In September 2011, plaintiff Harveen Dhesi, 49, a real estate agent, underwent a second surgery on her back at Methodist Hospital of Southern California, in Arcadia. After the surgery, which was performed by Dr. Ben Pradhan, Dhesi was prescribed pain medication, sleeping pills, and muscle relaxants. On Sept. 23, 2011, while still in the hospital, Dhesi was found to be suffering from a decrease in breathing status. She claimed that she subsequently suffered respiratory arrest, resulting in brain . Dhesi sued Pradhan and Methodist Hospital of Southern California. Dhesi alleged that the defendants were negligent in prescribing the post-surgical medication and for failing to properly monitor her after the procedure. She also alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted medical malpractice. Pradhan was ultimately dismissed from the case prior to trial. Thus, the matter continued against Methodist Hospital of Southern California only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the hospital improperly monitored Dhesi post-surgically and overprescribed the pain medication. Counsel also contended that the amount of prescribed pain medication, combined with sleeping pills and muscle relaxants, caused Dhesi’s respiratory arrest. Defense counsel argued that Dhesi did not suffer respiratory arrest and that Dhesi’s decreased breathing status was properly and timely identified by the hospital’s staff. Counsel contended that upon finding the patient with the change in condition, the hospital’s staff reacted promptly by timely employing appropriate nursing interventions, including, but not limited to, the placement of the rebreather mask and administration of Narcan, which the standard of care required, in an effort to stabilize the patient’s respiratory status. Defense counsel also argued that Dhesi’s reaction to the medications occurred in absence of any negligence and that it could not have been anticipated given her prior history of opiate tolerance, extensive surgeries, and complaints of severe pain before the increased dosage. Counsel further argued that it is not uncommon, as in this case, to find a patient with decreased breathing after the administration of opiates. The defense’s pharmacology and nursing experts testified that during Dhesi’s stay at the hospital, all the care and treatment rendered to her by the hospital, by and through its nursing and ancillary staff, complied with the standard of care in the community., Dhesi claimed she sustained an irreversible anoxic brain injury, resulting in seizures and epileptic activity. She claimed that as a result, she now suffers from cognitive issues, such as memory loss and difficulty concentrating. She alleged that as a result, she is no longer able to work as a real estate agent. Thus, Dhesi sought recovery of past and future medical expenses, and past and future loss of earnings. She also sought recovery of general damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Defense counsel argued that there was no objective neurologic evidence of a cognitive deficit due to a neurologic event during Dhesi’s postoperative hospital course. The defense’s expert neurologist testified that his examination of Dhesi did not indicate any objective findings to correlate cognitive deficits and he attributed Dhesi’s symptoms to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition in which a person suffers an abnormally large increase in heart rate upon standing. The defense expert further testified that Dhesi had undergone four separate instances of EEG tests, including two 72-hour EEGs, which all returned with normal results, without any evidence of seizure activity. The defense’s forensic neuropsychology expert testified that his examination of Dhesi showed that Dhesi tested at a cognitive level of a mentally retarded individual, but that Dhesi admittedly was still able to drive, socialize, etc. Thus, he opined that Dhesi’s neurobehavioral testing was skewed due to a lack of effort. The defense expert testified that as a result, he included validity testing in his examination of Dhesi and that this testing revealed that Dhesi was not putting forth her full effort when she was responding to questions.