On Jan. 2, 2008, plaintiff Aaron Contreras-Madrigal was born via cesarean section after it was discovered the fetus was in distress. Aaron’s mother, Claudia Madrigal, was previously suffering from chorioamnionitis, an inflammation of the fetal membranes due to a bacterial infection associated with prolonged labor. She went into labor at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles and was admitted under the care of Dr. Joslyn Gumbs, who left her to be cared for by the nursing staff. However, after 1.5 hours, it was discovered that the fetus was in distress and a cesarean section was performed. Madrigal ultimately gave birth to her son, Aaron, who suffered from hypoxic brain damage and is now ventilator-dependent. Madrigal, acting as Aaron’s guardian ad litem, sued Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center; Gumbs; and the doctor’s employer, USC Perinatal Medical Group. She also sued all of the physicians who were involved in her pre-labor care, Jonathan Azizzadeh M.D., Uma Chandavarkar M.D., and Ramen Hekmat Chmait M.D. Madrigal alleged that the defendants failed to timely perform the cesarean section and that this failure constituted medical malpractice. Azizzadeh, Chandavarkar and Chmait were voluntarily dismissed early in the proceedings. Madrigal also settled with Gumbs and USC Perinatal Medical Group for an undisclosed amount. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Hollywood Presbyterian only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Gumbs, as an ostensible agent of the hospital, was negligent for leaving Madrigal in the care of the Hollywood Presbyterian’s nursing staff, especially in the care of one nurse who was unqualified to read fetal monitoring strips. Counsel also contended that the nursing staff failed to alert an attending or on-call physician about the peril Aaron was in, which led to a delayed cesarean delivery that caused Aaron’s hypoxic brain damage. Counsel for Hollywood Presbyterian argued that neither Gumbs nor the medical center’s nursing staff acted negligently, and that Aaron’s brain damage was caused solely by his mother’s chorioamnionitis, which was a subclinical infection that could not have been detected before the child was born. Counsel also argued that Aaron’s hypoxic brain damage and subsequent state were unpredictable and unpreventable., Aaron suffered hypoxic brain damage and is paralyzed. As a result, he is totally dependent on a ventilator and requires 24-hour professional attendant care, seven days a week. However, his mother claimed that she has been responsible for her son’s care since birth. Thus, Aaron’s mother claimed that there was a medical lien of $1,326,000 for past services rendered to her son. She also sought recovery of damages, including $38 million for future medical and attendant care costs over her son’s 50-year life expectancy, as well as $250,000 in non-economic damages per MICRA. Counsel for Hollywood Presbyterian argued that Aaron only had a life expectancy of four years, which would drastically reduce the amount of the child’s future damages.