On June 12, 2011, plaintiff Marianna Feigina, 25, an administrative assistant, was a passenger in a vehicle operated by her friend, Yuliya Solovey, and traveling south on North Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood. At approximately 2:15 a.m., after making a left turn onto eastbound Santa Monica Boulevard, Solovey lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree roughly one block away from the subject intersection. Feigina claimed to her left ankle and leg. Feigina sued Solovey; another passenger in the vehicle, Vardges Ghukasyan; and the owner of the vehicle, Solovey’s boyfriend, Djan Gvardzhaladze. Feigina alleged that Solovey was negligent in the operation of the vehicle and that Gvardzhaladze was vicariously liable for Solovey’s actions. The action against Ghukasyan was ultimately dismissed from the case prior to trial. Feigina claimed Solovey was speeding when she made the left turn onto Santa Monica Boulevard, causing her to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the tree. Solovey claimed she lost control of her vehicle due to the street being wet from being washed. She further claimed that Feigina was comparatively at fault for not wearing her seat belt., Feigina sustained a bimalleolar fracture of her left ankle, as well as a fracture of her left leg’s fibula. She subsequently was taken from the scene of the accident by ambulance and brought to an emergency room. The next day, Feigina underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery with the insertion of a plate on her fractured fibula. She then followed up with four to six weeks of physical therapy. On April 16, 2013, Feigina underwent another surgery, this time to remove the plate, and then followed up with more physical therapy. Feigina claimed she still experiences some pain, which she treats with medication, and continues to use crutches to ambulate, affecting her ability to socialize. She also claimed she missed one year of work and may need to miss more work to undergo a possible left ankle fusion. Thus, Feigina sought recovery of $400,000 to $650,000 in total damages. Defense counsel did not dispute the severity of Feigina’s condition, but argued that Feigina’s failure to wear a seat belt caused all of her .