In September 2009, plaintiffs’ decedent Murali Manika, 46, a software engineer, was diagnosed with stage IV Mantle cell lymphoma. As a result, he went under the care of Dr. Januario Castro, an oncologist in La Jolla, and began a course of chemotherapy. On April 5, 2010, Manika received a bone marrow transplant, but he was later diagnosed with cytomegalovirus, a viral infection and passed away on June 10, 2010, due to complications from the CMV. The decedent’s widow, Shalini Manika, acting as his successor-in-interest, and the decedent’s children, Naiha Manika and Tuheen Manika, by and through their guardian ad litem, Sujatha Sonti, sued Castro, The Regents of the University of California, and Moore’s University of California San Diego Cancer Center. The family alleged that Castro failed to timely diagnose the decedent’s CMV, causing the decedent’s wrongful death, and that this failure constituted medical malpractice. It was ultimately determined that Moore’s University was erroneously named, so it was voluntarily dismissed from the action. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Castro and Regents only. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent suffered from fevers following the bone marrow transplant on April 5, 2010, which the plaintiffs’ medical experts opined was a sign of a viral infection. Counsel contended that after tests for a bacterial infection came back negative, Castro should have tested the decedent for a viral infection and that had the CMV been timely diagnosed, the decedent’s death could have been prevented. Defense counsel argued that Castro’s actions followed the standard of care, and that there was no reason to suspect a viral infection at the time of the decedent’s treatment. Counsel also argued that the decedent was tested for a more probable bacterial infection in response to his fevers, but the tests came up negative, and that a viral infection was a highly rare, unforeseen outcome for the decedent., Murali Manika suffered fevers following a bone marrow transplant and was later diagnosed with the viral infection cytomegalovirus. However, he ultimately died on June 10, 2010, due to complications from the CMV. He was 46. The decedent was survived by a wife and two children. Thus, the decedent’s family sought recovery of $1.9 million in economic damages for the loss of the decedent’s earnings and household services, as well as $1.25 million in non-economic wrongful death damages. Defense counsel argued that even if the decedent’s death from CMV could have been prevented, he was a stage IV cancer patient with a life expectancy of three to five years.