On April 12, 2018, plaintiff’s decedent Shida Jamie, 68, was given the antibiotic Bactrim to treat a form of pneumonia while at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, in Newport Beach. Jamie was known to be allergic to the medication. Jamie had been diagnosed with stage-IV metastatic breast cancer in April 2015. She underwent extensive treatment during the next three years, but her cancer had spread to her brain and cerebrospinal fluid by February 2018. She underwent chemotherapy and radiation to her brain in March 2008 and April 2018, leaving her immunosuppressed and vulnerable to opportunistic infections. On April 9, 2018, Jamie was admitted to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where findings on chest X-rays were determined to be suggestive of pneumonia. On April 12, 2018, she underwent a bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage, which revealed the presence of pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, a fungal infection of the lungs. Although Jamie was known to be allergic to Bactrim, with a history of a severe rash and respiratory distress as a result of the antibiotic, the treating infectious-diseases specialist, Dr. William Thompson, determined that Bactrim was the best antibiotic to treat the particular organism that Jamie had. Accordingly, Thompson ordered Bactrim desensitization, a method in which a patient can be reintroduced to a medication to which the patient has become allergic, and then follow up with 21 days of high dose Bactrim. The plan was that Bactrim desensitization would alter the immune response to the drug and result in a temporary tolerance, which would allow Jamie to receive an uninterrupted course of the medication safely. However, following the commencement of the Bactrim therapy, Jamie progressed into respiratory distress and needed to be ventilated. She also had to be kept in a supine position with her blood pressure supported by vasopressors. By May 2018, it was clear that Jamie would not recover meaningful function, and Jamie’s family authorized a withdrawal of care. Jamie died on May 9, 2018, the same day her family authorized the withdrawal of her care. Jamie’s daughter, Sharon Jamie, acting individually and on behalf of her mother’s estate, sued Thompson; Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian; and several other physicians who were involved in Shida Jamie’s care, including Dr. Bart Barrett, Dr. Mubina Gaffar and Dr. Nathan Gilmore. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent in their treatment of Jamie. The lawsuit further alleged that the defendants’ negligence constituted malpractice. Jamie’s son, James Jamie, was listed as a nominal defendant. Several of the defendants were dismissed from the case, and the matter only proceeded against Thompson. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that it was below the standard of care to have prescribed Bactrim to Shida Jamie in the face of a known allergy to that medication, especially since Jamie had a history of that medication producing a severe rash and respiratory distress. Counsel contended that Jamie predictably went into respiratory distress once Bactrim therapy was initiated and that, despite Jamie’s reaction to the antibiotic, the therapy was continued for 21 days. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Bactrim directly led to Jamie’s death one month later, on April 9, 2018. Plaintiff’s counsel questioned Thompson’s creditability, noting that Thomas went to medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico; needed two tries to pass the United States medical licensing exam; and was not Board certified, even though Thompson reported he was on his resume. Counsel also contended that Thompson stated that he did not call for alternative medications, as it was not his job. Counsel further contended that Sharon Jamie is a medical doctor and was her mother’s medical power of attorney, but despite that, Thompson admitted that he never spoke to the Sharon Jamie. Defense counsel contended that pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia is a particularly difficult organism to treat, with a very high mortality rate, and that Bactrim was overwhelmingly the best treatment option under the circumstances. Accordingly, defense counsel argued that it was appropriate to order Bactrim for Shida Jamie, within a desensitization protocol, to give Jamie the best chance of surviving her disease. In addition, it was the defense’s position that Jamie did not experience an allergic reaction to Bactrim, but that Jamie’s respiratory distress and need for mechanical ventilation was due to the progression of the pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. The defense’s infectious-diseases expert opined that if Thompson did not first try Bactrim (the antibiotic to which Jamie was allergic), Thompson would have breached his standard of care. The expert also testified that he has never heard of a "medical power of attorney" and that he never seeks informed consent, as it is not part of an infectious-diseases doctor’s job to do so., Jamie suffered respiratory distress and needed to be ventilated. She also had to be kept in a supine position with her blood pressure supported by vasopressors. Jamie died on May 9, 2018, the same day her family authorized the withdrawal of her care. Sharon Jamie sought recovery of noneconomic wrongful-death damages, and the estate discontinued all of its claims for damages on behalf of Shida Jamie. Plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury to award only $1 in total damages, to send a message regarding the quality of care rendered. Defense counsel presented evidence that Jamie lived her full life expectancy in light of the advancement of her metastatic breast cancer into the brain and cerebrospinal fluid.