On Aug. 14, 2010, plaintiff Kenneth Troum, 44, a producer, was driving his 1994 Jeep Cherokee on southbound Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a two way street in Los Angeles, when his vehicle was struck by a Jeep Liberty operated by Eli Pearlman. Troum claimed back from the accident. Troum sued Pearlman and the owner of the Jeep Liberty, Oliver Istrin. Troum alleged that Pearlman was negligent in the operation of the Jeep Liberty and that Istrin was vicariously liable for Pearlman’s actions. Troum claimed that Pearlman was also southbound on Laurel Canyon Boulevard before he attempted to make a U-turn in front of his Jeep Cherokee. Thus, Troum claimed that Pearlman’s negligent U-turn caused the crash. Pearlman did not dispute liability., Five days after the accident, Troum presented to a chiropractor with complaints of pain to his neck and back. He underwent six treatments with the chiropractor and then went to his orthopedist two months later with complaints of continuing lower back pain. The treating orthopedist then referred Troum for an MRI, which revealed a 2-millimeter lumbar disc protrusion at the L4-5 level with a partial annular tear and pre-existing spondylitis, and a 3-millimeter lumbar disc protrusion at the L5-S1 level. Troum also complained of numbness down his left leg, but this was not supported by the MRI. In addition, the EMG came back negative. Six months after the accident, Troum received epidural nerve root block injections at L4-5 and L5-S1, but they allegedly provided him no relief. Troum previously worked as an actor, playing Raphael, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. He also had a prior cervical fusion at C4-5 from a 1998 injury. However, at the time of the accident, Troum was working as a producer and a licensed physical trainer. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel contended that Troum was in good health before the collision. However, after the accident, Troum claimed continuing numbness down his left leg with occasional pain, causing limitations of his activities. As a result, he only takes over-the-counter medication for his pain, as he does not want to undergo surgery. However, he claimed that he can no longer scuba dive and that his daily activities have been impacted. The plaintiff’s treating orthopedic surgeon testified that, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the annular tear was caused by the subject accident and that the symptoms of pain that did not pre-exist the accident were caused by the subject accident. Thus, the surgeon opined that it was medically necessary for Troum to undergo the MRI, chiropractic care and epidural injections. Troum did not make any claims for past or future lost income, or for his past or future pain and suffering. Thus, he only sought recovery for his medical costs. Pearlman testified that Troum stated that he was fine at the scene of the accident. However, defense counsel argued that Troum decided to fake the injury and claim his back was hurting after learning that Pearlman was from Beverly Hills. The defense’s expert orthopedic surgeon testified during his deposition that there was no way to tell whether Troum’s annular tear was traumatically caused by the subject accident or degenerative in nature. However, according to plaintiff’s counsel, the defense expert testified at trial that the subject accident did not cause the annular tear and that it was not traumatically induced.