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Elizabeth CHRISTIAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. The HERTZ CORPORATION, a corporation; Donald Scholz, and Scholz Homes, Inc., a corporation, Defendants, Donald Scholz and Scholz Homes, Inc., a corporation, Defendants-Appellants

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit1963-01-04No. No. 13829
313 F.2d 174

Summary

Holding. The jury's $60,000 damage award was supported by substantial evidence and was not excessive; the trial court committed no abuse of discretion in its evidentiary rulings or denial of a motion for new trial. The judgment is affirmed.

A plaintiff injured in a rear-end automobile collision sought damages for injuries claimed to result from the accident. The defendants conceded negligence but disputed whether the plaintiff's injuries were actually caused by the collision or instead stemmed from prior surgery and a pre-existing kidney condition. The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded $60,000 in damages.

On appeal, the defendants challenged the trial court's evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and arguments, and contended the damage award was excessive. The appellate court examined the evidence supporting the jury's verdict, including the plaintiff's age, life expectancy, documented medical expenses, lost earnings before trial, and projected future lost income. The court found the jury could reasonably infer that the collision caused a severe spinal injury requiring surgery, resulting in permanent pain, numbness, reduced spinal flexibility, and ongoing medical needs that would prevent the plaintiff from working for the remainder of her life.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Proximate causation of injuries from motor vehicle collision versus pre-existing conditions
  • Reasonableness of damages award for permanent spinal injury and lost earning capacity
  • Admissibility of demonstrative evidence regarding spinal injury
  • Juror qualification and disclosure of prior accident settlement

Procedural posture

Defendants appealed from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in a diversity personal injury action tried to the jury on damages and proximate cause, with negligence conceded.

Authorities cited

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Opinion

majority opinion

KILEY, Circuit Judge.

. This is a diversity personal injury action tried on the issues of damages and proximate cause of injuries. Negligence was conceded.

Plaintiff was driving fifty-five miles per hour on the Tri-State Tollway, and her car was struck from behind by the Scholz car. Whether, and to what extent, plaintiff’s injuries were proximately caused by the collision, or were a result of previous sux-gery and a kidney ailment, wexe issues on which there was conflicting evidence. The jury decided, on substantial evidence, in favor of plaintiff and we see no reason for disturbing its findings.

Defendants claim error at the trial in rulings on evidence and improper argument to the jury, that the verdict of $60,000 is excessive, and that the District Court erred in refusing to grant a new trial.

The jury could have made these reasonable inferences from the evidence: Plaintiff suffered a hernia of the fourth lumbar disc requiring severe surgery. The post-operative effects of this surgery have been pain and numbness in heel and leg, loss of normal flexibility of the spine and continual medical treatment and medication. The condition is permanent and will probably require future surgery and result in spinal inflexibility. Plaintiff is fifty-three years of age, with a life expectancy of twenty-four years. Her past and future medical expenses amount to $5,199.45. She lost $4,500.00 in earnings before the trial, because she has been unable to work since the injury, and will lose about $2,250.00 each year in the future. She could have worked more than ten years in her business, and will suffer from the injury as long as she lives.

In the light of these inferences, we think the verdict is within the scope of the evidence and is not excessive.

This conclusion weakens claims of prejudicial error in rulings at the trial. We think plaintiff was not required prima facie to offer her books and records to prove loss of earnings; an instruction sufficiently covered the reduction of plaintiff’s future earnings to present value; and the human spine and a model of the spine were admissible in the court’s discretion.

We see no abuse of discretion, Stanczak v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 174 F.2d 43, 48 (7th Cir., 1949), Kuzminski v. Waser, 314 Ill.App. 438, 41 N.E.2d 1008 (1942), in the court’s denial of defendants’ motion for a new trial on the .ground that, on voir dire, one of the jurors failed to tell of an earlier accident which she settled for $100.00. The court, on what was before it, could with reason have decided that the juror did not deliberately mislead the court or counsel, and that defendants were not prejudiced.

The recent case of Caley v. Manicke, 24 Ill.2d 390, 182 N.E.2d 206 (1962) was cited by defendants in their motion for new trial, to support the ■claim that prejudicial error was committed in the argument on damages, which calculated compensation for pain and suffering on the basis of hours and days. There was no objection to the argument, and the point will not be considered since, in view of all the circumstances, it does not amount to “fundamental error.” 5 Moore, Federal Practice 1902-05 (2d ed. 1951).

For the reasons given, the judgment is Affirmed.

. Nothing is to be gained from discussing cases cited by both parties with a broad range of verdicts and facts.