In January 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent, Cheng Zhang, 50, a diabetic and with a history of congestive heart failure and other heart issues, was determined to be a candidate to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placed. Zhang had been treating his medical issues since before 2009, but he was eventually referred to Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist in Alhambra in November 2009. At that time, Zhang was suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy and was determined to have low ejection fraction, or the measure of how well the heart pumps with each beat. With each heartbeat, Zhang’s ejection fraction was less than 25, which could lead to arrhythmia and death. As a result, he was evaluated for the potential to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placed. With the device, if the heart went into arrhythmia, the device would shock it into a normal rhythm. Zhang was ultimately determined to be a candidate for the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, but a cardiologist at Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist wanted Zhang to undergo additional testing and make lifestyle changes, such as having Zhang quit smoking, to make sure Zhang was a safer candidate for the device. However, on Sept. 21, 2010, Zhang died from a heart attack related to atherosclerotic heart disease, or hardening of the arteries. He had been scheduled to have the device implanted six days later, on Sept. 27, 2010. The decedent’s wife, Yuqin Lang, and adult daughter, Xue Zhang, sued Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist; the decedent’s medical insurance, Health Net Insurance and Health Net Community Solutions Inc.; and Allied Physicians of California, an independent physician association that would approve requests by Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist to perform procedures. Ultimately, the matter proceeded to trial against Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist only. The decedent’s family alleged that the medical group failed to timely diagnose and treat the decedent and that its failures constituted medical malpractice and caused the decedent’s wrongful death. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist waited too long to place the cardioverter-defibrillator, resulting in the decedent’s death. The plaintiffs’ cardiology and cardiovascular medicine experts opined that the decedent should not have been kept waiting for testing, including ultrasounds and chest X-rays, and that smoking cessation was not a reason to wait. Counsel for Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist asserted that testing was needed to make the procedure safer and that lifestyle changes were advisable, as smoking increased the anesthesia and wound-healing risks associated with the surgery. Thus, the defense’s cardiology expert opined that it was appropriate to wait for testing and lifestyle changes. Counsel for Comprehensive Cardiovascular Specialist further asserted that issues with testing arose involving outside providers and that the physician who was scheduled to perform the placement procedure left the group prior to the surgery., On Sept. 21, 2010, Cheng Zhang died of a heart attack due to atherosclerotic heart disease. He was 50 years old. The decedent is survived by his wife, Yuqin Lang, and adult daughter, Xue Zhang. Thus, the decedent’s wife and daughter sought recovery of wrongful death damages.