In 2024, Kathy Hilton hosted a charity fundraiser estate sale at her Bel-Air. mansion, where a woman named Kimberly Heffington tripped and fell. Her injuries, Kimberly claimed, were extensive. So, she initiated a lawsuit against this Real Housewives of Beverly Hills friend. For a while, Kathy remained rather mum about this lawsuit, but in a recent filing, her stance became slightly clearer. As it seems, Kathy is placing at least some of the blame right back on Kimberly.
Did the guest cause her own injuries?
On August 25, 2024, Kimberly attended an event at Kathy’s 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom, 15,000-square-foot mansion. This two-day event was actually a yard sale. So naturally, many people bought an entrance ticket, since opportunities to traverse around Kathy’s estate are rather rare. Videos taken from this event are still live on TikTok, and in many, you can see the staircase where Kimberly claims to have fallen.
To explain, while walking on Kathy’s outside staircase, which led from her tennis court down to her pool, Kimberly stumbled and fell. Her foot, allegedly, got “caught in between uneven pavers.” When she fell, Kimberly “landed violently on the ground,” reportedly suffering “severe and permanent injuries, including but not limited to a complex medial meniscus tear to her right knee.” So, in 2025, Kimberly initiated a lawsuit against Kathy.
Kimberly is seeking reimbursement for her past, present, and future medical bills, totaling $55K per year. But according to TMZ, Kathy has just filed an affirmative defense, indicating that Kimberly exposed herself to a “known danger.” Therefore, Kimberly might have caused her own injuries, leaving Kathy not liable.
The filing of a “known danger” defense is actually a very common strategy used in personal injury lawsuits. If it works, however, it might not completely bar Kimberly from any recovery. Instead, it could reduce the amount of compensation she ultimately receives.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Peacock the next day.
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