On June 13, 2011, plaintiff Charles Sanford, 31, a self-employed cell phone tower installer, was riding his motorcycle on northbound Bernal Avenue, in Pleasanton. As he entered the intersection with Hearst Drive, Sanford broadsided the driver’s side door of a vehicle that was making a left turn from westbound Hearst Drive. Sanford injured his groin and left knee in the accident. Sanford sued the driver of the turning vehicle, Jacy Rasnick, and the owner of the vehicle, William Rasnick. Sanford alleged that Jacy, then age 17, was negligent in the operation of her vehicle and that Mr. Rasnick was negligent in the entrustment of the vehicle to Jacy. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Jacy pulled into the intersection from a stop sign and made an unsafe left turn in front of Sanford. Thus, counsel argued that Jacy caused violated California Vehicle Code § 21802(a) by ignoring Sanford’s legal right of way and causing the T-bone collision. Defense counsel maintained that Jacy did not see Sanford approaching and that Sanford was contributorily negligent for removing the horn from his motorcycle prior to the accident. Counsel argued that the removal of the horn made it impossible for Sanford to warn Jacy, was a violation of the California Vehicle Code, and constituted negligence per se. In response, the plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert testified that the lack of a horn on Sanford’s motorcycle played no part in the accident. During his cross-examination, he admitted that he was unaware of the provisions of the California Vehicle Code that require motorcycles to have a functional horn. However, he explained that the provisions were not relevant to his testimony, which was limited to explaining whether Sanford could have prevented the accident with a working horn., Sanford was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of Eden Medical Center, in Castro Valley, where he was treated and released the same day. Sanford was ultimately diagnosed with a medial meniscus tear of the left knee, and tears of the fibular collateral ligament and biceps femoris tendon (one of the hamstring muscle tendons) in the left leg, near the groin. In August 2011, Sanford underwent arthroscopic knee surgery with internal fixation to repair the torn meniscus. He also underwent open surgery to repair the tendon and ligament . Sanford claimed that he continues to experience chronic pain, and has difficulty using stairs and walking over uneven surfaces. He also claimed that he is unable to do activities such as running, playing tennis or performing yard work. The plaintiff’s physical medicine expert estimated that Sanford’s future medical and life care costs would total approximately $160,000. Thus, Sanford sought recovery of damages between $450,000 and $750,000. Defense counsel did not contest the nature and extent of Sanford’s or alleged medical costs. However, counsel argued that the jury should only award Sanford $100,000 with a reduction for contributory negligence.