On Feb. 1, 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent Shawn Rial, 20, was admitted to University of California, Irvine Medical Center for his first course of chemotherapy. Rial previously underwent a successful surgical removal of a cancerous right testicle on Nov. 12, 2009. He was then admitted to UCI for his first course of inpatient chemotherapy from Feb. 1 until Feb. 6, 2010. However, on Feb. 15, 2010, Rial presented to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, and was admitted on an emergency basis with a white blood cell count of .10. On Feb. 17, 2010, Rial died from severe sepsis, a bacterial infection in his bloodstream. The decedent’s parents, William Rial and Starrlott Nardone, sued UCI Medical Center; the entity legally responsible for the medical care provided by the doctors and staff at UCI, Regents of the University of California; and doctors Bruce Lin, Harry Fornwalt III, K. Mitchell Naficy, Sachin Gupta and Sai-Hong Ignatius Ou. The decedent’s parents alleged that the defendants failed to properly monitor their son’s condition and failed to test his white blood cell count, causing in their son’s wrongful death. They also alleged that those failures constituted medical malpractice. The UCI doctors, Lin, Fornwalt, Naficy, Gupta and Ou, were all ultimately dismissed from the action, since UCI assumed any alleged liability involving its employees. In addition, Nardone filed a dismissal of her claim prior to trial. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial on William Rial’s claims against UCI and Regents. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that employees of UCI and Regents failed to order any white blood cell counts at any time from the administration of the decedent’s last inpatient chemotherapy treatment up until and including the date the decedent was admitted to Mission Hospital on an emergency basis with a white blood cell count of .10. Counsel contended that the extremely low count, which was virtually “0” and already terminally septic, ultimately resulted in the decedent’s death on Feb. 17, 2010. Defense counsel denied that UCI’s failure to order or obtain any complete blood counts on the decedent between Feb. 6, 2010, and Feb. 15, 2010, was negligent or below the standard of care, and denied that this caused or substantially contributed to the decedent’s death. Counsel contended that when the decedent was discharged from UCI on Feb. 6, 2010, his blood counts were normal, he was provided with instructions concerning chemotherapy precautions, and he was advised to contact his physician or present to an emergency room with any sign of infection. Defense counsel also contended that the decedent received outpatient chemotherapy with no complications on Feb. 8, 2010, and was again instructed on what to do if signs or symptoms of infection presented. Counsel asserted that no labs were drawn at the time because the protocol in place for that chemotherapy regimen was to only repeat labs in the face of normal laboratory results from within 96 hours when there were signs or symptoms of an infection. Counsel further contended that the decedent was to return for more outpatient chemotherapy on Feb. 15, 2010, but was, instead, taken to Mission Hospital that morning in grave condition, dying two days later. Defense counsel argued that on the evening of Feb. 14, 2010, the decedent showed up at his grandmother’s house, where he lived, in a pale and altered condition, but that no medical attention was sought until the following morning, when he complained of chills, a fever, and not being able to walk on his left leg. Thus, defense counsel argued that had the decedent gone to a hospital earlier, when signs of the infection presented, his chances of survival would have improved. In response, plaintiff’s counsel argued that regardless of the decedent being given instructions on what to do if signs or symptoms of an infection presented, the warnings would have done nothing to save his life in the face of his plummeting white blood cell counts., Shawn Rial died as a result of severe sepsis. He was 20. The decedent’s father claimed that with proper treatment for his son’s type of cancer, the survival rate would have been over 95 percent. Thus, he sought recovery of $1 million in non-economic wrongful death damages for the death of his son, as well as $1,807.49 for funeral and cremation costs. The defense’s infection disease expert claimed that even with a normal white blood cell count, the decedent would have most likely died anyway due to necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacterial infection. Defense counsel also disputed the nature and extent of the damages alleged.