On Oct. 23, 2007, at approximately 3:45 pm, plaintiff Keith Kingston, 52, a mechanic, stopped a 1998 Ford Ranger truck, which was owned by his employer, Loomis Fargo, behind a line of cars on eastbound Balfour Road in Brentwood when he was rear-ended by a 2002 Chevy Silverado pickup truck operated by David Gregori. Kingston claimed spinal from the crash. Kingston sued Gregori. He alleged that the defendant was negligent in the operation of his motor vehicle. Gregori claimed he was traveling along the same roadway when another car began changing into his lane. He claimed that as a result, he moved into the adjacent lane, where he then rear-ended Kingston’s vehicle. Thus, Gregori conceded liability., Kingston claimed that he suffered a lumbar disc herniation and bulging lumbar discs, requiring surgery, as a result of the accident. However, he alleged that he did not feel any pain immediately after the collision and managed to get the vehicle over to the side of the road. He then exited his vehicle and spoke to the driver of the other vehicle. Kingston never told the responding police officer he was in any pain and he declined any medical care when the officer asked him. Kingston alleged that within two hours of the accident, he began to develop a severe headache and lower back pain, which got worse. He claimed the next morning, he also began to feel ringing in his ears and his employer sent him to the company doctor at Sierra Occupational Services in Stockton, who told Kingston to follow up with his regular physician. Kingston then saw his regular physician at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek on Oct. 29, 2007, when he complained of back pain radiating into his left thigh. He subsequently followed up with his doctor and began physical therapy. He also received an injection into his lower back and was referred to a specialist at Muir Orthopedic. Kingston claimed that his treating doctor at Muir Orthopedics diagnosed him as having a lumbar disc herniation and noted bulging lumbar discs at L3-4 and L4-5, based on an MRI taken Dec. 18, 2007. As a result, Kingston was prescribed two lower back injections, which gave Kingston short-term relief for approximately one month, and physical therapy, which also gave Kingston some help. The physician noted in report on April 15, 2008, that after the two steroid injections to the back, it appeared that Kingston’s radicular problems had likely resolved and that the patient should be able to do all activities. As a result, the doctor simply recommended a home exercise program. However, Kingston then started seeing two other physicians, outside of his normal physicians at John Muir, and on July 11, 2008, one of those physicians performed a plasma disc decompression at River Surgical Institute in Modesto. Kingston claimed that following the disc decompression, his lower back pain improved, in that his pain went from an eight or nine on a ten scale to a three or four on a ten scale. He then did not return for treatment from the physician that performed the surgery or from his physicians at John Muir following the percutaneous disc decompression procedure. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Kingston was clearly injured by the subject accident, noting medical records when allegedly confirmed the complaints of back pain and radiculopathy into the left leg. Thus, counsel asked the jury to award all medical bills in the total sum of $65,000, plus a wage loss and incidentals amounting to approximately $3,000, for total damages of $68,000. Counsel also asked the jury to award Kingston around $68,000 in pain-and-suffering damages, plus an amount to compensate for his daily pain. Kingston’s wife, Linda, initially sought recovery for her loss of consortium, but dismissed the claim prior to trial, per a settlement. Defense counsel argued that Mr. Kingston had not met his burden of proof in that his counsel did not call any of the treating doctors from John Muir Medical Center to confirm that Kingston had in fact suffered from radiculopathy. Thus, counsel argued that since this key piece of evidence had not been presented, the jury instruction pertaining to stronger evidence available should apply and the testimony of the plaintiff’s orthopedics expert should be distrusted. Furthermore, counsel argued the same jury instruction as to the plaintiff’s failure to call the surgeon who performed Kingston’s decompression surgery as a witness. In addition, it was emphasized that defense counsel was required to call that surgeon to prove that the procedure was not reasonable and necessary. Defense counsel contested Kingston’s alleged personal and its relation to the motor vehicle accident. Counsel also disagreed with the plaintiff’s alleged medical treatment and bills, arguing that Kingston’s treatment was not medically reasonable or necessary. Thus, defense counsel argued that there were no at the scene of the accident, Kingston never missed any time from work, never went to a hospital for treatment, took no pain medication, took a trip to Hawaii within one month of the accident and was referred for the percutaneous disc decompression procedure by his attorney. Based upon all these factors, defense counsel contended that if Kingston was to awarded damages, he should only be awarded $4,800, the amount of the medical bills from John Muir Medical Center; $990, the amount of his out of pocket expenses for that treatment; and a range of $5,000 to $10,000 for his pain and suffering.