On March 30, 2017, plaintiff Sam Shimanovsky, 52, president of his wife’s aromatherapy company, was talking with Steven Porath, a fellow resident of a gated community where they lived in Thousand Oaks. Porath rested his recently adopted dog at the street corner. While Shimanovsky and Porath were talking, Porath’s dog bit Shimanovsky in the pubic region. Shimanovsky (whose name was misspelled in court documents as “Shiminovsky”) sued Porath, alleging that Porath was strict liable for the dog’s actions. Porath admitted liability., Shimanovsky was bit in the pubic region, causing bite marks to the head and shaft of his penis as well as to supra-pubic region. After the incident, the parties parted, walking in opposite directions. Shimanovsky then drove to work and back. Five hours after the incident, he presented to an emergency room. He claimed that he was unable to urinate for a period of time after the incident. When he was able to urinate at the ER and for labs, he reported pain. However, the labs were negative for blood. Shimanovsky was then seen by a physician assistant and the plaintiff’s expert urologist was called to consult online. The treating urologist ordered an ultrasound, which was negative, and Shimanovsky was released on antibiotics and told to follow-up. Shimanovsky claimed that as a result of his , he has erection problems, including excruciating pain, but that the pain decreased over time. Specifically, Shimanovsky and his wife reported that they had sexual relations four to five times per week, on average, prior to the subject incident and that Shimanovsky had no sexual relations for six months after the subject incident. Shimanovsky claimed that as a result, he began seeing the plaintiff’s expert sex therapist. He alleged that after he began treatment with his therapist, he returned to having sexual relations once per week, on average, until the time of trial, but that he had difficulties, including incomplete and/or loss of erection. The plaintiff’s treating sexual therapy expert testified that she had one in-person interview/session with Shimanovsky and that all sessions thereafter were via “video-chat.” She testified that based on their sessions, she believes that Shimanovsky suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, erectile dysfunction and dog phobia. Shimanovsky claimed that he and his wife require future therapy as a result of his condition. Shimanovsky waived past special damages, and sought recovery of general damages for his past and future pain and suffering. His wife, Rose Shimanovsky, brought a derivative claim, seeking recovery for her loss of consortium. Plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury to award the Shimanovskys $12 million in total damages, including $8 million for Mr. Shimanovsky’s damages and $4 million for Ms. Shimanovsky’s damages. Defense counsel contested the nature and extent of the plaintiffs’ alleged and damages. Counsel noted that Mr. Shimanovsky had only two subsequent urology consults with the first being seven days after being released from the ER, during which he had healing wounds and reported spontaneous erection with no problems. Counsel also noted that Mr. Shimanovsky filed the subject lawsuit within 60 days of the incident and started seeing his treating sex therapy expert six months later. Counsel argued that it was only after first seeing the sex therapist did Mr. Shimanovsky claim erectile dysfunction. Defense counsel further contended that, in an email to Mr. Shimanovsky, the plaintiffs’ treating sex therapy expert told Mr. Shimanovsky that she hoped he got as much money as “legally possible.” The defense’s psychology expert, who teaches psychology students at UCLA about post-traumatic stress disorder, opined that Mr. Shimanovsky did not have post-traumatic stress disorder and that the subject accident was not the type of event that would justify that diagnosis, per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V. The expert further testified that he had never seen anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder who did not have sleep disturbances, noting that Mr. Shimanovsky admitted that he has slept just fine since the event.