In the fall of 2006, plaintiff Vickie Bullard, 48, a phlebotomist at Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center (CBCC), became concerned that she might have lung cancer and sought out assistance from her employer, Dr. Ravi Patel, an internal medicine/oncology specialist who founded CBCC some 15 years earlier. Patel subsequently recommended that Bullard undergo needle biopsy. Bullard was previously diagnosed with Valley Fever, coccidioidomycosis or “cocci” for short, an infection in the lungs caused by a fungus, in 2002. Her primary care doctor subsequently treated her successfully with Fluconazole therapy on an oral basis. She then underwent bariatric surgery for weight reduction in the nature of a Roux-en-Y the following year. In the summer of 2006, Bullard began feeling poorly and her primary care provider commenced a workup for Bullard’s dizziness, headaches, balance issues and fatigue. A cocci titer was drawn on July 26, 2006, and found to be normal, but a chest X-ray revealed the presence of multiple nodular densities in the patient’s left lung. Based on her fondness and respect for Patel, whom she started working for in 2005, Bullard sought assistance from CBCC and underwent a needle biopsy in the fall of 2006. However, the needle biopsy results were not diagnostic. A CT of Bullard’s chest and a whole body PET scan were then performed, confirming nodules in her left, lower lung. A second needle biopsy was then performed, which also failed to permit pathological diagnosis of the lesions. As a consequence, Patel referred Bullard to UCLA Medical Center for a thoracic surgery consult. On Oct. 24, 2006, a wedge biopsy was performed at UCLA Medical Center and pathology revealed that Bullard had cocci in the left lung. The UCLA pathology department provided an outside read on the needle biopsy slides, which was done in Bakersfield in September 2006. However, the results did not come back until Oct. 27, 2006, at which time UCLA described the specimens from the September 2006 workup as consistent with cocci. Bullard was subsequently treated with Fluconazole by mouth for approximately three to four months, and was well until December 2008, when she became extremely ill. An infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC obtained a cocci titer in December 2008 and found Bullard extremely sick with a relapse of her cocci. Bullard was then hospitalized at San Joaquin Hospital in late January 2009 and underwent intravenous Amphotericin therapy, which had to be discontinued due to a kidney consult, insofar as cocci drugs tend to be very nephrotoxic. Line infusion therapy was then re-started on Feb. 4, 2009, on an outpatient basis at CBCC. On Feb. 4, Bullard received an infusion of Abelcet, a drug in the Amphotericin drug family. On Feb. 6, 2009, Bullard presented to CBCC for repeat infusion therapy and, upon arrival, was told that no Abelcet was available, but that the infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC had approved the use of Amphotericin instead. As a result, Bullard received 500-milligrams of Amphotericin therapy and became extremely ill during the course of the infusion administration, necessitating that the infusion be stopped. Bullard claimed she went home after experiencing severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and remained home in a near catatonic state over the weekend. She then returned to CBCC on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, in order to have her labs checked. The infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC noted that Bullard’s creatinine had spiked to 3.2, an abnormal finding, and determined that Bullard had been given a potentially lethal overdose of Amphotericin on Feb. 6, 2009. Bullard sued the operator of CBCC, Ravi Patel, M.D. Inc. Bullard alleged that the medical office was negligent in her treatment and that the actions of its staff constituted medical malpractice. Bullard later amended the suit to include Patel, individually, as well as another physician, several registered nurses, a physician’s assistant and a medical assistant. However, the individual defendants were ultimately dismissed from the case, and the matter continued against Ravi Patel, M.D. Inc. only. Bullard’s counsel contended that the biopsy efforts in the fall of 2006 “awakened a sleeping giant,” causing Bullard’s cocci to become active again, making her very ill in December 2008. Counsel also noted that the infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC denied having been notified by the nursing personnel about Abelcet not available on Feb. 6, 2009, and/or that the nursing personnel were giving Bullard 500-milligrams of Amphotericin, a clear overdose. Ravi Patel, M.D. Inc. admitted liability for the overdose on Feb. 6, 2009. However, it maintained that the overdose was a single, isolated and transient event that caused concern, but no meaningful harm or injury, for approximately a seven-day period of time., After the overdose of Amphotericin was discovered, the National Poison Control hotline was contacted by infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC and he hospitalized Bullard at San Joaquin Hospital on Feb. 9, 2009. The specialist also obtained consults in nephrology, cardiology and pulmonology. Bullard did not require being in the Intensive Care Unit and, after several hours of aggressive hydration, her creatinine value dropped to 2.6. By Feb. 13, 2009, all of her lab values had returned to baseline and she was discharged home. After being discharged, Bullard commenced therapy on oral Fluconazole, but remained quite ill. The infectious disease specialist employed at CBCC moved to New York City for further training in mid-February 2009 and Bullard’s care was taken over by another infectious disease specialist at CBCC, who put Bullard back in the hospital in April 2009 and provided additional Amphotericin therapy via an I.V. line. After being discharged from the hospital five days later, Bullard transferred her care to a local Valley Fever specialist, who determined that Bullard’s prior bariatric surgery prevented her from absorbing oral medication on an effective basis. Hence, Bullard began receiving Fluconazole by I.V. line. Between the fall of 2009 and May 2013, Bullard was hospitalized for approximately 10 separate admissions, secondary to line infections, sepsis and a thrombus formation in her right atrium secondary to her chronic line therapy. Bullard required infusions on a seven-day per week basis from August 2009 through early June 2013, when the line was removed because Bullard’s cocci titers had normalized. Bullard claimed that the overdose on Feb. 6, 2009, caused permanent kidney damage and otherwise damaged her heart. She claimed that because she had suffered acute kidney insult, she could no longer receive Amphotericin therapy and thus, had to be treated with a “second tier” class of drugs, known as “azoles.” She alleged that had she been able to continue with Amphotericin therapy, her treatment would have ended by April 2009 and she would have returned to work in healthy condition. However, Bullard claimed that she will never be able to return to work. Bullard claimed approximately $652,000 in past medical and hospital expenses, and approximately $800,000 in past and future loss of earnings. She also claimed future medical needs in the $2 million to $5 million range, although the trial court ruled that a significant portion of her alleged future medical and hospital needs could not be considered by the jury because of foundational evidentiary problems. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel requested that the jury award Bullard total damages in the amount of seven figures. Counsel also asked the jury to award a reasonable amount in loss-of-consortium damages for Bullard’s husband, John Bullard. Counsel for Ravi Patel, M.D. Inc. argued that the overdose did not cause any meaningful harm and/or injury to Mrs. Bullard.