a couple of videos Lupton. Yes, sir, I did. Can you walk me through those Lupton, Absolutely To kind of give an example of uh, of kind of how a nail gun would be used actively on a site where you’re putting two pieces of wood together and some framing And again, you can see that The nail just goes through there easily And that’s two uh three quarter inch pieces of pine. If it shoots a nail through wood that easily it must go through a human head like peanut butter Lupton. I would imagine so It’s, pretty intense Judge. Brogdon Now Mr Lupton, Mr Brooks testified that if the plaintiff had been wearing a hard hat, that hard hat would’ve protected her from this nail gun Lupton Well uh, while using safety equipment is always important on a construction site, a safety hat wouldn’t Necessarily have protected her directly from it, And we have an example here of a three inch nail uh going right through Judge Brogdon. It goes through the hard hat Lupton The hard hat. Yes, sir Judge Brogdon. Thank you sir. Mr Brooks, you saw that video right. Yes, Your Honor Judge, Brogdon Uh, seems like that hard hat, wouldn’t have stopped us from getting here today. True chuckling Uh. Yes, Your Honor, if I think you did a good thing as a business owner to provide those hard hats, but they’re kind of for bricks and things Absolutely falling right. Absolutely Folks, I think I’ve heard enough. I’m ready to render my decision audience applauding Judge Brogdon Every personal injury case. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s wrong, caused your injury Here today, Ms McGuire, you have shown that you could not have anticipated that a nail gun was loaded and ready to change your life waiting inside. This has affected your life affected your life as a musician and hurt you emotionally It’s, a permanent injury and that’s, why you’re seeking a huge award from this court. Mr Brooks you tried to do what was responsible. You told her what time to be there, You told her to wait for you at the garage, so you could walk through and escort her past the danger, But this happened, and this is why we are here today, Ms McGuire, I find that you have proven that. Mr Brooks was wrong And that his wrong caused your injury. However, the evidence shows that he wasn’t wrong by himself. You were wrong also, You’re responsible for your injuries. Partly Here you are asking this court to award you 300 000 for past medical bills, 200, 000 for future medical bills and 1 500 000 for pain and suffering for a total award of 2 000. 000. That you seek, Because I find you 49 responsible for your injuries. I’m only going to award 51 of what you are requesting from this court, So I find in your favor and against Mr Brooks in the amount of 1 020 000, And that is my final verdict. This matter is adjourned, Mr Brooks, Oh, my God audience applauding man, Our Attorneys Across America just viewed this case for the first time. Let’s hear what Hoyt Tessener has to say In every trial. Plaintiff must explain and, if possible, demonstrate exactly what happened to cause injury Expert testimony and the video show just how powerful and dangerous a nail gun can be And demonstrate the extent and severity of Ms McGuire’s injury. This case shows how important it is to use power tools safely. Safety should always come first, especially around construction theme. Music playing You,’ve got to be kidding me
