On January 14, 2024, Abraham “Abe” Horrillo — a UCSF molecular biology PhD student — fell from a fourth-story fire escape at his San Francisco apartment. The fall left him with quadriplegia and a traumatic brain injury. A lawsuit filed in October 2024 alleges the property owners violated building codes and failed to warn tenants of the danger.
Who Is Abe Horrillo?
Before the accident, Abe Horrillo was building a serious scientific career.
He was a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry PhD student at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), working within the Bruneau Lab at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease. His research focused on the epigenetic and genomic factors that drive human heart development — work that earned him a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. He had completed his undergraduate studies in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at UCLA.
In short: a young researcher at the early peak of an academic career, based in San Francisco, with serious work ahead of him.
What Happened on January 14, 2024
On a Sunday evening in January 2024, Abe fell from the fourth-story fire escape at his residence at 736 Commercial Street in San Francisco. He was rushed to the trauma unit at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital — one of the few Level I trauma centres in the Bay Area.
His friends and family described him as “fighting for his life” in the hours after the fall. He was not conscious, unable to breathe on his own, and not responding to brain stimulation.
Why the Fire Escape Was Dangerous
The fall was not simply an accident. According to the lawsuit filed later that year, the fire escape at 736 Commercial Street had been repurposed as a usable outdoor space — essentially functioning as a deck or balcony — without meeting the building code requirements for that use.
The railing stood at approximately 30 inches high. California building code requires railings on such structures to reach at least 42 inches. That gap of nearly a foot is the difference between a guardrail and a hazard.
The complaint further states that there were no warning signs posted anywhere on or near the fire escape alerting tenants to the dangerous conditions. Tenants in Unit 3 had also been given unauthorised access to the fire escape through an interior door — a modification that violated city codes. The fire escape, in other words, was being treated as a patio. It was not built to function as one.
Injuries Abe Sustained
The fall caused catastrophic, life-altering damage.
- Quadriplegia — loss of movement and sensation in all four limbs
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) — significant damage to the brain from blunt force
- Medulla damage — affecting his ability to breathe independently
- Multiple additional trauma injuries consistent with a four-story fall
In the first days at Zuckerberg SF General, doctors were uncertain whether the damage to his medulla — the part of the brain that controls breathing — would be permanent.
There was also pressure from Kaiser, Abe’s insurer, to transfer him to a different facility. His family and friends pushed back strongly, arguing that the specialist neurosurgery team at Zuckerberg SFGH gave him the best chance of survival.
Recovery — A Timeline of Progress
Recovery from this level of injury is measured in weeks, not days. Abe’s progress has been slow, hard-won, and significant given the severity of what he endured.
January 14, 2024 — Fall occurs. Abe was admitted to Zuckerberg SF General trauma unit, unconscious and ventilator-dependent.
March 24, 2024 — Abe begins breathing without ventilator assistance. Doctors had been uncertain whether this would ever be possible, given the medulla damage.
April 1, 2024 — Brain surgery to place a shunt in the fourth ventricle of his brain, draining accumulated fluid that was creating additional pressure.
Spring 2024 — Consciousness continues to improve. Abe begins tracking movement and sound with his eyes, making eye contact with visitors, and establishing a consistent sleep-wake cycle.
Mid-2024 — Abe starts smiling, laughing, and mouthing words — including “I love you, too” — to family during visits. He begins active participation in speech, occupational, and physical therapy.
He has also faced setbacks. Persistent pneumonia and recurring infections have complicated his recovery and required ongoing medical management. The road ahead remains long.
The Lawsuit Against the Property Owners
On October 2, 2024, a formal personal injury complaint was filed in the Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, under Case No. CGC-24-618623.
Because Abe’s injuries left him cognitively unable to represent himself, his father Scott Horrillo serves as Guardian ad Litem — a legal representative acting in his son’s interests. Attorney Joseph A. Androvich of the Sacramento firm Brelsford, Androvich & White is representing the family.
Who Are the Defendants?
The lawsuit names five defendants:
- Connie Yipmung Chan — property owner
- Eugene Chiching Wong — property owner
- Tabitha M. Wong — property owner
- Connie Chan and Associates — property management firm
- 736 Commercial Street, LLC — the property entity
The complaint alleges that these parties were negligent in maintaining safe conditions at the rental property. Specifically, it charges that they allowed tenants to use the fire escape as a recreational area without warnings, failed to correct a substandard railing height, and installed an unauthorised interior door giving access to the fire escape.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages exceeding $35,000 for medical expenses and lost earning capacity — though given the extent of Abe’s care needs, the full damages claimed are likely to be significantly higher as the case develops. Judge Rochelle C. East is presiding over the case.
Community Response and GoFundMe Support
Two GoFundMe campaigns have been organised by Zoe Smith on behalf of Abe’s father, Scott Horrillo.
- “Support Abe’s Road to Recovery” — raised over $137,000 against a $125,000 goal, from 1,474 donors
- “Continue to Support Abe’s Road to Recovery” — raised over $18,800 toward a $25,000 goal, from 224 donors
Together, more than $156,000 has been raised by the public to help cover Abe’s medical costs, rehabilitation, and ongoing care needs.
The academic communities at UCLA and UCSF have been particularly vocal in their support, with friends organising fundraising updates and coordinating visits. The original fundraiser described the financial pressure as “innumerable” — a reflection of just how expensive long-term spinal and brain injury care is in the United States, even with insurance.
What This Case Means for Renters in California
The Abe Horrillo case has implications beyond one person’s tragedy.
Fire escapes exist for emergencies. They are not designed — structurally or legally — to serve as balconies, decks, or casual outdoor spaces. When landlords or property managers allow that kind of informal repurposing without bringing the structure up to code, they create liability. California law places a legal duty on property owners to maintain safe conditions and warn tenants of known hazards.
In this case, the railing was below code, there were no warning signs, and tenants had direct interior access to an unsafe structure. That combination is the definition of foreseeable harm.
For renters: if you use a fire escape as an outdoor space, check whether your landlord has confirmed it meets current railing and load-bearing codes. If not, document the condition in writing to your property manager. The Horrillo case shows exactly what happens when that documentation never exists, and a landlord never acts.