On July 9, 2010, at approximately 4 p.m., plaintiff Piboon Borriboonratana, 61, a lab technician, was driving east on Alondra Boulevard in Paramount when he reached the intersection with Georgia Avenue and was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle operated by Otilia Villasenor. Borriboonratana claimed to his right shoulder, neck and back. Borriboonratana sued Villasenor, alleging the defendant was negligent in the operation of her vehicle. (Borriboonratana’s vehicle was deemed a total loss, and Villasenor’s insurance carrier paid $4,005.87, the total value of the vehicle, to Borriboonratana’s insurance carrier prior to trial.) Borriboonratana contended that at the time of the collision, he was stopped at the limit line of the intersection on a green light, since traffic in front of him was backed up into the intersection. Thus, he claimed Villasenor was driving inattentively as she approached the intersecting, resulting in the collision. Villasenor disputed liability, contending that Borriboonratana caused the accident by stopping on a green light in the middle of the intersection for no apparent reason. Villasenor’s version of the accident was supported at trial by an independent witness, Veronica Cortina, who had just gotten off a bus and was standing on the corner of the intersection when she allegedly observed the accident occur., Borriboonratana drove home from the accident scene, and then drove himself to a Kaiser facility later in the day. He claimed he sustained a torn rotator cuff of his right shoulder, as well as soft-tissue strains and sprains of his neck and back. All of his medical services were provided by Kaiser, which consisted of several months of physical therapy. In March 2013, Borriboonratana underwent arthroscopic surgery to treat his torn rotator cuff. Borriboonratana claimed only slight residual pain and limited range of motion in his right shoulder. He also claimed that his neck and back had resolved. The plaintiff’s expert orthopedic surgeon testified that the rotator cuff tear was a result of the accident. In addition, the plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert opined that the forces of the accident were sufficient to have likely caused Borriboonratana’s neck and back , as well as the torn rotator cuff. Thus, Borriboonratana sought recovery of $27,646 in past medical costs, which consisted of $2,800 to treat his soft-tissue and $24,846 for his shoulder surgery. He also sought recovery of $70,000 in damages for his pain and suffering. The defense’s expert orthopedic surgeon conceded that Borriboonratana’s soft-tissue neck and back were likely caused by the subject accident. However, the expert opined that Borriboonratana’s torn rotator cuff was not related to the subject accident. Likewise, the defense’s accident reconstruction expert testified that the forces involved in the accident would not have caused a rotator cuff tear.