In a personal injury action, in what circumstances will a jury accept that damages are mandatory?

These instructions made it clear to the jury that a damages award was not mandated, but subject to the party's burden to prove harm caused by the wrongful conduct and not the product of speculation or guesswork. Because the damages awards were amply supported by Acebo-Houlihan's testimony and other evidence, we conclude even if counsel's fleeting suggestion that damages were mandatory was problematic, viewing the entirety of the record it did not result in a miscarriage of justice. (Cassim v. Allstate Ins. Co., supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 800.)