Gamboa v. Arman CA3

Filed 7/12/24 Gamboa v. Arman CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

ELVIRA GARCIA GAMBOA,

Plaintiff and Appellant, C098708

v. (Super. Ct. No. 34-2022- 00324900-CU-MM-GDS) ANUPAM ARMAN,

Defendant and Respondent.

Elvira Garcia Gamboa sued Anupam Arman, D.C., a chiropractor, alleging that Dr. Arman’s professional negligence caused her to sustain broken ribs and other injuries. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Dr. Arman. Gamboa now challenges the trial court’s grant of summary judgment. Because her contentions are either forfeited or lack merit, we will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Gamboa received chiropractic treatment from Dr. Arman at The Joint Chiropractic on January 4, 2022. Prior to undergoing treatment, Gamboa filled out a patient history form, indicating intermittent pain on the left side of her neck, back, and shoulder. Gamboa also signed an informed consent form that warned her of the various risks of chiropractic treatment, including “the possibility of sprains, dislocations and fractures,” and more specifically, “rib fractures or muscle and ligament strains or sprains as a result of manual therapy techniques.”

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Dr. Arman documented the chiropractic session, noting that she manually palpated Gamboa’s spine and found “[m]ildly taut and tender fibers” at several vertebral segments, as well as misalignments at three segments. Dr. Arman then conducted a manual adjustment, noting that Gamboa “stated an increase in soreness in the anterior right rib cage” during the thoracic spine adjustment. Gamboa described the adjustment as a “violent extreme application of force on the lower back” that resulted in “excruciating pain and a seemingly cracking sound on [her] ribs,” causing her to cry out “Lord have mercy!” At that point Dr. Arman stopped the adjustment and tended to another patient while Gamboa drank some water. Dr. Arman returned to Gamboa about 15 minutes later and finished the session with an instrument-assisted adjustment of three spinal segments. Upon completion of the session, Gamboa paid the $29 fee and left the office unassisted. About a week later, Gamboa received an x-ray of her chest and ribs. The x-ray report revealed no rib fractures, no traumatic malalignment, and no other significant abnormality, aside from decreased bone mineral density. About two months later, Gamboa received a CT scan of her chest, abdomen, and pelvis, which showed “ ‘multiple healing bilateral rib fractures’ of an unknown age.” About three months later, Gamboa received both an x-ray of her chest and a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis. The x-ray revealed mild degenerative changes to her thoracic spine and shoulders, but no fractures. The CT scan showed plaque build-up in her aorta, severe degenerative disc disease, and mild anterolisthesis, i.e., abnormal alignment of the spine. Representing herself, in August 2022 Gamboa filed a lawsuit against Dr. Arman for professional negligence. As relevant here, Gamboa alleged the “intense, violent ‘cracking’ pressure” that Dr. Arman applied to her back amounted to professional negligence and resulted in multiple broken ribs, anterolisthesis, pain and suffering, and irreparable long-term physical, mental, and emotional injuries. Gamboa sought $2 million in damages.