On Sept. 16, 2013, plaintiff Avid Zaremoayedi, a 46-year-old unemployed woman, was driving on the Foothill Expressway, in Los Altos. Her vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Dafna Mizrahi. Zaremoayedi claimed that she suffered of her back, her head and her neck. Zaremoayedi sued Mizrahi. The lawsuit alleged that Mizrahi was negligent in the operation of her vehicle. Defense counsel conceded liability., Both vehicles were totaled in the accident. Zaremoayedi claimed that she suffered soft-tissue of her head, neck and back. She also claimed that the collision caused an increase of a pre-existing chronic pain condition. Zaremoayedi was involved in a motor-vehicle accident in 2008, which caused chronic pain in her neck and upper back. As a result of that accident, she was diagnosed with chronic myofascial pain syndrome and was permanently placed off of work in 2009. To treat that condition, Zaremoayedi underwent physical therapy, acupuncture and prescription drug therapy. Her medical records showed she experienced “flares” in her neck pain, which would occur every one to two months and last a few days to a week. Zaremoayedi claimed that, at the time, most of her pain was on the left side of her neck with only the occasional right-sided issue. After the instant accident, Zaremoayedi was transported to an emergency room by emergency medical technicians, who took full cervical spine precautions. Zaremoayedi underwent an X-ray, which was negative, and no MRI was performed. She ultimately claimed that the instant accident caused a significant increase in pain all over her body. She claimed that after a week, her pain calmed slightly, but she then started to suffer pain on her right side.She contended that the instant accident caused a permanent increase of her chronic pain, even though all of her treatment modalities, which included physical therapy and prescription medications, remained the same. Zaremoayedi waived her medical costs, and she sought recovery of $250,000 for past pain and suffering and $500,000 for future pain and suffering. Defense counsel admitted that the instant accident initially caused an increase of Zaremoayedi’s pain but disputed the nature and extent of Zaremoayedi’s continued complaints. Counsel noted that after approximately six months of physical therapy, Zaremoayedi’s treating physical therapist opined that Zaremoayedi’s pain and tenderness had “returned to baseline” and that “the acuteness of the crash had subsided.” As a result, defense counsel argued that after six months, all of Zaremoayedi’s ongoing complaints were related to the prior accident. Counsel further argued that Zaremoayedi suffered nothing more than a soft-tissue injury from the instant accident and that all of Zaremoayedi’s pain was exactly the same before and after the instant accident