500-pound headstone fell on woman’s leg - 3 times. Merced jury weighs in on lawsuit
A Merced County jury said last week the Winton Cemetery District is not responsible for a headstone that crushed a 75-year-old woman’s leg in 2015, according to court records.
It took 40 minutes of deliberation for the jury to unanimously deny a request to hold the cemetery responsible for the headstone, which fell on the leg of Nancy Cartia, according to Mark Velasquez, the attorney for the cemetery district.
“The law has always been our case and this case has always been about the law. The plaintiffs’ (case) was always about emotion and sympathy," he told the Sun-Star on Wednesday. “Of course, everybody feels bad for the Cartias, but the district was never liable.”
The trial lasted 10 days, according to Velasquez, and the jury made its decision on Friday.
Cartia was visiting the cemetery on Almond Avenue on Aug. 31, 2015, with her husband, John, whose first wife and daughter are buried together, according to the complaint.
While walking towards the grave, John Cartia, who is now 86, stumbled and tried to regain his balance by placing his hand on top of the roughly 2-foot-tall headstone, according to the complaint. The upright headstone, which weighed about 500 pounds, gave way and came crashing down on the right leg of Nancy Cartia.
While trying to lift the stone off of his 75-year-old wife, John Cartia failed and dropped it at least twice back onto her leg, according to a filing from Velasquez. The woman began screaming and others came to help remove the stone.
Both her tibia and fibula were crushed, according to the complaint, causing her to have multiple surgeries. The Cartias sued to cover the cost for past and future hospital bills, as well as for pain and suffering.
The attorney for the Cartias did not immediately return a request for comment.
This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "500-pound headstone fell on woman’s leg - 3 times. Merced jury weighs in on lawsuit."