On Sept. 19, 2010, at approximately 10:30 p.m., plaintiff Susan Boman, 54, an oncology nurse, was stopped for a red light on northbound Lawrence Expressway, at the intersection with Calvert Drive in San Jose, when she was rear-ended by a vehicle operated by Adam Zarate. Boman claimed to her head. Boman sued Zarate, alleging the defendant was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. Boman claimed that Zarate failed to see her vehicle or the red light, and struck the rear of her vehicle at approximately 55 miles per hour. Zarate admitted liability for the accident, and the matter proceeded to a trial on causation and damages., Boman was taken by ambulance to an emergency room, where she was treated for a concussion, and strains and sprains of her neck and back. She then followed up at a Kaiser Permanente facility to treat her soft-tissue . Roughly one year after the accident, while still treating at Kaiser, Boman complained of visual disturbances and an inability to walk straight. After an extensive neurological work-up and testing, she was diagnosed with Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction (BVH), a very rare disorder involving the permanent loss of balance function in the inner ear. There is no cure for BVH and there is no treatment other than physical therapy exercises and coping skills, which Boman has obtained. Boman claimed that her BVH was caused by the 60-mph rear-end collision that accelerated her head between 70 and 100 Gs and that her doctors never understood her attempt to explain her symptoms until two months post-collision. The plaintiff’s medical experts testified that most physicians would never see this condition in their lifetime and that it is most commonly diagnosed many months post-insult. Thus, the plaintiff’s treating doctor opined that the only cause for BVH in a healthy woman in her 50s would have been a motor vehicle collision. Plaintiff’s counsel called Boman’s longtime friend and roommate, who testified about Boman’s level of activities pre-dating the accident and her observation of Boman’s loss of ability to balance shortly after the accident. Boman’s coworker and hairdresser also testified as to Boman’s leaning toward one side while walking within weeks of the accident. Boman claimed the BVH condition caused a condition known as oscillopsia, which is the loss of the ability to focus on an object if the head is moved. She claimed that as a result of her traumatically induced BVH and related oscillopsia, she is unable to work full-time as an oncology nurse and will require lifetime vestibular therapy to maintain her ability to function at a limited level. According to the plaintiff’s vocational rehabilitation expert, Boman will require future treatment and lifetime household services for activities requiring the ability to stoop, climb or balance. Thus, Boman sought recovery of $30,638.02 in past medical costs, $63,407 in future medical costs, $135,058 in past lost earnings, $550,406 in future lost earnings and $283,361.80 in future loss of household services. She also sought recovery of an unspecified amount in damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Defense counsel stipulated to the strain/sprain and related treatment, but argued that the BVH and related oscillopsia was not traumatically induced. According to the defense’s otolaryngology expert, all prior cases of BVH caused by trauma had included a significant head injury (e.g., a skull fracture) and hearing loss. Defense counsel also argued that Boman’s first reports of vestibular loss began too long after the accident to be related. Thus, defense counsel asked the jury to award Boman only $7,353.72 in past medical expenses, $928 in past lost earnings, and $10,000 in general damages. Counsel also asked the jury to award nothing for Boman’s alleged future damages.