Sanchez

—An injured employee (plaintiff Lydia Sanchez, a home health care worker) filed a personal injury action against the trustees of the estate of a third party tortfeasor (the late Dorothea B. Kavanaugh, the elderly woman for whom Sanchez had provided care). The trustees (defendants Darrell G. Brooke and Darryl Denning) asserted as an affirmative defense the comparative negligence of Sanchez and her employer (Glendale Adventist Health, also known as Western Health Resources (Western or employer)). Western, which is not a party to this action, filed a workers’ compensation lien against Sanchez’s potential recovery.

The jury found that Kavanaugh, Western, and Sanchez all were negligent, but that Sanchez’s negligence was not a substantial factor in causing her own injuries. The jury apportioned 50 percent of the fault to Kavanaugh and 50 percent to Western. Based on the jury’s finding that Sanchez had sustained total damages of $903,000, the trial court calculated Kavanaugh’s share and entered a judgment against defendants for $570,949.87.

Sanchez and defendants filed separate appeals, which we consolidated. In Sanchez’s appeal from the order denying her motion for judgment…