On Dec. 1, 2006, plaintiff James Beglinger, 61, an architect, presented to the San Francisco medical office of Dr. Joshua Gerbert to treat a bunion that was causing him pain, and loss of motion and discomfort in his left, big toe. As a result, an implant was placed in his left, first metatarsophalangeal joint of his big toe. In 2007, Beglinger underwent a revision procedure on the same toe to remove scar tissue that had built up. However, when he continued to complain of pain and discomfort in his toe, Beglinger went to an orthopedic surgeon, who examined the toe and determined that a third implant device, as proposed by Gerbert, would not work. As a result, the surgeon performed a toe fusion. Beglinger sued Gerbert. He alleged that the defendant failed to properly treat him and failed to obtain his informed consent, and that these failures constituted medical malpractice. Specifically, Beglinger claimed that Gerbert never gave him the option of having a fusion procedure instead of the implant. He also claimed that the implant placed by Gerbert failed and resulted in continued pain in his left toe. Gerbert claimed that Beglinger singed a written consent for an implant, which specifically acknowledged the possibility of failure and continued pain. Defense counsel maintained that evidence showed that there was informed consent for both procedures. Counsel further contended that Gerbert’s records indicated that a fusion procedure was discussed on at least two occasions prior to surgery. In addition, defense counsel contended that the plaintiff did not disclose any experts that could testify that there was a breach in the standard of medical care., After the 2007 revision surgery, Beglinger learned that the implant in his toe failed, causing him pain and discomfort. As a result, he underwent a toe fusion. Beglinger claimed that he continues to have discomfort in his toe and that can no longer compete in triathlons due to pain during running. Defense counsel noted that Beglinger testified in deposition that he no longer has pain in his toe. In addition, counsel contended that Beglinger is not able to compete in triathlons due to the fusion surgery performed by the subsequent surgeon and not because of anything Gerbert did or didn’t do.