On Feb. 3, 2015, plaintiff’s decedent Elsa Crabtree, a 62-year-old woman with a history of diabetes, was admitted to Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, in Garden Grove, with complaints of weakness and numbness in her legs after falling at home. She underwent a CT scan of her back, and the images results revealed a degenerative disc condition in her back, as well as stenosis. Her care was then assigned to Dr. Asaad Hakim, an internal medicine specialist, and she was monitored by Mary Alessi, a physician’s assistant at the hospital. Crabtree was then given a sequential compression device, or elastic nylon brace, to reduce the risk of clotting in her legs. Four days later, she underwent a posterior laminectomy. She then continued to use the sequential compression device after the surgery, as ordered by her doctor. On Feb. 10, 2015, Crabtree was discharged from the hospital and admitted to Anaheim Terrace Care Center, an inpatient rehabilitation facility in Anaheim, for a course of post-surgical physical therapy treatment. However, two days later, Crabtree was found unresponsive in her room at the rehabilitation facility, and she was declared dead later that day. It was ultimately determined that Crabtree died as a result of a pulmonary embolism secondary to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in her left leg. Crabtree’s adult daughter, Kathy Cervantes, acting as the special administrator of her mother’s estate, sued Hakim; Alessi; the operator of Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, Prime Healthcare Services-Garden Grove, LLP; Anaheim Terrace Care Center; and the physician assigned to Crabtree’s care at Anaheim Terrace Center, Gurleen Singh Jamarai. Cervantes alleged that the defendants failed to properly treat and monitor Crabtree, resulting her mother’s wrongful death. She also alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted medical malpractice. Anaheim Terrace Care Center, Jamarai, and Prime Healthcare Services-Garden Grove respectively negotiated pretrial settlements with Crabtree’s estate, but the terms of the settlements were not disclosed. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Hakim and Alessi. The estate’s counsel contended that Crabtree’s wrongful death stemmed from the Hakim’s and Alessi’s failure to administer a low dosage of heparin, an anticoagulant/blood thinner, to Crabtree before and after the spinal surgery. Counsel also contended that the defendants neglected to properly monitor the decedent’s use of the sequential compression devices and failed to monitor whether or not she was using them as prescribed. According to the estate’s counsel, Hakim and Alessi also ignored Crabtree’s complaints of bilateral leg pain after the surgery and failed to order a Doppler ultrasound screening that could have identified signs of early onset DVT. Counsel further argued that Hakim and Alessi departed from the standard of care by releasing Crabtree to a rehabilitation facility after the surgery, at which time Crabtree exhibited leg pain, an increased white blood cell count, and an elevated blood sugar level. Defense counsel for Hakim and Alessi asserted that the standard of care was met throughout the course of Crabtree’s treatment at the hospital. Counsel argued that Crabtree did not have a history of DVT, that Crabtree did not present with any symptoms consistent with DVT and that a Doppler ultrasound was not necessary based on Crabtree’s symptoms. Counsel also argued that it was appropriate to prescribe a sequential compression device, rather than a low dose course of heparin, to reduce the risk of DVT prophylaxis, as the medication was contraindicated for DVT prophylaxis in patients scheduled for surgery. Defense counsel contended that the decedent’s post-surgical complaints of increased leg pain is common among patients following spinal surgery and that the timing of Crabtree’s Feb. 10, 2015 discharge to the rehabilitation facility was appropriate. Counsel also contended that Crabtree’s elevated white blood cell count was determined to have been caused by atelectasis, which could have been managed and/or addressed by the nursing facility., On Feb. 10, 2015, Crabtree was found unresponsive, and she was pronounced dead later that day. An autopsy was then performed, and the cause of death was determined to be from a pulmonary embolism secondary to DVT in Crabtree’s left leg. Crabtree was 62 years old. She was survived by her adult daughter, Kathy Cervantes. Crabtree’s estate sought recovery of $310,000 in wrongful death damages, including $250,000 in non-economic damages and $60,000 in past medical costs. Defense counsel disputed that the estate was entitled to a recovery of damages.