On Feb. 6, 2010, plaintiff Stacy Rodriguez, 42, a part-time teaching assistant, was driving her 2007 Toyota Corolla on northbound Sepulveda Boulevard, in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Rita Brown, driving a 2001 Toyota Avalon, was exiting Interstate 405 and attempting to make a left turn through a traffic signal in order to proceed north on Sepulveda Boulevard. The two vehicles collided. Rodriguez claimed a lower back injury from the crash. Rodriguez sued Brown, contending that Brown was negligent in the operation of her motor vehicle. According to Rodriguez, Brown did not have the right of way at the intersection’s traffic light. She also contended that Brown lost control of her vehicle and slid into her driver’s side door. Brown contended that as she progressed through the intersection on a green light, traveling approximately 10 miles per hour, the side of her vehicle was struck by Rodriguez. According to Brown, she only entered the intersection when the light turned green, and then Rodriguez ran into the right side of her vehicle while coming up behind her and attempting to pass her on the right., Following the accident, Rodriguez was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. She claimed to have sustained an injury at L5-S1, which caused her to experience radiating pain into her buttocks, hips, knees and thighs. According to Rodriguez, the accident exacerbated pre-existing conditions in her back, causing her to become symptomatic. She also claimed the collision caused her to sustain a re-prolapse of her bladder, which had prolapsed in an incident unrelated to the accident in question. To treat her back injury, Rodriguez underwent physical therapy, as well as a lumbar fusion at L5-S1. Defense counsel disputed the nature and extent of the Rodriguez’s . Counsel contended that Rodriguez only sustained minor soft-tissue in the collision, and had a pre-existing chronic lumbar spondylolisthesis that dated back years before the accident. Thus, defense counsel argued that Rodriguez’s treatment was related only to her degenerative condition, instead of any she may have sustained in the collision. In addition, counsel argued that the bladder condition that Rodriguez claimed to have aggravated was unrelated to the accident in question.