On Dec. 12, 2015, claimant Junghee Reseter, a woman in her 70s, was walking in her neighborhood on Pacific Hills Drive, in Mission Viejo when a neighbor’s bulldog barked at her and jumped on her from behind. The attack caused Reseter to fall to the ground on her right side. She claimed to her right hand, ribs, chest, front tooth, face, and left knee. Reseter brought a claim against the owner of the dog, Frederick York, alleging that Yong was negligent for failing to properly monitor and/or restrain the animal prior to the attack. York denied liability, disputing Reseter’s account of the event. Specifically, York denied his dog ever attacked or made contact with Reseter, and alleged that Reseter was wearing head phones and not paying attention at the time of the incident. Thus, York claimed that when his dog approached Reseter and barked, Reseter became startled and fell as a result., Reseter was initially diagnosed with abrasions to her face and left knee, contusions to the chest and right ribcage, and a chipped front, left tooth. She was later diagnosed with displaced fractures of the fifth metacarpal base and fifth phalanx of her right, dominant hand, along with a fracture of the right, fourth metacarpal base. Reseter’s right arm was subsequently placed in a temporary, short, plaster cast, and she underwent physical therapy and occupational therapy for her hand . However, she ultimately required open reduction and internal fixation to repair the fifth metacarpal fracture and intramedullary pinning of the fifth phalanx. Reseter claimed that following the surgery, she developed a deformed right hand. She alleged that as a result, she suffers from limited grip strength and difficulty with flexion. Reseter sought recovery of $15,980 in paid medical expenses. She also sought recovery of damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Her husband, Joseph Reseter, presented a derivative claim, seeking recovery for his loss of consortium. York’s counsel disputed Ms. Reseter’s alleged damages, asserted that Ms. Reseter did not complete her recommended course of physical therapy and was not compliant with the prescribed home exercise regimen. Counsel also maintained that Ms. Reseter’s failure to complete the recommended treatments resulted in her diminished hand mobility.