The Case

• Case Name: Diaz v. Babenkov
• Court and Case Number: Los Angeles Superior Court / 23STCV27475
• Date of Verdict or Judgment: Wednesday, May 28, 2025
• Date Action was Filed: Wednesday, November 08, 2023
• Type of Case: Vehicles - Auto vs. Auto, Vehicles – rear-ender
• Judge or Arbitrator(s): Hon. Mary Ann Murphy
• Plaintiffs:
  Jose Diaz, 65, and Blanca Cortes, 68
• Defendants:
  Vladimir Babenkov and Solve, Inc.
• Type of Result: Jury Verdict

The Result

• Gross Verdict or Award: Jose Diaz: Zero; Blanca Cortes: $15,135
• Trial or Arbitration Time: 9 days
• Jury Deliberation Time: 3 1/2 hours

The Attorneys

• Attorney for the Plaintiff:

  D & Z Law Group, LLP by Erik Zograbian, Glendale.

  Issaian Law Firm, A Professional Corp. by Emineh Issaian, Glendale.

  Narinyan Law by Martin Narinyan, Glendale.

• Attorney for the Defendant:

  Gates, Gonter, Guy, Proudfoot & Muench, LLP by Gina Y. Kandarian-Stein and Mark Capell, Irvine.

The Experts

• Plaintiff’s Medical Expert(s):

  Steven Meir, M.D., orthopedic surgery. (For Cortes)

  Stephan Kasimian, M.D., orthopedic surgery. (For Diaz)

• Defendant's Medical Expert(s):
• Arya Shamie, M.D., orthopedic surgery.
• Barry Ludwig, M.D., neurology.
• Plaintiff's Technical Expert(s):

  Andrew Morris, D.C. billing.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background: The accident occurred on April 1, 2023 on the southbound 101 freeway in Los Angeles. Plaintiffs allege they were rear-ended by a vehicle driven by defendant Vladimir Babenkov while defendant Babenkov was in the course and scope of his employment with Solve, Inc.  Liability was admitted.  Only damages were argued.
• Blanca Cortes was a passenger in the 2007 Toyota Sienna driven by plaintiff Jose Diaz. Defendant Babenkov was driving a 2014 Mitsubishi FE180.
• Plaintiff's Contentions: Plaintiff Jose Diaz alleged injuries to the neck, upper back, mid back, low back, arms, legs, headaches and dizziness. Plaintiff Diaz underwent three  bilateral cervical facet blocks at C3-4. He claimed he needed more injections in the future and a cervical rhizotomy. Plaintiff Diaz admitted that he did not have any pain at the scene and that he did not call police or 911. Plaintiff Diaz’s wife testified that plaintiff Diaz works less, he is tired and in a bad mood when he gets home and that the accident affected him emotionally and he gets irritated easily.Plaintiff Cortes’ daughter testified the plaintiff cannot babysit her grandchildren anymore. Dr. Meir testified regarding his treatment of plaintiff Blanca Cortes. He testified that practically every level of plaintiff Cortes’ spine was injured in the accident, even the thoracic spine and he provided dextrose injections to every level of the spine.
• Dr. Meir recommended plaintiff Cortes undergo an L4-5 and L5-S1 fusion and if plaintiff Cortes does not have surgery, she will need three injections to the lumbar spine on an annual basis for the rest of her life.
• Plaintiff Blanca Cortes alleged injuries to the head, neck, right shoulder and low back. Plaintiff Cortes underwent dextrose injection therapy treatment to the cervical spine, thoracic spine and lumbar spine. She alleged she needed more injections and lumbar fusion surgery in the future. Plaintiff Cortes testified that she is not currently working and she used to take care of her grandkids and can no longer pick her grandkids up from school. She claimed the injections Dr. Meier gave her helped. She also testified she still has pain in the low back and right shoulder and that the low-back pain has affected her life.
• Plaintiff witness Dr. Kasimian disagreed with defense witness Dr. Shamie and testified that C3-4 was not normal and that it was a source of plaintiff’s pain. He recommended facet blocks and an ablation to plaintiff Diaz’s cervical spine and pain management including medial branch blocks and epidural injections to Diaz’s lumbar spine.
• Defendant's Contentions: Defendant argued this was a case of attorney-referred medical buildup on a lien and defendant disputed the nature and extent of injuries and damages alleged by plaintiffs.On cross-examination of plaintiff Diaz, plaintiff Diaz admitted he saw an attorney first and waited four days before going to a chiropractor. He testified that he continued to have neck and low-back pain. However, he was impeached with his deposition testimony that his low-back pain stopped after chiropractic treatment. He also admitted that no doctor told him he needed surgery or future treatment and he had no plans to return to a doctor. He also admitted that he was still working and lifting up to 50 pounds and that his activities were not affected.Defendant orthopedic surgery expert Dr. Shamie spent a majority of his testimony going through the plaintiffs’ MRI films in detail, showing the jury all of the levels of plaintiffs’ spines. He testified plaintiffs have longstanding degenerative changes that were not made worse by the accident. Dr. Shamie testified the plaintiffs did not need the injections they had and they did not need injections in the future, nor did they need future surgeries. Dr. Shamie testified that the dextrose injections plaintiff Cortes had were very questionable and that in all of his years of practice, he has never performed the dextrose injections, nor would he ever recommend them.Plaintiff's witness Dr. Kasimian admitted that the MRIs of plaintiffs did not show inflammation and the findings were consistent with normal age related wear and tear. It was pointed on cross-examination that Dr. Kasimian reviewed plaintiff Cortes’ prior and subsequent records from Rancho Los Amigos Orthopedics and he failed to make any mention of plaintiff Cortes’ diagnoses of lumbar degenerative joint disease in 2018 and 2019. He was not hired until March 12, 2025 and he did not examine plaintiffs until March 26, 2025 – two months before trial – and plaintiff had not been to any doctors in the year before being sent to Dr. Kasimian. It was also pointed out that the findings on his examinations of each of the plaintiffs were normal.
• Defense neurology expert Dr. Ludwig testified that plaintiffs did not have any neurological problems, his examinations of plaintiffs were normal and plaintiffs did not sustain concussions. When he examined plaintiffs they were independent in their activities of daily living and they were not in any acute distress.
• On cross-examination of plaintiff Cortes, she admitted that she was not given any restrictions for work or physical activities. She was also impeached with her deposition testimony in which she testified that she was continuing to babysit her grandchildren and she was also impeached with her statement to Dr. Kasimian that she was still babysitting.
• All of plaintiffs’ medical bills and reports were sent to plaintiffs’ attorneys and plaintiffs’ treatment with all of plaintiffs’ doctors was on a lien. Defendant also pointed out that plaintiffs did not see their primary care physicians and they had delayed treatment. Defendant argued that the plaintiffs did not need the injections they received and they did not need future treatment and that plaintiff’s degenerative conditions were not made worse by the accident.

Injuries and Other Damages

• Physical Injuries claimed by Plaintiff: Plaintiff Jose Diaz alleged injuries to the neck, upper back, mid back, low back, arms, legs, headaches and dizziness.
• Plaintiff Blanca Cortes alleged injuries to the head, neck, right shoulder and low back.

Special Damages

• Special Damages Claimed - Past Medical: Jose Diaz: $65,450; Blanca Cortes: $29,785
• Special Damages Claimed - Future Medical: Jose: $130,800; Blanca: $280,000