On Nov. 26, 2014, plaintiff Manuel Lopez, 52, a repair technician, was stopped at a red light in the number two lane of three northbound lanes of Stony Point Road, in Santa Rosa, when his Nissan Xterra was rear-ended by a Chevy Express operated by Tyler Gray. Lopez claimed to his left ankle, neck, upper and lower back, left foot, and left knee. Lopez sued Gray and Gray’s employer, California United Mechanical Inc., which also owned the Chevy Express. Lopez alleged that Gray was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that California United Mechanical was vicariously liable for Gray’s actions. The defendants conceded liability., Lopez claimed that he sustained to his neck, upper and lower back, left ankle, left foot, and left knee. He was subsequently transported by Sonoma Life Support to a local Kaiser hospital, where he was diagnosed with an internal derangement of the left knee with patellofemoral inflammation. Specifically, Lopez was diagnosed with a deficient posterior root attachment of the left knee’s medial meniscus with meniscal subluxation, geographic areas of high grade cartilage wear involving central weight bearing surfaces in the medial compartment, a deficient popliteo fibular ligament, patulous popliteus hiatus with loose body, very high-grade chronic-appearing chondral wear patellofemoral joint, a large joint effusion, a degenerated appearance of the cruciate ligaments, and a 5-millimeter loose body adjacent to the lateral tibial spine. There were also moderate degenerative changes of the left knee, with narrowing of the femorotibial joint space, and osteophytes arising from the margins of the articular surface, as well as severe narrowing at the lateral facet of the patellofemoral joint space. Lopez was also diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, including modest peroneal and posterior tibial tenosynovial inflammation, an anterior talofibular ligament inflammation, spurring, subcortical cystic change, and a small ganglion projecting along the anterior lateral tibial plafond that was likely associated with early chondromalacia. In addition, he was diagnosed with a chest wall contusion, plantar fasciitis of the left foot with a spur, a whiplash injury of the cervical spine, a thoracic spine sprain, and a lumbar muscle strain, resulting in a discogenic lumbar condition with facet inflammation. Lopez received treatment from a chiropractor, an orthopedic surgeon, and a pain management specialist. As a result, the discogenic lumbar condition, and thoracic and cervical were resolved with conservative treatment. On Aug. 24, 2015, he underwent a left knee arthroscopy, synovectomy, chondroplasty, and a partial medial meniscectomy. Thereafter, Lopez was given a knee brace, underwent physical therapy, and received several pain injections. Lopez claimed that his left knee is still symptomatic after his arthroscopic meniscectomy. He alleged that as a result, he lost his job and can no longer work for compensation, partly because of all of his healthcare appointments and partly because of the pain. He also alleged that he suffers from anxiety. Thus, Lopez sought recovery of $36,604.47 in past medical costs. He also sought recovery for his pain and suffering. Defense counsel contended that some of Lopez’s pre-dated the subject accident, in that some of the alleged were chronic and unrelated to trauma, while other alleged were related to at least one earlier accident. In addition, defense counsel asserted that Lopez voluntarily left his job.