On Dec. 16, 2016, plaintiff Mirwais Mojadiddi, 29, a student, was parked in a roundabout on Truxtun Road, in San Diego, behind a parked car occupied by Sean Ryan. While Mojadiddi was waiting in his vehicle, Ryan attempted to pull out of his parking space and backed into the front of Mojadiddi’s car. Mojadiddi claimed that he hit his head on the steering wheel and sustained an injury to his neck. Mojadiddi sued Ryan. Mojadiddi alleged that Ryan was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. Ryan did not dispute liability., Mojadiddi first sought treatment at Sharp Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, in San Diego, one week after the crash. (He did not require an ambulance.) Mojadiddi was diagnosed with a strain of his cervical spine. He also complained of headaches. Mojadiddi then underwent six weeks of chiropractic care. Mojadiddi claimed that he had trouble studying for weeks after the crash, but that his symptoms ultimately resolved following his chiropractic treatment. However, he claimed that he was unable to pay his medical bills, which ultimately affected his credit. He alleged that as a result, it was harder for him to find an apartment to rent. Mojadiddi sought recovery of $9,366.76 in past medical bills and an unspecified amount of damages for his past pain and suffering. Defense counsel contended that the collision involved a minor impact and that some of the damage to Mojadiddi’s vehicle was present before the subject accident. As a result, counsel disputed whether the crash caused Mojadiddi’s alleged . The defense’s expert orthopedist surgeon opined that Mojadiddi did not need to go to an emergency room one week after the accident and that Mojadiddi should have, instead, gone to an urgent care facility, which would have been less expensive. Defense counsel initially pointed to a discrepancy between Mojadiddi’s story and Sharp Memorial’s emergency-room records, which stated that Mojadiddi hurt his wrist when he fell outside of his vehicle. However, plaintiff’s counsel argued that the discrepancy was due to a language barrier, since English was not Mojadiddi’s first language, and filed a motion in limine to keep the emergency-room records out of the trial. Judge Ronald Styn granted the motion.