On Dec. 8, 2010, claimant Janet Cates, a retired 68-year-old, was riding as a backseat passenger in a car driven by her friend through a parking lot near South Beach Boulevard in La Habra, when their vehicle was broadsided by a vehicle driven by Christopher Jarnutowski. Cates claimed head, hip and spleen from the crash. Cates filed a claim against Jarnutowski through his automobile insurance carrier, The Automobile Club. He alleged that Jarnutowski was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. Cate claimed that as her vehicle proceeded through the parking lot, Jarnutowski failed to obey a stop sign and collided with the left side her friend’s vehicle at a high rate of speed. Thus, she claimed that Jarnutowski was negligent for driving unsafely. The Automobile Club did not dispute Jarnutowski’s liability., After the accident, Cates was transported by ambulance to UCI Medical Center in Orange County. She was diagnosed with left hip fractures, a 12-inch splenic laceration, a cerebral contusion, and fractures of the left 3rd and 4th ribs. She claimed that her cerebral contusion resulted in traumatic bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhages. On Dec. 9, 2010, the day after the accident, Cates underwent an exploratory laparotomy, splenectomy and pelvic packing to treat her lacerated spleen. Two weeks later, she was released from the hospital. Cates claimed medical bills of $664,829, of which $90,550 was paid by Medicare. She also claimed that she will need continued medical care, including follow-up evaluations, treatments and medications.