In July 2008, plaintiff Christine Chakarian, 32, a social worker, presented to Dr. Bengt Pehrsson, a bariatric and general surgeon, in Arcadia. Chakarian was morbidly obese with a weight of 325 pounds, and sought care and surgical treatment consisting of a gastric bypass. Prior to surgery, she signed a nutrition agreement confirming she would take vitamins, minerals and iron pills on a daily basis for the rest of her life in order to avoid becoming vitamin or iron deficient given her altered gastric anatomy from the surgery. On July 22, 2008, Pehrsson performed the gastric bypass surgery on Chakarian without complication. Post-operatively, Chakarian returned for check-ups at Pehrsson’s office, in which Chakarian would also have labs drawn. One year after surgery, Chakarian claimed she stopped taking her iron pills consistently due to constipation and other side effects, and, instead, took iron supplements through multivitamins. Two years after her surgery, on July 6, 2010, Chakarian received a letter from Pehrsson reminding her to have her annual lab draw and come in for her annual visit. The labs were subsequently drawn in August 2010, and the results showed that Chakarian was severely anemic with a hemoglobin level of 7.3. The lab results were sent from the laboratory to Pehrsson’s office on Sept. 1, 2010, but Pehrsson claimed he never saw the results. Therefore, Pehrsson never appreciated that Chakarian was anemic. On Oct. 9, 2010, Chakarian was taking a hot shower, became dizzy, and lost consciousness, fracturing her right ankle in the process. She was taken by ambulance to an emergency room, where it was discovered that she was profoundly anemic with a hematocrit level of 6.7. Chakarian sued Pehrsson, alleging the doctor was negligently treated her and failed to review the lab results. Chakarian also alleged that Pehrsson’s actions constituted medical malpractice. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Pehrsson failed to review Chakarian’s lab results, which showed that Chakarian was severely anemic. Chakarian claimed she had stopped taking her iron pills with the permission of Pehrsson, so Pehrsson should have checked her lab results once they arrived at his office. However, plaintiff’s counsel contended that Pehrsson had the lab results in his office for six weeks prior to Chakarian’s fall in the shower, but that Pehrsson never reviewed them. Counsel further contended that the lab results did have Pehrsson’s initials on them, which indicated that he saw them at some point, but that he never called Chakarian about the results. In addition, plaintiff’s counsel contended that if Pehrsson had informed Chakarian about the severe anemia, Chakarian would have gone back on the iron pills, thus curing the problem and preventing her fall in the shower, as her anemia was a substantial factor in causing her to fall. Pehrsson acknowledged that, in all probability, he did not see Chakarian’s lab results until after she fell and injured herself. He claimed that had he seen the results, he would have called Chakarian. Pehrsson claimed he would never allow one of his bariatric surgery patients to stop their iron intake — as Chakarian had done when she stopped taking her iron pills — particularly if they were a young, menstruating female. He also claimed that Chakarian’s anemia was asymptomatic in hindsight, as she was two years out of surgery without any complications or problems. Pehrsson further claimed that he had his office procedure set up so that routine labs on stable patients would go to the patient’s chart and await the patient’s visit, but that Chakarian never made a follow-up appointment after the August 2010 labs were drawn. Thus, Pehrsson argued that Chakarian’s non-compliance set the stage for her fall and personal , and that he had no reason to believe Chakarian was in any danger, as she did not call with any complaints prior to the fall., Chakarian became dizzy in the shower and lost consciousness. She subsequently fractured her right ankle when she fell and was taken by ambulance to an emergency room, where it was discovered that she was profoundly anemic with a hematocrit level of 6.7. Chakarian required the transfusion of three units of blood because of her severe anemia on Oct. 9, 2010. She then underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery with the insertion of plates and screws on Oct. 10, 2010. She further underwent hardware removal surgery on her ankle in December 2013 and received physical therapy throughout her recovery. Chakarian claimed she became sedentary, and stopped exercising and going on long walks as her ankle healed. She also claimed she required the assistance of a home nursing aide. As a result, Chakarian claimed she gained back much of the weight she had lost after the gastric bypass. Thus, Chakarian sought recovery of $10,000 in out-of-pocket past medical costs and $5,000 in past lost earnings. She also sought recovery of $250,000 in general damages for her pain and suffering. Defense counsel argued that Chakarian’s profound anemia and subsequent fall was the result of Chakarian failing to take her iron pills. Counsel also contended that Chakarian’s failure to come in for her follow-up visit was the reason that her abnormal lab result was never appreciated by the doctor and that Chakarian’s non-compliance was the substantial factor for all of her damages, as opposed to anything else.