On Jan. 22, 2012, at 10:20 a.m., plaintiff Alberto Acevedo, 27, a construction worker, was occupying his parked Chevy S-10 pickup truck on Witherspoon Parkway in the city of Santa Clarita when he was rear-ended by a patrol vehicle operated by an on-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Security Officer, Victor Figueroa. The impact forced the truck forward 40 feet and into a right spin, coming to rest in the driveway of an adjacent business. Acevedo sued Figueroa and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Acevedo alleged that Figueroa was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that the Sheriff’s Department was vicariously liable for the driver’s actions. Acevedo claimed his vehicle had overheated, so he parked along the curbside to let it cool down. Thus, he claimed Figueroa failed to keep a proper lookout. Figueroa claimed he had just finished updating the mobile digital terminal in his vehicle when he looked up and saw Acevedo’s truck stopped in the roadway. He claimed he attempted to swerve left, but was unable to do so before hitting the rear of the pickup truck. Figueroa estimated his speed to be 45-miles-per-hour at the time of the collision. Thus, the defendants admitted liability for the accident at the onset of the trial., Acevedo claimed he immediately felt pain in his chest and head as a result of the impact. He was subsequently transported by paramedics to an emergency room, where he was treated and released within a few hours. Acevedo was first treated by a chiropractor on March 2, 2012. An MRI study conducted on March 9, 2012, indicated a 3.2-millimeter disc protrusion at the T12-L1 region, abutting the spinal cord; a 1- to 2-millimeter disc protrusion at L4-5; and a 3-millimeter disc protrusion at L5-S1. From March 15, 2012, to May 10, 2012, Acevedo received a trigger point injection and three lumbar epidural injections at the L4-5 region from an orthopedic pain management physician to improve his lower back pain. He also treated at another chiropractic office from April 10, 2012, to June 6, 2012, and received an epidural steroid injection at the T12-L1 region of his spine on Sept. 27, 2012. In addition, on Oct. 29, 2012, Acevedo underwent posterior thoracolumbar decompression spinal surgery at the T12-L1 region in order to address a diagnosis of a disc herniation. Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Acevedo $1,873,000 in total damages, including $248,000 in past medical expenses, $275,000 in past non-economic damages, $100,000 in future medical expenses, and $1.25 million in future non-economic damages. Defense counsel contested the nature, extent, and causation of Acevedo’s alleged . Counsel contended that Acevedo had a pre-existing developmental abnormality at his T12-L1 region of his spine and that Acevedo’s pain was due to a pre-existing condition and degenerative process unrelated to the collision. Defense counsel presented a sub-rosa videotape of Acevedo at a construction work site, painting, carrying lumber, standing and engaging in physical activity for a period of five hours without any indication of pain or limitation of movement. Thus, counsel argued that the videotape contradicted testimony given by Acevedo as to his limitations allegedly due to his . Defense counsel further argued that the alleged medical expenses were unreasonable and unnecessary for a collision that did not result in an acute injury to Acevedo.