At approximately 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 17, 2012, plaintiff Dennis Yoshii, 38, an architect, was stopped on westbound West Magnolia Boulevard, at the intersection with Babcock Avenue in Los Angeles, when his Lexus GS 300 was rear-ended by a Toyota Tundra. The operator of the Tundra, Rodrigo Romo, was traveling at about 35 mph when he struck Yoshii’s Lexus, pushing it approximately 20 feet into oncoming traffic. Yoshii claimed to his back. Yoshii sued Romo and Romo’s employer (the owner of the Tundra), Dadson Washer Service Inc. Yoshii alleged that Romo was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that Dadson Washer Service was vicariously liable for Romo’s actions, as Romo was in the course and scope of his employment. Romo claimed that he saw Yoshii’s vehicle when it was 1.5 car-lengths in front of him and that he tried to swerve, but he could not avoid rear-ending Yoshii’s vehicle. Dadson Washer Service admitted that Romo was in the course and scope of his employment, but denied liability., Yoshii’s vehicle was totaled in the accident, but no ambulance or police were called to the scene. The defendants’ vehicle only sustained minor front-end damage. Yoshii claimed he suffered chronic neck and upper back pain after the accident. He subsequently presented to an emergency room the day after the accident and was diagnosed with facet syndrome of the cervical spine. He followed up with X-rays and a CT scan to rule out fractures, and an emergency room physician diagnosed Yoshii with whiplash. Yoshii then underwent orthopedic exams and physical therapy treatment until April 18, 2013. There was a six-month gap in treatment between April 18, 2013 and Oct. 20, 2013 because Yoshii’s workers’ compensation carrier would not authorize any more physical therapy despite the recommendations of Yoshii’s treating orthopedic surgeon. Yoshii then went to his primary care physician for help in November 2013 and was referred for pain management treatment. Thereafter, he underwent pain management treatment at Huntley Pain Specialists, in San Diego, from January 2014 to date of trial. Before the accident, Yoshii lived a very active lifestyle. He played competitive soccer, surfed/boogie boarded, fished, went mountain bike riding, ran and competed in a Spartan race. However, Yoshii claimed that the pain from the accident caused him to quit competitive sports. He also claimed he could not sleep through the night nor concentrate at work. After five months of pain management treatment and trying different medication, and multiple trigger point and facet injections, Yoshii got better and slowly returned to his sports activities. He was subsequently able to complete a 50-mile bike ride six months before trial, and Yoshii and his coworkers testified that Yoshii was surfing and playing soccer, but not competitively. Yoshii claimed that the facet injection gave him three to four months of relief and that physicians identified the pain generator as being the nerves that transmit pain to the facet joint. Thus, the plaintiff’s treating pain management physician, who worked at Huntley Pain Specialists, testified that the source of Yoshii’s pain was a clinical diagnosis and cannot be seen on imaging. One month before trial, Yoshii underwent a radio frequency ablation procedure that burned off the nerves that transmitted the pain to the facet joint. Yoshii claimed the procedure worked, causing him to be substantially better by the time of trial. However, the plaintiff’s treating pain management physician testified that the nerves that generate pain will grow back and that Yoshii will need a repeat RFA every six months to a year, indefinitely, at the global cost of $7,000 per procedure. Yoshii was an architect and a married, father of three children. He did not have any claim of lost income because his employer gave him generous accommodations, allowed Yoshii to set up a home office and to have frequents breaks. Coworkers also testified that they had to pick up Yoshii’s slack. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Yoshii $900,000 in total damages, including $17,500 in past paid medical costs, an unspecified amount of future medical costs, and an unspecified amount of damages for Yoshii’s past and future pain and suffering. In addition, Yoshii’s wife, Rocio Yoshii, sought recovery of damages for her loss of consortium. Defense counsel argued that Yoshii’s pain is not real and that if it is real, than it was caused by a minor, pre-existing 1.2-millimeter disc protrusion to the C3-4 level, which was noted on an MRI one month after the accident. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that there was a motion in limine to limit the defense’s orthopedic surgery expert’s testimony, in that the expert was not allowed to testify to any opinions not expressed in his deposition.