On April 29, 2011, plaintiff James Laina, 38, a business analyst, was a passenger in a 2007 Mercedes Benz S-550 driven by Stacey Koon. Laina had hired Music Express Inc. to drive him from Los Angeles International Airport to his home in Newbury Park. The vehicle was traveling north on U.S. Route 101 when it made a lane change and came to an allegedly abrupt stop at the Wendy Drive off ramp. The vehicle was then rear-ended at the off-ramp. According to Laina, he suffered a bilateral vertebral artery dissection, causing him to have a stroke 27 days later. Laina sued Koon and Koon’s employer, Music Express Inc. Laina alleged that Koon was negligent in the operation of the Mercedes Benz and that Music Express was vicariously liable for Koon’s actions. Music Express filed a third-party complaint against Tanya Komatsu, the driver of the vehicle that rear-ended the Mercedes Benz. Komatsu settled with Laina by tendering her $15,000 insurance policy limits. The matter then continued with Laina’s claims against Koon and Music Express. Laina claimed that Koon made an unsafe lane change, resulting in an abrupt stop at the Wendy Drive off-ramp. Thus, he claimed that this abrupt stop was what caused the vehicle to be rear-ended. Defense counsel disputed the Laina’s allegations, contending that Koon operated the vehicle safely and that the vehicle that Komatsu was the sole party at fault for the collision., Ten days after the collision, Laina presented to his family practitioner with complaints of pain to his lower back. Twenty-seven days after the collision, Laina suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for approximately one month. Laina claimed he had sustained a bilateral vertebral artery dissection, which resulted in the stroke. The plaintiff’s medical experts testified that the bilateral artery dissection was a result of the collision. Laina claimed the stroke caused permanent right-sided motor impairment and cognitive impairment. He alleged that as a result, he suffers from depression. Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Laina $12 million in total damages, which included past medical costs in excess of $600,000; unspecified future medical costs, and past and future loss of earnings; and an unspecified amount of general damages. Defense counsel disputed the cause of Laina’s alleged , contending that the collision was not the proximate cause of the dissection and ensuing stroke. The defense’s experts opined that the impact from the collision was not significant enough to cause the Laina alleged. The experts testified that Laina did not complain of neck pain or headaches to health care professionals before the stroke. Thus, they opined that this indicated that Laina did not sustain a bilateral vertebral artery dissection in the collision.