In September 2007, Vivian Vo, 26, began treating with her primary care physician, Dr. Tuan Van Phan, for a severe case of arthritis. She previously treated her condition with medication, including chronic Ibuprofen/Motrin and Vicodin, which were frequently prescribed in concert with medications to protect her gastrointestinal tract from developing gastric ulcers. However, despite the protective medications, Vo demonstrated low hemoglobin and hematocrit throughout the course of her treatment, and at various times had significant reductions in those levels, arguably suggestive of a gastrointestinal bleed. Dr. Phan claimed that as a result, he repeatedly referred Vo to a rheumatologist, as that specialist was best equipped to understand Vo’s complex medical condition, but that Vo only sporadically followed his advice. On April 20, 2010, Vo presented to Phan with a recent history of epigastric pain, which could not be reproduced on an abdominal exam. She was ultimately sent home, and Dr. Phan claimed he gave her instructions to return if her symptoms changed, recurred or worsened. On April 25, 2010, Vo collapsed at her home and was taken by ambulance to Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, where Dr. Richard Guerrero, a general surgeon, performed emergency surgery to repair a bleeding duodenal ulcer. Guerrero subsequently elected to close Vo’s pylorus and connect her intestine directly to the stomach in a further surgical procedure. However, Vo continued to bleed internally in the following days despite surgical intervention. She was then transferred to UCLA Medical Center on May 22, 2010, and died on June 9, 2010. The decedent’s husband, Brandon Nguyen, and their minor daughter, Sandra Nguyen, sued Phan, Guerrero and Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center. They alleged that the defendants failed to properly treat Vo’s condition and failed to properly handle her prescribed medications, and that these failures constituted medical malpractice, making the defendants liable for Vo’s wrongful death. Prior to trial, Garden Grove was voluntarily dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Phan and Guerrero only. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Phan negligently prescribed an excessive amount of Ibuprofen/Motrin over an extended period of time with inadequate efforts to protect the gastrointestinal tract from those medications. Counsel further contended that Phan failed to recognize the ominous implications of significant reductions in hemoglobin and hematocrit in the decedent, which, in retrospect, seemed to represent a gastrointestinal bleed. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Phan missed one last opportunity to save the decedent on April 20, 2010, when a new complaint of epigastric pain was overlooked. As to Guerrero, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the defendant surgeon appropriately repaired the bleeding duodenal ulcer on April 25, 2010. However, counsel argued that Guerrero should have stopped his surgery at that moment in time and that the decision to perform further surgery on a critically ill patient was negligent. Phan claimed that the decedent’s underlying medical condition justified the medications he prescribed to her and that he was the only physician involved in her medical care to consistently prescribe medications designed to protect the gastrointestinal tract. He further claimed that drops in the patient’s hemoglobin and hematocrit were recognized, and that these drops were consistent with anemia of chronic disease. Phan further claimed that he repeatedly referred the decedent to a rheumatologist, who would be better equipped to monitor her condition, but that Vo only sporadically complied with that request for assistance. In addition, he claimed that when the decedent presented to him on April 20, 2010, she simply presented with symptoms that were not specific enough to reasonably allow him to have made a diagnosis prior to her collapse on April 25, 2010. Guerrero claimed that his intraoperative decisions were entirely appropriate and necessary in order to protect the initial repair of the duodenal ulcer from another, potentially catastrophic complication. He also claimed that the continued bleeding following the repair of the duodenal ulcer was not secondary to the additional surgery performed by him to close Vo’s pylorus and connect her intestine directly to the stomach., Vo collapsed at her home and was taken by ambulance to Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery to repair a bleeding duodenal ulcer. Further surgery was also performed to close Vo’s pylorus and connect her intestine directly to the stomach. However, Vo continued to bleed internally in the following days despite surgical intervention. She was then transferred to UCLA Medical Center on May 22, 2010, and died on June 9, 2010. She was 26. Vo left behind a husband and a minor daughter. The decedent’s family sought recovery of non-economic damages for the loss of the decedent’s love, care, comfort and society. They also sought recovery of $41,858 in damages for their past loss of household services, and $1,387,416 to $1,550,898 in damages for their future loss of support and benefits.