On Feb. 29, 2016 plaintiff Jose Ramos, 63, a laborer, was driving on Patterson Pass Road, a rural road in Tracy, when he struck a horse that ran in front of his pickup truck. The horse rolled up on the hood and cracked the windshield before scurrying away. Ramos claimed to his neck, back and right knee. Ramos sued the owner of the horse, Arnold Davis. Ramos alleged that Davis was negligent for failing to keep the horse fenced in. Davis stipulated to negligence one week before trial., Ramos was unable to drive his truck from scene, and the property damage of $3,500 was enough to total the vehicle. He also told California Highway Patrol that he was not injured in the accident. However, he presented to his primary care physician a few hours later with complaints of pain to his neck, lower back and right knee. Ramos claimed he sustained a torn medial meniscus of his right knee, and soft tissue of his neck and lower back. He underwent X-rays, was referred to a chiropractor, and took off from work for 10 days. Ramos’s treating chiropractor treated Ramos’ neck and back, and took Ramos off of work. After three months, the chiropractor released Ramos to pre-injury status with no restrictions and no future treatment. A month later, Ramos’ initial attorney referred him to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Moshe Wilker, who administered five epidural steroid injections to Ramos’ lumbar spine, which mostly resolved Ramos’ lower back pain. Wilker also recommended that Ramos undergo knee surgery to treat the torn medial meniscus. However, Ramos sought a second opinion from another orthopedic physician, Dr. Robert Reisch, who ultimately performed the knee surgery. The plaintiff’s medical experts all related Ramos’ and treatment to the subject accident. Ramos’ primary care physician and chiropractor did not refer him to Ramos to the treating orthopedic surgeons, and Ramos’ initial attorney was located in the Los Angeles, area near those treaters, which was 300 miles away from Ramos’ home. However, Judge Michael Mulvihill Jr. granted plaintiff’s counsel’s motion in limine to exclude information regarding Ramos’ initial attorney referring him to doctors, but denied the motion to exclude information about Ramos’ medical bills being on a lien. Ramos, who built parking garages and buildings for work, missed one year of work, but was able to eventually return to work thereafter. Ramos claimed that the medical treatment he underwent helped, but that it took a year for his to completely resolve. As such, Ramos claimed that he does not need any future treatment. Ramos sought recovery of $160,000 in past medical costs and $60,000 in past lost wages. He also sought recovery of damages for his past pain and suffering. Defense counsel noted that there was a one-month gap in treatment after Ramos was released by the chiropractor and that there was a five-month gap in treatment of the right knee from the day of the accident until Ramos first saw a treating orthopedic physician. The defense’s orthopedic and radiology experts opined that all of the findings on the X-rays and MRIs of Ramos’ neck, back and knee were degenerative, had developed over long periods of time and were not traumatically induced. The experts also opined that Ramos’ reasonably-related treatment was, at most, the three months of chiropractic care, but that anything beyond that was related to pre-existing, degenerative arthritis and disc disease. The defense experts further opined that even if the year of treatment was related to the crash, Ramos’ medical bills were grossly inflated.